'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' Singer Brenda Lee Shares Secret to 61-Year Marriage: 'It's Hard to Get Rid of Me'

Brenda Lee’s secret to a long-lasting marriage is her dedication to commitment.

During the December 17 episode Southern Living‘with Biscuits and jam podcast, the “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” singer joked about how she and her 61-year-old husband, Ronnie Shacklett, made their marriage work.

“I’m just me, and once I make a commitment, it’s hard to break free, and my husband will tell you that,” Lee, 80, said.

“I’m loyal to those who are loyal to me,” the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee continued, “and in this industry it’s hard because everybody’s so busy, and that’s normal, but they’re so busy just trying to survive what this business offers.”

Brenda Lee 2023

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Lee met Shacklett when she was 17, she said in the PBS episode american masters. The singer, who released her iconic Christmas song when she was just 13, went to see Jackie Wilson perform at the Nashville Fairgrounds Coliseum with her friend Rita Coolidge. While there, she noticed an “awfully beautiful guy.”

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Lee told her friend that she wanted to go introduce herself to him, but Coolidge told her not to.

The singer wrote a message to Shacklett in which she introduced herself and told him that although she would be traveling for three months, he should call her when she returned.

Brenda Lee and Ronnie Shacklett in 1964.

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Upon his return, Lee received an invitation to go on a date with Shacklett, who was over six feet tall. “I really liked that part,” she joked about his height, “and he had a Corvette, that pretty much sealed the deal.”

When she and Shacklett got engaged, Lee, who was supporting her family as a singer at the time, said she hid the engagement ring box for three months. After she gathered the courage to tell her mother about the proposal, Lee and Shacklett ran away.

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“Southern women in particular are very ‘rule-followers,'” Lee explained, “and I wasn’t and I upset her. I still regret it to this day.”

Brenda Lee and Ronnie Shacklett in 1990.

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Earlier in December, Lee told PEOPLE exclusively about her reaction to her classic song reaching one billion streams just days before she celebrated her 80th birthday.

“I was speechless when I heard,” she said. “I can’t even think that high, let alone say!”

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