With Christmas coming up, Americans are celebrating as best they can, considering most folks have less money under Joe Biden to spend on decorations, travel, holiday meals, and gifts for loved ones. Of course, even Joe Biden can’t stop America from celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. The holiday season is an opportunity for people to reconnect with distant loved ones, take some time off work, and try to forget about the harsh realities of everyday life in 2023.
A major part of the holidays is the music, movies, and television celebrating the season. Most of us grew up with Christmas favorites like Rudolph, Frosty, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. Classic films like A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf, and others are still must-watch programming for many families. As for music, many radio stations across America commenced with their round-the-clock format of Christmas music starting Thanksgiving weekend.
A quick listen to any of these stations and one will realize that the majority of what is being played is mostly standards and classics. It is not uncommon to hear Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como, and other legendary crooners from a long-gone generation. There isn’t much in the way of new, creative Christmas television and movies, and music is essentially devoid of any new ideas when it comes to holiday fare. Perhaps that explains what happened on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week.
On Monday, a song from 1958 hit No. 1 on the charts in an unexpected and unprecedented move. The song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” reached the top spot 65 years after its initial release. Before the moon landing, JFK, Watergate, Vietnam, and more, Brenda Lee recorded the Christmas classic, starting a career that culminated with it being her third No. 1 hit, albeit in 2023. Lee was just 13 when she recorded the iconic song, and now, at 78 becomes the oldest woman to top the Hot 100, surpassing Mariah Carey, 53, for her Christmas song, “All I Want for Christmas is You.”
The “I’m Sorry” songstress, who released a music video for the song and a new EP of Christmas classics called A Rockin’ Christmas with Brenda Lee last month, talked about the No. 1 65 years in the making. She said: “I cannot believe that ‘Rockin’’ has hit No. 1 65 years after it was released, this is just so special! Thank you to the team at UMG/UMe who worked so hard to celebrate the song’s anniversary this year. But most importantly, thank you to the fans who keep listening.”
It is a feat that will likely never be duplicated, as the song has resonated with numerous generations and remains beloved. Lee continued: “The song came out when I was a young teenager and now to know that it has resonated with multiple generations and continues to resonate — it is one of the best gifts I have ever received. Keep on Rockin’ and Merry Christmas!”
It is normal to be nostalgic at Christmas. Folks like to remember lost loved ones and the simple joy of Christmas time before life became messy and complicated. Looking back on our past helps us deal with our present, and our present under Joe Biden is the gift that keeps on giving. Unfortunately, it isn’t a membership to a jelly club rather it is high inflation, global insecurity, and social unrest. Perhaps embracing songs from a better time, like the Brenda Lee classic, can help distract Americans, at least through the end of the holiday season.
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