Music legend Brenda Lee has plenty to celebrate before 2023 ends.
Amazingly, Lee’s holiday classic, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” finally hit the top spot of Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated December 9 – sixty-five years after it was released. It marks Lee’s third career No. 1 hit with her two other songs, “I’m Sorry” and “I Want to Be Wanted,” both reaching peak spot in 1960.
Brenda Lee’s Milestone Is Breaking Several Records
For the previous four holiday periods, Brenda Lee’s Christmas classic only ranked No. 2, failing to unseat Mariah Carey’s beloved hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Fast forward to today, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is helping the superstar create history in numerous ways.
After smashing the No. 1 spot, Billboard reported that Lee is now the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100 chart. The legendary singer is now 78 years old and is turning a year older on December 11. It also means that Lee is the oldest female artist to hit No. 1 on the chart, surpassing Cher, who topped the Billboard Hot 100 with “Believe” in 1999 when she was 52.
“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” also sets another new record for taking the longest time from its release to reach No. 1 on the chart. Before this, Mariah Carey held the record with 25 years passing between the release of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in 1994 and its climb to the top in 2019.
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Lee’s Christmas hit has also now become one of the only three holiday songs to reach the summit of the Billboard Hot 100. It joins the ranks of Carey’s holiday beloved hit and The Chipmunks with David Seville’s “The Chipmunk Song.”
Congratulations, Brenda Lee, on reaching this incredible milestone! It only goes to show that age is no barrier to success.
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