Hot 100: Brenda Lee’s ‘Rockin Around the Christmas Tree’ Blocks Mariah Carey / Hits No.1 Over 65 Years After Its Debut

Published: Monday 4th Dec 2023 by Rashad

After years of rocking around the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, Brenda Lee‘s timeless holiday classic – ‘Rockin Around the Christmas Tree‘ – has finally rocked all the way to the chart’s summit.

Details inside.

Released November 1958, Lee’s ‘Rockin’ is an all-time favorite among Christmas songs.

Although it peaked at #14 on the Hot 100 in the 60’s, the Johnny Marks-penned tune didn’t reach its highest chart prominence until Billboard changed the rules for allowing resurgent holiday songs to appear annually.

Since then, Brenda’s rocked into the top 5 on multiple occasions – usually blocked from the Pop poll’s pinnacle by Mariah Carey‘s ‘All I Want for Christmas.’

That changed this week thanks to a recently released music video and streaming campaign from music lovers. Here are the numbers that powered Lee’s leap to #1 for the first time with ‘Rockin.’

Radio airplay: 20.7 million audience impressions
Streaming: 34.9 million U.S.-based streams
Sales: 3,000 digital downloads

Already one of the most successful female singers of all time (over 100 million records sold worldwide), Brenda can now boast having three Hot 100 toppers over her storied career: ‘Rockin’ and previous #1s ‘I Want to Be Wanted’ and ‘I’m Sorry.’

The history-making hop also makes Brenda, at 78-years-young, the oldest occupant of the Hot 100’s top spot.

“Lee’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,” Billboard reports.

Keep it locked to That Grape Juice for more noteworthy chart stories as they roll out this week.

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  1. Hmm December 4, 2023

    I’m so tired of hearing Mariah’s “all I want for Christmas” that I practically hate it now.

    • yup! December 4, 2023

      You and me both!

    • HELLOKITTY December 4, 2023

      @Hmmm – Me too!

    • Brenda Lee Stan December 4, 2023

      Same!! It’s insufferable now

      • Cory December 5, 2023

        I have to agree. It’s owned the holiday season for the last few years, maybe even decades. It’s so painful to listen to at this point. Mariah needs to take a break for a year from doing the holiday thing. We’re all so tired of it.

        It was refreshing to finally see Brenda Lee promoting her song for the first time since it was released. I think that’s what helped the song.

  2. Congrats to the record execs December 4, 2023

    Straight chart manipulation.

    • Jay December 4, 2023

      I believe it!

  3. Biden December 4, 2023

    White Girl Magic!

  4. Yo December 4, 2023

    Taylor swift has 5 albums in the top 10! And badk to number 1!!

    • Claude Remains December 4, 2023

      And yet That Grape Juice won´t report on it because it overshadows Beyonce!!!!

    • Messy Bardi Gangsta December 4, 2023

      Congrats 🍘

  5. CharlIsAngelz December 4, 2023

    She filmed a new visual / music video for it! Glad her label invested well this year & it paid off!

  6. Section8DaGreat December 5, 2023

    The Jews said oh HELL NO! We gotta snatch Christmas for the white folks 😂😂😂

  7. Bill December 5, 2023

    Thank God. I’m so tired of hearing AIWFCIY. There are much better Christmas songs, especially from the Motown era. Still love Mariah though.

  8. HBF82 December 6, 2023

    Only because Mariah’s song was taken off the Spotify playlists for days. Pure chart manipulation. Congratulations on nothing

  9. JT December 7, 2023

    Good for her. Mariah’s song can’t be #1 every Christmas for the rest of eternity, and even Mariah knows that. That said, I don’t think this is the year AIWFC doesn’t make #1. I’d bet the rent MC b**** slaps Brenda down to #2 next week.

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