Brenda Lee 's Christmas Number 1

It's only taken 65 years but Brenda Lee has reached the US number one spot at last with her seasonal offering 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree'. Recorded in 1958 when she was just 13 and known as 'Little Miss Dynamite', the song makes an annual appearance in the Christmas music charts, alongside other dirges - sorry songs - by the likes of Mariah Carey, Wham, Bing Crosby, Shakin' Stevens and the Pogues. But it's only now that Brenda's contribution to Christmas has made it to the top spot - and it's rising in the UK charts as well. Christmas songs are mostly pretty awful (although those on the Phil Spector Christmas album are an exception) but Brenda's teenage ditty is one of the better ones. A huge star in the sixties, Brenda is all but forgotten these days, apart from at Christmas, and her many LPs fetch very small sums. But I have a soft spot for her run of hits. 'Sweet Nuthin's' was the first number one in my personal top ten chart in March, 1960, and she went on to have another 12 entries in my top ten, including 'Let's Jump The Broomstick', 'Dum Dum, 'Fool Number One' and 'Here Comes That Feeling'. Her Christmas offering got to number eight in my top ten when it was released as a single in the UK in 1962. Like many US artists, including fellow female star Connie Francis, she went out of fashion as the sixties progressed and her hits dried up, although she still had a strong following and a successful career as a middle of the road cabaret favourite. It was good to see her when she performed at Viva Las Vegas in 2017, although her act was a long way removed from the rock and roll that dominates the festival. My take on her performance was: 'Still little, but looking more like a granny, she mostly does cabaret shows these days and it showed. There was too much chat and attempts at audience requests that the band didn't know, with some good old US patriotism thrown in. She had a go at 'Sweet Nothin's' and 'Dum Dum', but her quavery voice struggled somewhat on ballads such as 'Losing You', 'Fool Number 1', 'As Usual' and 'All Alone Am I'. 'Let's Jump The Broomstick' wasn't too bad, as was the unseasonal 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree,' but, great though it was to see a legend who I hadn't seen since 1963 when she toured the UK with Chris Montez and the Beatles bottom of the bill, this was a disappointing set.' Despite that. it's good to know that at the age of 78 her career continues to thrive - at Christmas time anyway. Photo above shows Brenda at Viva Las Vegas while the bottom one is of Alan Lloyd, John Howard and myself at the festival on that day. The three of us have plans for further music trips in 2024 so watch this space.