66 years later, song she recorded as a teen remains a perennial holiday favourite
Her memories of recording “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” are a little hazy. She remembers the producer placing decorations around the studio and blasting the air conditioner on a warm Nashville day to create a holiday spirit. The musicians, she recalls, nailed it in a couple of takes.
“Rockin’” eclipsed Mariah Carey’s perennial favorite “All I Want for Christmas is You” last December to top the Billboard music chart and make Lee, at age 78, the oldest woman to achieve that feat. A week later, following a birthday, she beat her own mark. Kendrick Lamar likely stands in her way of doing it again this year.
The song manages the neat trick of sounding retro yet not dated. Sweet guitar licks snake around Lee’s voice in the original recording. Boots Randolph’s saxophone solo drives it home. The party flies by quickly, the song over in two minutes, six seconds. The style is more rockabilly than traditional rock or country, and Sloan believes that has much to do with why it continues to sound fresh.
Her record company continues to push the song, recording a video in 2023 that included guest appearances by Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood. This year it has released “Noche Buena Y Navidad,” a Spanish-language version using artificial intelligence to create a vocal derived from Lee’s voice.Universal Music is holding a party for her in Nashville to celebrate her 80th birthday on Wednesday. “She’s just a force and a character,” said Cindy Mabe, the company’s chairwoman and CEO.
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