About The Song
“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is a rock-and-roll Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and first recorded by Brenda Lee for Decca Records in 1958. Lee cut the track at the age of 13 at Bradley Film and Recording Studio in Nashville, with producer Owen Bradley in charge. Issued as Decca single 9-30776 in November 1958, it initially made only a small impact, but a re-promotion in 1960—after Lee had broken through with pop hits like “I’m Sorry” and “Sweet Nothin’s”—turned it into a substantial seasonal success. The recording runs just over two minutes and is now regarded as one of the definitive rock ’n’ roll Christmas singles.
Johnny Marks was already well known for Christmas songs before writing “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” His catalogue included “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and he again drew on a mix of secular holiday imagery and contemporary popular style. For Brenda Lee’s session, Owen Bradley assembled top Nashville players: Grady Martin and Hank Garland on guitars, Floyd Cramer on piano, Boots Randolph on saxophone, and Bob Moore on bass, with a rhythm section and background vocals completing the arrangement. The record combines a shuffle feel, prominent sax lines and handclaps with Lee’s powerful, slightly raspy vocal, which sounded far older than her real age.
Lyrically, the song presents Christmas as a lively party rather than a quiet, nostalgic occasion. The narrator invites listeners to “rock around the Christmas tree,” mentions mistletoe, caroling, pumpkin pie and dancing in a “new old-fashioned way.” There is no storyline; instead, the text strings together short, vivid images of friends gathering, music playing and the holiday turning into a social event. This emphasis on teenage-style fun and dance matched the growing youth market of the late 1950s and helped distinguish the song from more traditional carols on radio playlists.
Commercially, the single’s success arrived slowly but has proved extremely long-lasting. After modest sales in 1958 and 1959, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” climbed into the U.S. pop Top 20 in 1960, eventually selling more than five million copies in its physical-single era. In later decades it became a recurrent holiday staple: with the launch of Billboard’s Holiday 100 and renewed catalog streaming, the song repeatedly returned to the charts. In December 2019 it reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and in the chart week dated December 9, 2023, it finally went to No. 1, making Brenda Lee—then 78 years old—the oldest artist ever to top that chart and setting a new longevity record between recording and first reaching No. 1.
The recording has also played a prominent role in film and television. It is famously used in the 1990 movie Home Alone, during the sequence where Kevin McCallister stages a fake house party to deter burglars, helping introduce the song to younger audiences in the 1990s and 2000s. It has appeared in numerous other films, TV specials and commercials, reinforcing its image as a soundtrack for energetic, slightly mischievous Christmas scenes. Holiday radio formats and streaming playlists routinely program it alongside other mid-century standards like “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Run Rudolph Run.”
From a career perspective, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has become one of Brenda Lee’s signature recordings. Although she scored many country and pop hits in the 1960s, this Christmas single has outlived its original chart life and now delivers major streaming and airplay numbers every December. The track has been certified multi-Platinum by the RIAA for combined sales and streams, and has been the subject of anniversary campaigns and new videos, including a 2023 official music video celebrating its 65th anniversary. For Johnny Marks, the song strengthened his reputation as perhaps the most successful specialist writer of Christmas material in American popular music.
Over time, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has been covered by a wide range of artists—among them Kim Wilde & Mel Smith, LeAnn Rimes, Justin Bieber, Kelly Clarkson and many others—but Brenda Lee’s 1958 Decca recording remains the definitive version. Its blend of rockabilly-tinged rhythm, Nashville session polish and a remarkably mature vocal from a teenage singer has helped it stay fresh across generations. Today it stands as one of the core songs in the modern Christmas canon, bridging rock ’n’ roll, country and pop traditions and returning to global charts every holiday season.
Video
Lyric
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree
At the Christmas party hop
Mistletoe hung where you can see
Every couple tries to stop
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree
Let the Christmas spirit ring
Later, we’ll have some pumpkin pie
And we’ll do some caroling
You will get a sentimental feelin’ when you hear
Voices singing “Let’s be jolly”
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree
Have a happy holiday
Everyone dancin’ merrily in the new old-fashioned way
You will get a sentimental feeling when you hear
Voices singing “Let’s be jolly”
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree
Have a happy holiday
Everyone dancin’ merrily in the new old-fashioned way