One of the biggest pop stars of the early '60s, Brenda Lee made few recordings of note after the mid-'60s, the best of her first decade is fine indeed, encompassing not just the pop ballads that were her biggest hits, but straight country and some surprisingly fierce rockabilly
Brenda Lee was a child prodigy, appearing on national television by the age of ten, and making her first recordings for Decca the following year (1956)
Lee was a child prodigy, appearing on national television by the age of ten, and making her first recordings for Decca the following year (1956)
Brenda Lee’s recording of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” which came out in 1958, is a holiday classic beloved by multiple generations
she was a young 13 years of age when she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and upon its first release it got over looked and was released afain in the later years and sold like hot cakes
Known as “Little Miss Dynamite,” Brenda Lee – who stood all of four feet, nine inches tall - was blessed with a powerful voice that belied her size
She could sing rockabilly, country and pop standards with equal conviction, and her versatility as an interpreter has allowed her a career of extraordinary longevity
She is the kicking, countrified upstart of “Jambalaya” and “That’s All You Gotta Do,” the pert, jaunty rocker of “Sweet Nothin’s” and “Let’s Jump the Broomstick,” the heartbroken balladeer of “I’m Sorry” and “Break It to Me Gently,” the sophisticated songstress of “I Just Want to Be Wanted” and “You Can Depend on Me,” and the country storyteller of “Big Four Poster Bed” and “Nobody Wins
Brenda Lee was born Brenda Mae Tarpley in Atlanta, Georgia and Her vocal skills were evident early on, as she won her first talent contest at age five
In 1956, she auditioned for country singer Red Foley and wound up joining the cast of Ozark Jubilee, a Missouri-based country-music TV show
That May, she signed to Decca Records, inaugurating a prolific and hit-filled recording career. Her third single, “One Step at a Time,” was her first to chart, reaching #15 on the country chart and just missing the pop Top Forty by three places
Her major breakthrough, and the biggest hit of her career, was “I’m Sorry,” which inaugurated a string of ballads that did quite well for her in the early Sixties
“I’m Sorry” was one of the first songs cut in Nashville to feature strings, thereby helping to inaugurate the “Nashville Sound.”
Her impact on rock and roll in the late Fifties and early Sixties had much to do with her youthful ability to belt out a tune
Deeply inspired by elvis presley before she could tie her shoes she would use that energy to sing up beat songs while looking for a career in music
John Lennon is alleged to have said, “She has the greatest rock and roll voice of them all
Though Lee grew up in the South surrounded by country and rockabilly, her influences as a vocalist were surprisingly diverse, tending more toward the likes of Judy Garland, Edith Piaf and Frank Sinatra than any rock and roll peers
After the pop hits subsided, she became a highly successful country-music artist in the Seventies and Eighties
She had Top Ten country hits in the 70s and 80s with material by the likes of Kris Kristofferson (“Nobody Wins”) and Shel Silverstein (“Big Four Poster Bed} and [ Johnny One Time]
She has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and charted in more categories – including pop, rhythm & blues, rock, easy listening and country – than any other women in the history of recorded music
She published her autobiography, Little Miss Dynamite: The Brenda Lee Story, in 2002
Brenda Lee was a child prodigy, appearing on national television by the age of ten, and making her first recordings for Decca the following year (1956)
Lee was a child prodigy, appearing on national television by the age of ten, and making her first recordings for Decca the following year (1956)
Brenda Lee’s recording of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” which came out in 1958, is a holiday classic beloved by multiple generations
she was a young 13 years of age when she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and upon its first release it got over looked and was released afain in the later years and sold like hot cakes
Known as “Little Miss Dynamite,” Brenda Lee – who stood all of four feet, nine inches tall - was blessed with a powerful voice that belied her size
She could sing rockabilly, country and pop standards with equal conviction, and her versatility as an interpreter has allowed her a career of extraordinary longevity
She is the kicking, countrified upstart of “Jambalaya” and “That’s All You Gotta Do,” the pert, jaunty rocker of “Sweet Nothin’s” and “Let’s Jump the Broomstick,” the heartbroken balladeer of “I’m Sorry” and “Break It to Me Gently,” the sophisticated songstress of “I Just Want to Be Wanted” and “You Can Depend on Me,” and the country storyteller of “Big Four Poster Bed” and “Nobody Wins
Brenda Lee was born Brenda Mae Tarpley in Atlanta, Georgia and Her vocal skills were evident early on, as she won her first talent contest at age five
In 1956, she auditioned for country singer Red Foley and wound up joining the cast of Ozark Jubilee, a Missouri-based country-music TV show
That May, she signed to Decca Records, inaugurating a prolific and hit-filled recording career. Her third single, “One Step at a Time,” was her first to chart, reaching #15 on the country chart and just missing the pop Top Forty by three places
Her major breakthrough, and the biggest hit of her career, was “I’m Sorry,” which inaugurated a string of ballads that did quite well for her in the early Sixties
“I’m Sorry” was one of the first songs cut in Nashville to feature strings, thereby helping to inaugurate the “Nashville Sound.”
Her impact on rock and roll in the late Fifties and early Sixties had much to do with her youthful ability to belt out a tune
Deeply inspired by elvis presley before she could tie her shoes she would use that energy to sing up beat songs while looking for a career in music
John Lennon is alleged to have said, “She has the greatest rock and roll voice of them all
Though Lee grew up in the South surrounded by country and rockabilly, her influences as a vocalist were surprisingly diverse, tending more toward the likes of Judy Garland, Edith Piaf and Frank Sinatra than any rock and roll peers
After the pop hits subsided, she became a highly successful country-music artist in the Seventies and Eighties
She had Top Ten country hits in the 70s and 80s with material by the likes of Kris Kristofferson (“Nobody Wins”) and Shel Silverstein (“Big Four Poster Bed} and [ Johnny One Time]
She has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and charted in more categories – including pop, rhythm & blues, rock, easy listening and country – than any other women in the history of recorded music
She published her autobiography, Little Miss Dynamite: The Brenda Lee Story, in 2002