Brenda Lee Makes History Once Again On Her 79th Birthday

For the second week in a row, Rock and Roll and Country Music Hall of Famer Brenda Lee's iconic holiday hit "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" tops the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Last week, the song made history 65 years after its debut and became Lee's third Hot 100 No. 1 and her first since 1960. Today's news came as Lee was celebrating her 79th birthday.

Brenda said, "A second week at No. 1 – this is so surreal! As I celebrate this with my fans and everyone who has supported me over the years, I really wish I could celebrate with Johnny Marks, who wrote the song, and Owen Bradley, who brilliantly produced 'Rockin'.'"

She added, "The song has truly stood the test of time, and I am so grateful that this has become my signature song. As I always say, Keep on Rockin'!"

Johnny Marks died in 1975 at the age of 75. Owen Bradley died at the age of 82 in 1998.

For the song's 65th anniversary this year, Lee released the first-ever music video for "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," featuring cameos by country stars Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood.

Last Monday (12/4), Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time ever.

By hitting the No.1 spot, Lee broke several records. Many of those records were held by Mariah Carey and "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which Lee beat out for the top spot. Lee claims just the third holiday No.1 ever on the Hot 100.

After hearing the news, Lee said, "This is amazing! I cannot believe that 'Rockin" has hit No. 1 65 years after its release; this is just so special! Thank you to the team at UMG/UMe, who worked so hard to celebrate the song's anniversary this year. But most importantly, thank you to the fans who keep listening."

She added, "The song came out when I was a young teenager.  And now, to know that it has resonated with multiple generations and continues to resonate – it is one of the best gifts I have ever received. Keep on Rockin' and Merry Christmas!"

There are so many country music Christmas songs, both original and classic, that have been done throughout the years. It seems impossible to pick five of the best country Christmas songs ever. Still, we did just that in our list of Top Five Country Christmas songs over the last several decades.

There are too many honorable mentions to mention, but we just loved Taylor Swift's 2007 "Last Christmas." Also, there are several Christmas albums Martina McBride has released over the years. Reba also has four Christmas albums already under her belt. Johnny Cash had some fantastic Christmas songs in his career. George Strait, Tim McGraw and Garth Brooks  also brought the Christmas cheer. Additionally, there's the amazing Christmas work from Brett Eldredge, who has made a career out of his annual Christmas "Glow" tour. Other artists include Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Kenny Rogers, Lady A, Kacey Musgraves, and even Miranda Lambert's Pistol Annies.

In 2023, Jon Pardi released a new Christmas album not long after he was made a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He told us, "I’ve always wanted to make a Christmas record. It just sounded fun! It’s been many years of hearing Christmas music, and being like, ‘I still haven’t made a [Christmas] record!’ Eventually, I was just like, ‘Alright, we’re doing a Christmas record!'"

Kane Brown also released a new Christmas song this year. He released a cover of Elvis Presley’s classic “Blue Christmas.” Elvis’ voice starts off the familiar song, and Kane’s voice comes in on the second verse. Kane told us, “I chose to cover ‘Blue Christmas’ because it was probably one of my favorite Christmas songs. I don’t have a lot. I used to sing it all the time whenever I was first coming up in the music scene, just while I was warming up and just playing around on stage, so when I got asked to do a Christmas song, of course, I’d have picked that one. And to reimagine it with Elvis is amazing.”

While we know everyone will have their own list of country Christmas favorites, we give you our list of the Top Five Country Christmas Songs to date:

With a cameo by her young son Isaiah singing adorably on this classic remake, it is no wonder this has quickly become a holiday favorite and makes his famous mom proud.

Underwood is playing shows and has added Christmas song to her Las Vegas residency which she wraps up next week (12/16).

Carrie told us recently about decorating early for Christmas this year (2023), "There’s nothing sadder than a Christmas tree up with no presents underneath it, so I don’t really think that you want to get your Christmas tree up too early, but this year, I was a little earlier than normal because we had Thanksgiving and then head out to Vegas for my Reflection shows, and I had to get everything up before I left.”

A wonderful song that puts you right into the holiday spirit. Gwen and Blake do this song beautifully together and seem to have fun with every word they sing.

On the footnote version of the title song’s music video, Stefani said, “The idea of getting to be a part of people’s holidays through music is one of the greatest gifts. Christmas music lives forever.”

She also noted in the video footnotes that the video idea was inspired by the 1960s TV show Bewitched, a show both of them loved as kids. Gwen and Blake co-wrote the song “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.”

This is an excellent take on the 1960s original Christmas song by country music icon Buck Owens. Brad does this to perfection honoring his late friend. Garth Brooks also covered this song on his first Christmas album, Beyond The Season.

Not initially known as or written as a Christmas song, this song comes from the soundtrack of Dolly Parton's 1982 movie Best Little Whorehouse In Texas. The song has become a classic and has been covered by many after Dolly, including her friend Reba.

Possibly one of the best holiday songs in any genre; not a year goes by that we don't spin this record on repeat. In 2023, sixty-five years after its first release to radio, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time ever.

By hitting the No.1 spot, Brenda Lee breaks several records. Many of those records were held by Mariah Carey and “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” which Lee beat out for the top spot.