Inside ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ singer Brenda Lee’s 62 year marriage to beloved husband

Brenda was raised in Atlanta by her parents Annie Grayce Yarbrough and Ruben Lindsey Tarpley. When she was not even a year old, Brenda began singing on the radio and won her first talent contest at five when she sang “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

She kept singing throughout her childhood until the untimely and tragic death of her father who fell off a scaffold while working construction. After he died, Brenda and her mom were left penniless. But, her magical voice helped save the family.

In 1957, when she was only 12 years old, Brenda was first asked to record “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Johnny Marks, the songwriter behind classics like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas.”

In a 2015 interview with The Tennessean, the singer recalled her initial reluctance to take on the track when she was still so early into her career, especially after Marks had told a friend that he expressly wanted Lee to sing it.

“I was only 12, and I had not had a lot of success in records, but for some reason he heard me and wanted me to do it. And I did,” she shared. And that decision changed Brenda’s life forever.

Four years after she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Brenda met Ronnie Shacklett when she was 18 years old in Nashville at the once iconic Fairgrounds Coliseum. The singer had gone to the venture with her friend, Rita Coolidge, to see Jackie Wilson perform.

As she explained in an episode of PBS’s American Masters: “[I looked over and saw this] drop dead gorgeous guy and [just had to meet him.” That guy turned out to be Ronnie.

But, instead of just introducing herself, Brenda wrote a note explaining she would be traveling to England for the next three months. She jotted down her number and said: “Call me.” During those months abroad, Brenda didn’t hear from Ronnie. But upon her return, the two set up a date and the rest was history.

Less than six months after meeting, Brenda and Ronnie tied the knot in April 1963 in a simple ceremony at a local church in Nashville. According to reporting from The Tennessean at the time, no one from Brenda’s family attended the wedding – leading to speculations that they did not approve of the lovebirds.

Her manager, Dub Allbritten, opened up to the outlet about their relationship, saying: “I don’t think the marriage will either help or hurt [Brenda’s] career. She is more or less established.”

Brenda retired in 2000, and not because she didn’t love the music industry, but as she told Variety in 2023: “I didn’t feel like there was a place for what I was doing.” She went on to explain she didn’t regret that decision of prioritizing her family.

And, luckily for Brenda, she had a reliable and supportive husband by her side. “I was one of the lucky ones that had a great husband that saved the money,” she told Variety. “He had his own business and what he told me was, one day he said, ‘Honey, I know you love to sing and you could do it as long as you want to, but if there’s ever a point you don’t, don’t worry about it.'”

Brenda’s retirement in 2000 didn’t mean her success ended. In 2023, 65 years after the song was released, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making Brenda the oldest ever artist to top the chart. 

Of the exciting moment, Brenda simply said: “You can’t keep a good song down.”

“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” generates millions annually in royalties and is estimated to have brought in nearly $4 million for Brenda and her label.