She sang the Christmas hit from “Kevin” when she was 13. Her voice sounds as if she were three decades older

There are some without which it is difficult to imagine preparations for Christmas. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” performed by Brenda Lee is undoubtedly one of them and has been one of the top Christmas hits for years. The story behind this song is much more fascinating than many might think.

This song was written over 30 years before “Kevin”. Who is responsible for the success of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”?

, whose lyrics and melody were created by Johnny Marks, the creator of such hits as “A Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, was released in 1958, but, importantly, it did not immediately win the hearts of listeners. The popularity of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” came gradually, and the breakthrough was the film, which premiered over three decades later. It was thanks to the party arranged by the youngest son of the McCallisters, during which cardboard guests danced to its rhythm, that it became a sensation on the charts and quickly reached the top. This, in turn, meant that by 2008 alone, it had sold over 25 million copies, becoming a Christmas hit. The phenomenon is not only its success, but also the history of its creation, which still few people know about.

Brenda Lee was only 13 years old. Few people believe it

It turns out that initially Marx did not know who to entrust with the performance of this piece. As fate would have it, he happened to hear one of the performances of the upcoming music star, Brenda Lee. He immediately liked her husky voice and thought it would create a great contrast to the rhythmic rockabilly melody. Even though the artist had only a few songs to her credit at the time, she did not hesitate for a moment and accepted the cooperation, which, as it later turned out, brought her enormous fame and recognition.

Still, until recently, few knew that at the time “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was written, Lee was not a mature woman, but a teenager. – I didn’t have much recording success, but for some reason he heard me and wanted me to do it. And I did it – some time ago I collaborated with Marks in “The Tennessean”. This fact would probably still remain a mystery to many, if it were not for the fact that only in 2023 did the singer decide to crown the song with a music video. This, in turn, quickly became a sensation among Internet users.