You can hear Christmas music wherever you go at this time of year – but there’s one strange fact some people are only just learning about a classic festive hit
There’s no better way to get into the Christmas spirit than by listening to some festive music. Christmas songs can often divide opinion, with some waiting for the day it’s acceptable to blast All I Want For Christmas Is You while they’re doing the washing up, and others dreading going into shops throughout December for fear of hearing Christmas music.
No matter your stance on holiday songs, it can’t be denied that there are some absolute classics out there. Most of us still know the words to White Christmas despite it being released 83 years ago, and The Christmas Song is a timeless track that Nat King Cole released in 1945.
But people on social media are only just realising one strange fact about a Christmas classic that has been included on compilation albums and played on the radio for decades, as it came out in 1958.
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree was recorded 67 years ago, but despite being a huge part of the Christmas season for over six decades, some people are only just figuring out who the song was actually sung by.
The track was written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee, but what some people on Instagram are only just discovering is that Brenda was just 13 years old when she lent her voice to the track – even though she sounds much older.
In a video shared by Rory Eliza, she filmed herself looking shocked while the song plays in the background, and wrote: “I was today years old when I learned this is a 13-year-old and not a 60-year-old woman singing.”
Commenters on the video were also left baffled, as many said Brenda’s mature voice led them to believe the song was sung by someone much older than Brenda actually was when she recorded the track.
One person said: “WHAT!!!??? I always thought she was like 40-50 or something.”
Another added: “I beg your finest pardon???”
A third wrote: “Why would you tell me this?? What have I ever done to you???”
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree was released in 1958 in the US, but didn’t make it over to the UK until 1962. By the song’s 50th anniversary in 2008, Brenda’s original version had sold over 15 million copies around the world, and had the 4th most digital downloads of any Christmas single.
Brenda re-recorded the song in 1991, and many people believe the confusion over her voice comes from people hearing the newer version, which was recorded when Brenda was in her 40s, and believing it to be the original.
However, while there are some slight differences between Brenda’s voice from the original and her voice in the re-recording, many people have also pointed out that the original is still very husky and deep for a 13-year-old girl – though maybe not as mature as the re-recorded version makes it seem.
The track got a music video in 2023, which featured the 78-year-old Brenda lip-synching to the original recording of her 13-year-old voice at a party that included famous faces such as Trisha Yearwood and fellow former teenage country music star, Tanya Tucker.
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2023, making Brenda the oldest artist ever to top the charts at 78. One week later, she broke the record again as she had celebrated her 79th birthday. In the UK, the song peaked at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
