August 5, 2024
European Artists

Nashville’s Brenda Lee on Christmas album, country music, legacy


Brenda Lee has rocked around Christmas trees for 64 years.

However, that scratches the surface of why the famously under 5-foot-tall, 78-year-old legend is a Country Music and Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer responsible for selling over 100 million records worldwide.

She’s a prodigal pop talent whose ability to seamlessly weave gospel and jazz stylings into country, rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll allowed the genres to become global juggernauts within a five-year swing from 1958 to 1963.

During that time, Lee released three top-10 albums and 19 top-10 singles, including “I’m Sorry,” “I Want To Be Wanted,” “All Alone Am I” and “Losing You.”

She’s seated in her West Nashville home and giddily discussing pairing with Tanya Tucker, Trisha Yearwood and, yes, a guest appearance by Santa Claus himself for a music video for her six-decade-old classic.

Brenda Lee sits in front of a wall covered with her gold records at her home in Nashville.

Via the magic of streaming, “Rockin'” is now nearly a triple-diamond-selling single.

For the last five years, it has created a holiday season stronghold with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

Because of this unprecedented acclaim, there’s reason to observe her career as a study of successful concepts and ideas with timeless industry permanence.

‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’

“Rockin'” was written by Johnny Marks, a Jewish songwriter with a particular affinity for writing seasonal holiday pop songs. He’s so closely tied with Christmas that he even owns the trademark on the character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Between 1949 and 1960, his work yielded not just Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” but also “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” for Gene Autry, “A Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Silver and Gold” by Burl Ives, plus “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” for Bing Crosby.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *