Blogocentric Formulations

Voices singing let's be jolly

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"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
by Chicago

                   

I know Brenda Lee's original is a classic, but this is one of those upbeat holiday songs that I really enjoy listening to cover versions of because everyone likes to lend their own little twist to it. Over the years, this song has been covered by Bill Haley & His Comets, The Partridge Family, Alvin & The Chipmunks with Patti Loveless, Hanson, Cyndi Lauper, Alabama, Green Day, Jessica Simpson with Rosie O'Donnell, LeAnn Rimes, no fewer than three Disney Channel and/or Nickelodeon child stars, and my other two personal favorites (beyond Brenda Lee's original): {xlink:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLP5806ZpUUthis one by Darlene Love and Ronnie Spector (the latter is famous as the backup vocals in the Eddie Money classic "Take Me Home Tonight"), and the one from {xlink:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gCd23Jrc0M}She & Him (actress Zooey Deschanel's duo).

Surprising given the maturity of her voice, the original was actually recorded by Brenda Lee when she was only thirteen. An instrumental version of the song appeared in the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special from 1964, and it was also featured prominently during a scene in the 90's hit holiday film, Home Alone. According to a December 2011 Nielsen SoundScan estimate, the original (not including all the covers) is the fourth all-time best-selling Christmas holiday single in history, owing largely to the fact that even with so many covers, Brenda Lee's version is still prominently played on radio stations and listed on musical charts each year.

The video version of this song also features cameos from Joe Mantegna and Kyle Mooney. Although you only see Joe briefly at the beginning of the video linked below, there's actually a much longer video production of the song with a lead-in that I didn't link because I wanted to get right to the sweet, sweet sounds of aging musicians rocking out.