(Everyday until Christmas, The Polyester Ball will countdown the twelve most performed holiday songs of the last one hundred years.) The 12 Songs of Christmas - #9 The No. 9 song on our list is Rockin Around the Christmas Tree, a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958 on Decca Records. Despite her mature-sounding voice, Lee recorded this song when she was only thirteen years old. Despite the songs title, its instrumentation also fits the country music genre, which Brenda Lee more fully embraced as her career evolved. The recording features Hank Garlands ringing guitar and Boots Randolphs swinging solo sax break. Although Decca released the single in both 1958 and again in 1959, it did not sell well until Lee became a popular star in 1960. That Christmas holiday season, Brendas Rockin Around the Christmas Tree peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. It continued to sell well during subsequent holiday seasons, peaking as high as No. 3 on Billboards Christmas Singles chart in December 1965. For decades, Brenda Lees recording was the only notable version of the song. Radio stations ranging from Classic Hits to Top 40 to Country Music played this version, and it has since turned into a perennial holiday favorite. The Nielsen SoundScan service has estimated total sales of Brenda Lees digital track of “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree” at nearly 1 million downloads, placing it fourth on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in SoundScan history.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 18:32:32 +0000
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