Rockin’ past, present, and future

NPR’s Scott Detrow spoke with Brenda Lee about “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” now the number-one song at the Billboard Hot 100: “65 Years After Release, a Rockin’ Christmas Classic Hits Number One.”

I like the way Brenda Lee gives props to the song’s composer Johnny Marks, the instrumentalists, and the Anita Kerr Singers. As Elaine likes to point out, the name on a record is not the only person responsible for that record. Astonishing fact: Lee was only thirteen when she recorded the song in 1958. Semi-astonishing fact: there’s a new video for the song.

In 2009, our fambly did an impromptu version of the song while playing holiday music for people in a memory-care residence: soprano ukulele, viola, slap-cello, and two voices. We rocked. But alas, no recording.

Elaine calls “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” the most persistent holiday earworm of all. In 2023, we have a granddaughter who calls the song “Walkin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” But soon enough, our granddaughter, too, will rock.