Little Miss Dynamite
Brenda Lee, born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1944, is one of those singers who seemed to have a voice far bigger than her size suggested. That’s how she earned the nickname Little Miss Dynamite.
Her powerhouse vocals and dynamic stage presence made her equally at home with Rockabilly, Pop and Country, making Brenda one of the most successful performers of her generation.
Her career took off while she was still a teenager. Sweet Nothin’s arrived in 1959, followed by the huge ballad I’m Sorry in 1960, which remains one of her signature songs.
But strangely, the song that would eventually become her biggest legacy was recorded even earlier.
The Sleeper Hit
In 1958, a 13-year-old Brenda Lee recorded Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. It didn’t do much at first.
In fact, the song spent decades slowly becoming a Christmas favourite rather than arriving as an instant smash. Its appearance in the 1990 film Home Alone helped give it a huge new lease of life, and what had once been a modest release gradually became one of the most recognisable Christmas songs ever recorded.
Then, in 2023—65 years after it was first released—something extraordinary happened. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree finally reached #1. Brenda Lee was 79 years old, making her the oldest artist to top the charts with a #1 hit. That’s quite a comeback for a song recorded by a 13-year-old.
And the tune has hardly slowed down since. By late 2024, it had accumulated more than a billion Spotify streams, while its continued appearance in films, adverts, playlists and Christmas radio has turned it into an annual event.
For a working musician, there’s an interesting lesson here. Tunes don’t always reveal their full potential immediately. It can disappear for years, only to find a completely new audience when the right film, artist, performance, advert, or cultural moment brings it back. A great example of this is Should I Stay Or Should I Go by The Clash which became big years after the band broke up thanks to a Levi’s ad.
Anyway, back to Brenda!
A Hitmaker in the ’60s
While Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree was waiting for its second life, Brenda Lee was busy becoming a major star.
Throughout the 1960s she produced hit after hit, including Fool #1 and Dum Dum in 1961, followed by Break It to Me Gently and All Alone Am I in 1962.
She was never afraid to interpret other people’s material. Her repertoire included songs such as Blueberry Hill and At Last, demonstrating the versatility that became one of her trademarks.
Between 1960 and 1969, Lee charted an astonishing 47 tunes on the Billboard Hot 100. Only a handful of artists, including Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and The Beatles, achieved comparable levels of chart activity during this period.
And here’s another reason Brenda Lee is interesting from a guitarist’s perspective. Her career wasn’t built around one particular style. Rockabilly, Pop, Country, Ballads and Standards could all sit comfortably alongside each other.
From Rockabilly to Country
Brenda Lee’s ability to move between styles also helped her maintain a career long after the first wave of her pop success.
She became an important figure in Country music as well as Pop and Rock ‘n’ Roll, eventually being inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
Her influence has also reached generations of artists who came long after her, including Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift.
But if you ask most people to name one Brenda Lee song today, there’s a good chance they’ll choose the one she recorded at just 13 years old. That’s the funny thing about musical legacies. A career can contain decades of hit records, countless performances and an enormous catalogue, yet sometimes one song takes on a life of its own.
Every December, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree comes back around. And there she is again—Little Miss Dynamite.
Brenda Lee Tunes | Related Pages
At Last | Chords + TAB
You can learn At Last by Etta James using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| F | Dm7 | Gm7 | C7 | F | Dm7 |
At last, my love has come along…
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree | Chords + TAB
You can learn Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| Ab | Ab | Eb7 | Eb7 |
Rockin’ around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop…
Brenda Lee on the web
