It's official: "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee has gone to No. 1...65 years after it was released.
On Monday, Billboard announced the Hot 100 (dated Dec. 9), and Brenda's 1958 holiday classic was rockin' atop the list. She was joined by several other seasonal favorites in the Top 10, including Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and Bobby Helms's "Jingle Bell Rock." You can check out the full list below:
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" joins an impressive list of songs that reached their greatest success, at least on the charts, well after their initial release.
In fact, some of these late-blooming hits have become signature tracks by some of the biggest singers. So here are 11 songs, including "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," that soared later than you might think:
1. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee
Initial release: 1958. Went to No. 1: 2023.
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Why it had a resurgence: Though the song has long been a holiday hit, Brenda released a music video and promoted the song this year in honor of its 65th anniversary.
2. "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift
Initial release: 2019. Went to No. 1: 2023.
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Why it had a resurgence: Taylor released the track as a single for the first time in June while on her Eras Tour, where she performed the song. "We just wanted to say thank you so much for making 'Cruel Summer' a Hot 100 No. 1, and it's not even the summer anymore. It's deep fall. I'm wearing a sweater. We love you guys," Taylor said in an Instagram video with Jack Antonoff, who cowrote and coproduced the song.
3. "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush
Initial release: 1985. Went to No. 3: 2022.
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Why it had a resurgence: The song had a major appearance in Season 4 of Stranger Things. "It’s been a crazy roller coaster year for me. I still reel from the success of RUTH, being the No 1 track of this summer. What an honour! It was really exciting to see it doing so well globally, but especially here in the UK and Australia; and also to see it making it all the way to No 3 in the US. It was such a great feeling to see so many of the younger generation enjoying the song. It seems that quite a lot of them thought I was a new artist! I love that!" Kate wrote on her website at the end of 2022. "Again, thank you so much to everyone who supported the track and made it a hit."
4. "Heat Waves" by Glass Animals
Initial release: 2020. Went to No. 1: 2022.
![Why it had a resurgence: "Heat Waves" was more of a sleeper hit, having first been released during the coronavirus pandemic before a long climb to the top of the charts, thanks in part to going viral on TikTok. "woke up on the tour bus this morning to ed [Irwin-Singer] in his little underpants running up and down shouting that heat waves is the Billboard Hot 100 #1 record. Absolutely can’t believe it. I’ve said it before, and will say it again, but i am incredibly thankful to everyone who supported us and believed in this song and this album," the band wrote on Instagram in 2022 after the song went to No. 1.](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mRD0-GxqHVo/mqdefault.jpg)
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Why it had a resurgence: "Heat Waves" was more of a sleeper hit, having first been released during the coronavirus pandemic before a long climb to the top of the charts, thanks in part to going viral on TikTok. "woke up on the tour bus this morning to ed [Irwin-Singer] in his little underpants running up and down shouting that heat waves is the Billboard Hot 100 #1 record. Absolutely can’t believe it. I’ve said it before, and will say it again, but i am incredibly thankful to everyone who supported us and believed in this song and this album," the band wrote on Instagram in 2022 after the song went to No. 1.
5. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" by Burl Ives
Initial release: 1964. Went to No. 4: 2020.
6. "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey
Initial release: 1994. Went to No. 1: 2019.
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Why it had a resurgence: Since its release in 1994, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has maintained a presence during the annual holiday season and is arguably the premier example of a holiday hit that can't stop soaring. "Never have I ever dreamt this would become my 19th #1 song. I'm so grateful to everyone who supported this song and especially my amazing fans ❤️ thank you for 'making my wish come true' early! 🙏🎄🎁," Mariah wrote on Instagram in 2019 after the song went to No. 1.
7. "Truth Hurts" by Lizzo
Initial release: 2017. Went to No. 1: 2019.
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Why it had a resurgence: Lizzo's career was taking off in 2019, with "Truth Hurts" having a notable appearance in the film Someone Great, even though the song came out two years prior. "WE’RE NUMBER 1. THIS IS A W FOR ALL OF US. ANYBODY WHO EVER FELT LIKE THEY VOICE WASN’T HEARD. ANYBODY WHO FELT LIKE THEY WEREN’T GOOD ENOUGH. YOU ARE. WE ARE. CHAMPIONS. I LOVE YALL 3 MUCH. LIZZBIANS UNITE," she tweeted after the song went to No. 1 in 2019.
8. "Lights" by Ellie Goulding
Initial release: 2010. Went to No. 2: 2012.
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Why it had a resurgence: "Lights" is another example of an extended sleeper hit. The track first appeared on Ellie's debut album of the same name in 2010 but found its biggest charting success in the US in 2012...just as Ellie was gearing up to release her second album, Halcyon, which dropped later that year. “To have a hit song in the US is extremely difficult for a British artist,” she told Billboard in 2012 about the success of "Lights." “I think it’s kind of a triumph. I have to feel that in a positive way. I’m just hoping that it will kind of die down a bit so I can introduce my next song, my next adventure.”
9. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by the Proclaimers
Initial release: 1988. Went to No. 3: 1993.
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Why it had a resurgence: The song was notably featured in the 1993 movie Benny & Joon. "When the song came out in America in 1989, we did okay on the college charts, but there was no action on the main chart,” band member Charlie Reid told Entertainment Weekly in 1993 before the song went to No. 3 later that year. He said of the song's appearance on the soundtrack, which hadn't come out yet, "Hopefully when that comes out, people will remember us.”
10. "Red Red Wine" by UB40 (a Cover of Neil Diamond's 1967 Song)
Initial release: 1983. Went to No. 1: 1988.
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Why it had a resurgence: In 2018, Billboard credited the group's 1988 performance on a TV special for Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday, along with an Arizona DJ playing the song on a nationally syndicated radio show, with the song's success, although it was released in 1983. “It’s just one of life’s mysteries,” the late band member Terence "Astro" Wilson told Billboard in 2018. “If that DJ hadn’t chosen to include it in his playlist, we might not even be having this discussion. You can never know when you’re going to have a number one. It’s the public who decides what’s a hit. No matter how clever it’s written on paper, if the public don’t buy it, it’s a flop.”
11. "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong
Initial release: 1967. Went to No. 32: 1988.
