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“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” a single she recorded when she was 13, is making chart history 65 years after its debut.

hours of TV performances

Brenda Lee debuted at the age of 5 and signed with a record label at the age of 12 to record the song “Dynamite” before earning the title of “Little Miss Dynamite” in 1957; It also made her one of the first pop stars to have an international reach. BTS’ 2020 debut English-language single also bears its name. When Brenda Lee was 13 years old, she sang “Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas Tree”, an enduring Christmas song. Her performances span rock, pop, country, and gospel music. Assist News reports that she didn’t have much success in the United States in the late ’50s and early ’60s, so she moved to England and met the fledgling Beatles. When she toured West Germany, she also invited them to be the opening guests and introduced them to the record label they gave her. Dolly Parton was also promoted to the music industry by her.

The movie “Little Ghost Becomes Home” once again hyped up the famous song of the Red Christmas

The 90s Christmas movie “Home Alone” repeatedly played her famous song in the film, making it popular again at the time, but it wasn’t until Billboard changed the weighting calculation method in 2012 that songs that had already entered the charts in the past could still be counted as long as they were heavily streamed on music streaming platforms, which made Mariah Carey’s Christmas song “You Are My Most Wanted Christmas Present”, and finally rushed to the top of the charts 25 years after its release, and also allowed Grandma Brenda’s competing songs to follow closely.

The single “Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas Tree” sold only 5,000 copies in its first year.

For the first time this year, Universal Music funded the music video for “Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas Tree,” using recordings of Brenda when she was 13 years old, to commemorate the song’s 65th anniversary. Even persuaded the grandmother, who retired 23 years ago (2000), to participate in a special music program on the TV station, and the social media platform TikTok also vigorously promoted the song, and sure enough, this publicity worked.

He started singing at the age of 5, started raising a family at the age of 10, and danced with Elvis Presley at the age of 13

Brenda Mae Tarpley, whose real name is Brenda Mae Tarpley, was born on December 11, 1944, in Lithonia, GA. My childhood impression is that my parents have been looking for jobs and sleeping in the same bed with my older brother and sister. Because of her family’s poverty, her mother and sister often took her to a local candy store before she was 3 years old, and put her on the counter so that she could earn candy or coins by singing.

At the age of 5, Brenda Lee won a talent show at school, which led her to sing on local radio and television. Because her family could not afford a record player or radio, only the church allowed her to hear music, and she grew up in a Baptist church and immersed herself in gospel music. Her father died in a construction accident at the age of 8, and she became the breadwinner of the family from the age of 10, and at the age of 13, she met and danced with Elvis Presley at a concert. “At the time, all the churches said Elvis was the devil and burned his records, but I didn’t think so. The two became friends until Elvis died.

At just 145 centimeters tall, Brenda says she has many colleagues who have worked with her since she was 10 years old and later joined the younger ones, all of whom have worked very hard, and that she has a very die-hard fan base that has been with her since she first started singing. Now that “Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas Tree” has won the award, she is happier for her fans than for herself, “Good songs don’t get out!” she said.

Regarding overcoming the “Mariah Carey barrier” and becoming the new Queen of Christmas, she said that she just wants to be a musician, she wants to have good songs, sing well, and if others take the first place, it is good for her, and she knows how to appreciate others.

“God has been kind to me and has prevented me from going the wrong way”

When asked if she has ever had a hard time as a religious woman in her career, and how she was able to stay in the industry for so long and be clean and self-loving after many of her show business friends died of drug overdoses? I’d be lying if I said I had never been exposed to or ever been tempted. But because God has been kind to me, He has given me enough wisdom to know which roads to take and which not to take, and I have known this for a long time. I was vulnerable in the early years, and I was very well isolated and protected during those years when I could have been in trouble, and I was surrounded by a lot of wonderful people who cared about me. When I’m older, those temptations won’t interest me anymore!”

“I always pray before concerts – I’m lucky to be energetic, fit and love to work,” she added. In fact, what I do on stage doesn’t count as work for me, it’s a blessing for me to be able to sing, and I’m grateful to the fans, they treat me so well. 」

In addition to production, work 11 months per year

From the 50s to the 70s of the 20th century, in addition to production, Brenda spent 11 months a year, either working or on the way to the studio. She was called “legendary” 16 years ago, when she modestly told the American evangelical magazine Christianity Today, “I don’t think it’s possible because I don’t see myself that way! I’m just a woman who is lucky enough to do what I want to do.” Many people shed a lot of tears and put in their life’s work for me to make my dream come true. So, if I’m a legend, then they’re also a legend, and they’re a part of it. 」

Brenda never worried that she would get out of luck. “It’s only natural that the popularity has dropped,” she said. We open the door to music for other singers, and then they become famous, and we grow old. You can’t maintain that scorching reputation forever, and I’ve always been there because of my fans. All I care about is the work on stage, I don’t care about anything else!”

“I retired not because I didn’t like the industry, but because I loved – you know what? I ran well and I won all the awards,” she said. Brenda Lee said that she later learned that there was a personal life outside of showbiz! In the past, she never recognized this properly, so she decided to slow down and have fun with her children and grandchildren. She used to be busy working every weekend, so she slowed down and chose to smell the roses.

Brenda met Ronnie Shacklett at a concert when she was 18 years old, and the two got married less than half a year later, they have two daughters, two granddaughters, and one grandson after 60 years of holding hands. As of 2023, her net worth is estimated to be about $20 million.