Rockin' watch: Follow along as Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' storms the charts

Matthew Leimkuehler, Nashville Tennessean
·1 min read
1

It's "Rockin'" season, Nashville.

In a holiday tradition as trusted as Santa Claus sliding down the chimney, Brenda Lee's classic tune "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" began last month its annual ascent up the Billboard charts. The time-tested sing-along dominates seasonal streaming playlists and takes hold of radio airwaves each December — climbing the Billboard Hot 100, typically alongside Mariah Carey's perennial hit "All I Want For Christmas Is You."

For three years running, "Rockin'" peaked at No. 2 on the taste-making chart otherwise ruled by Taylor Swift, Drake and Harry Styles. This year, "Rockin'" surpassed 600 million streams on Spotify.

Not too shabby for a 64-year-old song cut by Nashville's beloved "Little Miss Dynamite."

"I'm proud. I'm overwhelmed. I'm grateful," Lee said last year when discussing the legacy of "Rockin'" with The Tennessean. "All the adjectives that you could put with that. I always thought 'I'm Sorry' would be my signature song. And it's one of 'em. But it's 'Rockin'.' Whenever anybody thinks of Brenda Lee now, it's 'Rockin'."

For subscribers:Catching up with Brenda Lee, Nashville's rockin' Christmas royalty

Will "Rockin'" reach No. 1 this year? Stay glued to this story throughout December as the Tennessean — with help from Luminate, the media consumption formerly known as Nielsen-Soundscan — tracks the uphill progress of "Rockin'" on streaming services, radio stations and the Billboard charts.

Rockin' watch: The Brenda Lee Rockin'-o-Meter

Billboard Hot 100 progress

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Track Brenda Lee's 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' on the charts