New Old-Fashioned No. 1: Brenda Lee’s ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ Tops Hot 100, 65 Years After Its Release
Lee leads for the first time since 1960, with only the third holiday No. 1 in the chart's history.
www.billboard.com/lists/brenda-lee-rockin-around-the-christmas-tree-number-one-hot-100/streams-airplay-sales/
By Gary Trust
12/4/2023Brenda Lee dances merrily to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart with her holiday classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” The song rewrites multiple records as it tops the chart for the first time – 65 years after its release. Lee, meanwhile, adds her third No. 1 – and her first since 1960.
Plus, four other carols return to the Hot 100’s top 10: Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” up from No. 12 to No. 4; Wham!’s “Last Christmas” (13-5); Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” (16-6); and Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (28-10).
Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” on Decca/MCA Nashville/UMe, becomes the 1,161st No. 1 in the Hot 100’s 65-year archives. Below, let’s unwrap the coronation of the song, whose history dates back just as long.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Dec. 9, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 5). For all chart news, you can follow
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Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Streams, airplay & sales“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” drew 34.9 million streams (up 69%, as it wins top Streaming Gainer honors on the Hot 100) and 20.7 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 35%) and sold 3,000 downloads (up 39%) in the Nov. 24-30 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The single jumps 5-1 for a second week atop the Streaming Songs chart, after it first ruled the last frame of the 2022 holiday season; re-enters Digital Song Sales at No. 12, having reached a No. 4 high; and ascends 47-33 on Radio Songs, where it has hit a No. 17 best.
A sentimental feeling, when you hear …
Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was originally recorded and released in 1958. Written by Johnny Marks and produced by Owen Bradley, it first hit the Hot 100 (at No. 64) dated Dec. 12, 1960 – after Lee had notched her first four top 10s that year – and reached an original No. 14 peak two weeks later.
The song went on to spend nine weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100 between December 2019 and last holiday season. (Notably, it ties for the most weeks logged at No. 2 before rising to No. 1 at last, matching Billie Eilish’s wait with “Bad Guy” in 2019.)
For its 65th anniversary, Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” received its first official video, featuring cameos from country stars Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood, Nov. 3. Plus, Lee is set to perform it on NBC’s Christmas at the Opry, airing Dec. 7. As previously reported, Lee has also joined TikTok, where she’s been sharing posts about the song and her career. (She even took to the mic – a.k.a., a plane intercom – on a recent flight to perform the song.)
Third holiday No. 1 in Hot 100 historyLee claims just the third holiday No. 1 ever on the Hot 100. “The Chipmunk Song,” by The Chipmunks with David Seville, from 1958, spent four weeks on top beginning that December, and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” released in 1994, has rung up 12 weeks at No. 1, from its first ascent to the summit in December 2019 through last holiday season.
Two of the three leaders, Lee’s and The Chipmunks’ singles, thus, were released in 1958 (the Hot 100’s first year of existence).
Lee’s 3rd Hot 100 No. 1Lee lands her third Hot 100 No. 1 … 65 years after her first two. “I’m Sorry” reigned for three weeks beginning on the chart dated July 18, 1960, and “I Want To Be Wanted” topped the tally dated Oct. 24, 1960.
Lee has charted 51 Hot 100 hits, starting with “Sweet Nothin’s,” which marked her debut on the ranking dated Dec. 21, 1959. The song rose to No. 4 in April 1960, becoming her first of 13 top 10s. (She went on to earn nine top 10s on the Hot Country Songs chart in 1973-80.)
Notably, Lee posted the most Hot 100 hits – 46 – among women in the ‘60s, one more than runner-up Connie Francis that decade; she and Francis tied for the most top 10s – 12 each – among solo women in the ’60s.
Longest run to No. 1Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” shatters the record for the longest wait from a song’s release – 65 years – to it hitting No. 1 on the Hot 100. It surpasses the 25-year gap between the release of Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in 1994 and its rise to No. 1 in 2019.
Lee’s single also breaks the record for longest climb to No. 1 on the Hot 100 from a song’s debut on the chart. As it entered the Dec. 12, 1960-dated list and leads the Dec. 9, 2023-dated ranking, it rules at last three days shy of 63 years later.
Longest span of No. 1sLee additionally rewrites the record for the longest span of an artist topping the Hot 100: 63 years, four months and three weeks, from her first week at No. 1 with “I’m Sorry” (July 18, 1960) through the latest list. She supplants Carey, whose span of leaders stretches 32 years and five months, from her first week in charge (Aug. 4, 1990) with her debut single “Vision of Love” through the most recent week on top for “All I Want for Christmas Is You” last holiday season.
Longest break between No. 1sMaking more history, Lee marks the longest break between Hot 100 No. 1s: 63 years, one month and two weeks between “I Want To Be Wanted” (Oct. 24, 1960) and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
Cher previously held the mark: just 10 days shy of 25 years between her one week atop the Hot 100 with “Dark Lady” (March 23, 1974) and the start of her four-week command with “Believe” (March 13, 1999). (Cher reaches No. 1 on another Billboard chart this week with her own holiday hit.)
EvergreenLee is 78 years young; her new Hot 100 coronation will add to her birthday celebration Dec. 11. She becomes the senior-most artist to top the chart, surpassing Louis Armstrong, who was 62 when “Hello, Dolly!” led in 1964. Among women, Lee passes the likewise busy Cher, who was 52 when “Believe” ruled the Hot 100.
In a bit of time-bending, while Lee is currently 78, again, the highest age for an artist atop the Hot 100, she was 13 when she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”; if the song had led when she was that age, she’d be the youngest woman to have reached No. 1. Little Peggy March remains the youngest woman to have led the list – at the time of a song hitting No. 1 – as the singer (now 75) was 15 when “I Will Follow Him” ruled in 1963.
A Christmas Queen & The KingWhat 13 songs kept Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” from No. 1 when it originally peaked at No. 14 on the Dec. 26, 1960-dated Hot 100? You can browse the entire chart here. Notably, Elvis Presley led with “Are You Lonesome To-night?,” with the Jordanaires.
Plus, Floyd Cramer ranked at No. 3 on the Dec. 26, 1960, Hot 100 with “Last Date.” The piano player (who passed in 1997) was an in-demand session musician in the ‘50s and ‘60s – and played on Lee’s new No. 1.
No. 1 on Holiday 100Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” concurrently hits No. 1 for the first time on the multi-metric Holiday 100 chart. Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” led for 43 consecutive weeks, dating to the start of the 2015-16 holiday season, and has dominated for 58 of the wintry summary’s 64 total frames since the chart began in 2011.
The only other Holiday 100 No. 1s to date: Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe,” for a week in the 2011-12 holiday season; Pentatonix’s “Little Drummer Boy” (one, 2013-14) and “Mary, Did You Know?” (two, 2014-15); and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (one, 2014-15).
More ‘Christmas’ in the top 10Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” rises 4-2 on the Hot 100, with across-the-board gains in streams (32.4 million, up 47%), airplay (21.5 million, up 38%) and sales (4,000, up 39%); it’s the chart’s second-greatest gainer in both streaming and airplay and earns the top Sales Gainer nod. With its 2019 coronation, Carey claimed her 19th Hot 100 No. 1, extending her mark for the most among soloists and moving to within one of The Beatles’ overall record 20. The single also reigns as the No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs retrospective.
Jack Harlow’s “Lovin On Me” dips to No. 3 on the Hot 100, a week after it became his third No. 1. It claims the chart’s top Airplay Gainer award (29.9 million, up 44%), while also increasing in streams (25.1 million, up 6%). It concurrently tops the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a third week each.
Next up among holiday songs on the Hot 100, Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” from 1957, gallops 12-4, one spot way from its best rank, with 27.6 million streams (up 55%) and 19.9 million in airplay audience (up 36%); Wham!’s “Last Christmas” jingles 13-5, led by 26.9 million streams (up 52%); and Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” dashes 16-6 (26.2 million, up 61%). The latter two tracks, from 1984 and 1964, respectively, have both hit No. 4 highs to date.
Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” falls 2-7 on the Hot 100, following four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in October.
Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” descends 3-8 on the Hot 100, after it led for three nonconsecutive weeks beginning in September – and becomes her first No. 1 on Radio Songs (65.8 million, down 1%).
SZA’s “Snooze” remains tucked in the Hot 100’s top 10, slipping 5-9, after reaching No. 2, as it leads the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart for an 18th week.
Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” originally released in 1963, leaps 28-10, with 20 million in radio reach (up 26%). The late singer now sports a record span of 64 years and two months from his first week in the top 10 with “Lonely Street” in October 1959 through his latest frame. (Excluding holiday fare, The Beatles broke the record for the longest top 10 span last month: 59 years, nine months and three weeks, from “I Want To Hold Your Hand” in 1964 to the debut of their newly-released single “Now and Then.”)
