Brenda Lee is giving a makeover to her classic hit, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” with a little help from her friends Trisha Yearwood and Tanya Tucker. In honor of the song’s 65th anniversary, Lee has released a music video for it for the first time.
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The video casts the 78-year-old as a spunky singer set against a beautiful vintage Christmas set. Clips of Lee singing the holiday classic are spliced between shots of Lee baking cookies with Yearwood (who hosts her own cooking show Trisha’s Southern Kitchen on the Food Network), along with a family gathering around the table for Christmas dinner. Soon, Tucker shows up for the fun, dancing with the family around the tree.
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“For those out there who know me and have supported me and my music through the years, I’m very proud to be putting out the first ever music video for ‘Rockin,'” Lee says in a press statement. “This song has been so special to me–I never thought it would be my signature song, but I love that it is because it brings so much joy.”
Lee recorded “Rockin,'” which was written by Johnny Marks and produced by Owen Bradley, when she was 13 years old. The song was not an immediate success upon its release on November 24, 1958. However, as Lee’s popularity grew, so did the songs. It reached No. 14 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 in 1960 and No. 3 on Billboard‘s Christmas Singles chart in 1965. The song’s success has only continued to elevate with time, as it’s reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 every year since 2019.
Accompanying the music video is a new five-song EP, A Rockin’ Christmas with Brenda Lee, that features her signature track along with covers of other holiday classics “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” “A Marshmallow World,” and ends with a reimagination of “Rockin.'”
Lee will perform “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” as part of the Christmas at the Opry special airing on December 7 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Photo Credit: Alexa King Stone / Courtesy of UMG Nashville
