Brenda Lee shares the story behind her holiday hit Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

This year, Brenda Lee’s massive hit Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree turns 65.

Just in time for the holidays, she joined Q‘s Tom Power to tell us what she remembers about recording the song in 1958, and exactly how it came about in the first place.

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree was written by American songwriter.Johnny Marks, who specialized in Christmas songs, and previously penned Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Holly Jolly Christmas. What you may be surprised to learn is that Lee was only 13 when she recorded the track.

“It was brought to me by Owen Bradley, who was my producer, and by the writer, Johnny Marks,” Lee told Power. “Owen just thought it’d be great to do a Christmas song that was really, really good. He really believed in that one and I loved it.

“I had to like what I recorded. I wasn’t one of those artists that the producer would say, ‘Well, I think this is good for you. We’re going to do this.’ I had to like it or I couldn’t sing it.”

But Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree wasn’t a hit right away. “It certainly wasn’t what it became,” said Lee. “It didn’t right off the bat go up the charts.”

WATCH | Official video for Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree:

Thirty-two years after its release, the song experienced a huge bump in popularity thanks to its use in the 1990 film Home Alone.

“I got a phone call and they said, ‘Brenda, have you seen the movie Home Alone?’ And I said, ‘I have not.’ And they said, ‘Well, you need to go see it. Your song is all over it.’ And that’s really where Rockin’ got a big, big boost.

“I didn’t know if the song made $1, $5, $10. I didn’t know. I was just doing what I love to do. And that was to sing.”

The full interview with Brenda Lee is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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Interview with Brenda Lee produced by Vanessa Nigro.