NASHVILLE — Somehow the state of Tennessee has muddled through 227 years without an official Christmas song. State Rep. Jason Powell says that’s long enough.
The Nashville Democrat has filed legislation to bestow that designation upon music legend Brenda Lee’s 1958 smash hit “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
“Brenda Lee is a music icon and a true Tennessee treasure,” Powell said in a news release. “Brenda Lee’s ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ has spread holiday joy throughout the world for decades, and we are proud her No. 1 song was made in Nashville.”
Lee, the first woman inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame, was 13 when she recorded the Christmas classic. The song was written by Johnny Marks and recorded at the original Quonset hut studio on Nashville’s famed Music Row.
The song has endured the test of time as evidenced by recently topping the Billboard Hot 100 for the very first time, 65 years after its initial release. It’s the longest span between a record release and climbing to No. 1, Powell said. Lee, now 78, is also now the oldest person ever to hit No. 1 on the chart, according to Powell.