Brenda Lee
Background information
Birth name	Brenda Mae Tarpley
Born	December 11, 1944 (1944-12-11) (age 62)
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Genre(s)	Pop Music, Country Music
Years active	1957-Present
Label(s)	Decca, MCA Nashville
Associated acts	Connie Francis, Skeeter Davis, Patsy Cline, Ricky Nelson, Lesley Gore, Red Foley
Website	Brenda Lee Official Website

Brenda Lee (born December 11, 1944) is an American pop singer, who was immensely popular during the 1950s and 1960s. in the 1960s she had more charted hits than any other woman, and only three male singers/groups (Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and The Beatles) outpaced her. She was one of the earliest pop stars to have a major contemporary international following. December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... “Atlanta” redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... MCA Nashville Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. ... August 2007 Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop singer best known for international hit songs such as Whos Sorry Now?, Where The Boys Are, and Everybodys Somebodys Fool. // Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in the Italian Down Neck or... Skeeter Davis (born Mary Frances Penick December 30, 1931 – September 19, 2004) was an American Country Music Singer, who was best known for crossover Pop music songs of the early 1960s. ... Patsy Cline (b. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Lesley Gore (born May 2, 1946 in New York City as Lesley Sue Goldstein) is an American singer and songwriter of the so-called girl group era. She is perhaps best-known for her 1963 Pop hit, Its My Party, which she recorded at the age of 16. ... Clyde Julian Red Foley ( June 17, 1910 - September 19, 1968) was a country music singer. ... December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... “Elvis” redirects here. ... For the composer and conductor of the Ray Charles Singers, see Ray Charles (composer). ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ...

She was given the nickname Little Miss Dynamite after recording Dynamite in 1957; the explosive strength of the sound pouring out of her small frame amazed audiences and promoters. Her general popularity faded as her voice suffered damage and matured in the late 1960s, but she successfully continued her recording career by returning to her roots as a country singer. She was able to chart in Billboard's CW top ten twice in 1980. This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... CW may stand for: The CW Television Network (colloquially The CW), a television network which launched in September 2006 as a merger of both the UPN and The WB networks. ...

She enjoys one distinction unique among successful American singers: her opening act on a UK tour in 1960 was a struggling foursome from Liverpool, England - The Beatles. This article is about the city in England. ...

Early Years

Lee's father, Ruben Tarpley, was born roughly halfway between Atlanta and Augusta, Georgia. He was the son of a hardscrabble farmer in Georgia's red-clay belt, which was devastated by soil depletion and the boll weevil. Although he stood only 5'7", he was an excellent left-handed pitcher, and spent 11 years in the Army playing baseball. Her mother, Annie Grayce Yarbrough, had a similar background of an honest, uneducated working class family in Greene County, Georgia, although she had the distinction of a Cherokee great-grandparent. Binomial name Anthonomus grandis Boheman, 1843 Wikispecies has information related to: Boll weevil The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) is a beetle measuring an average length of six millimeters (¼ inch). ... Greene County is a county located in the state of Georgia. ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ...

Brenda was born Brenda Mae Tarpley in the charity ward of Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 11, 1944. She weighed 4 pounds 11 ounces at birth. She attended grade schools wherever her father found work, primarily in the corridor between Atlanta and Augusta. Her family was poor, living hand-to-mouth; she shared a bed with her two siblings in a series of three-room houses without running water. Life centered around her parents' finding work, their extended family, and the Baptist Church (where she sang solos every Sunday).^[1] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... “Atlanta” redirects here. ...

She was a musical prodigy. Although her family did not have indoor plumbing until after her father's death, they had a battery-powered table radio that fascinated Brenda as a baby. By the time she was two, she would hear songs on the radio once and be able to whistle the complete tune.^[2] Both her mother and sister remember taking her repeatedly to a local candy store before she turned three; one of them would stand her on the counter and she would earn free candy or small coins for singing.

Her voice, pretty face, and complete absence of stage fright won her wider attention from the time she was five years old. At age 6, she won a local singing contest sponsored by the elementary schools. The reward was a live appearance on an Atlanta radio show, "Starmakers Revue".

Her father died in 1953. By the time she turned ten, she had become the primary breadwinner of her family by singing at events and on local radio and television shows.

Her break into big-time show business came when she turned down paid employment -- $30 to sing on a local television station in Atlanta -- in order to hear Red Foley and the Ozark Jubilee in Augusta. An Augusta DJ convinced Foley to hear her sing before the show. Foley was as transfixed as everyone else who heard the huge voice coming from the tiny girl and immediately agreed to let her to perform the Hank Williams standard Jambalaya on stage that night, unrehearsed. Foley later recounted the moments following her introduction: Clyde Julian Red Foley ( June 17, 1910 - September 19, 1968) was a country music singer. ... The Ozark Jubilee was the first national country music show on television. ... Nickname: Motto: We feel Good Location of the consolidated areas of Augusta and Richmond County in the state of Georgia. ... This article is about Hank Williams, Sr. ... Improvised looking bowl of jambalaya This article is about the food. ...

I still get cold chills thinking about the first time I heard that voice. One foot started patting rhythm as though she was stomping out a prairie fire but not another muscle in that little body even as much as twitched. And when she did that trick of breaking her voice, it jarred me out of my trance enough to realize I'd forgotten to get off the stage. There I stood, after 26 years of supposedly learning how to conduct myself in front of an audience, with my mouth open two miles wide and a glassy stare in my eyes.

The audience erupted in applause and refused to let her leave the stage until she had sung three more songs. She was eleven years old and well under five feet tall. (As an adult, she was variously reported to stand between 4' 7" and 4' 9" tall.)

Less than two months later -- on July 30, 1956 -- Decca Records offered her a recording contract. She began her recording career at age 11 with rockabilly songs like "BIGELOW 6-200" (pronounced six two oh oh) and "Little Jonah." The song "Dynamite", coming out of a 4 foot 9 inch (1.45 meter) frame, led to her lifelong nickname, "Little Miss Dynamite." is the 211th day of the year (212th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music to emerge during the 1950s. ... This article or section seems to contain too many examples (or of a poor quality) for an encyclopedia entry. ...

Along with Connie Francis, she was one of the first female idols, achieving huge popularity with a long string of hits. At Christmas 1958, she released "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," which sold only 5,000 copies during its initial release. However, it would eventually go on to sell over five million copies. Then, disc jockeys also dubbed her "Little Miss Razz Matazz" after her husky, pounding voice belted out her first U.S. Top 10 hit, "Sweet Nothin's," in late 1959. August 2007 Connie Francis (born December 12, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey) is an American pop singer best known for international hit songs such as Whos Sorry Now?, Where The Boys Are, and Everybodys Somebodys Fool. // Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in the Italian Down Neck or... For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation). ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from...

The Height of Her Career

Brenda Lee first attracted attention performing in country music venues and her first single, 1957's "One Step at a Time" was a country hit. However, her label and management felt it best to market her exclusively as a pop artist, the result being none of her best-known recordings from the 1960s were released to country radio. She would not have another country hit until 1969. Brenda Lee came to her biggest success on the Pop charts in the late 1950s through the mid 1960s with Rock and Roll styled hits. Her biggest hits during this time include "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)," "Sweet Nothins," "I Want to Be Wanted," "All Alone Am I" and "Fool #1". Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

The biggest overall selling track of Lee's career is, oddly enough, a Christmas song. In 1958, when she was 13, Owen Bradley asked her to record a new song written by Johnny Marks, who had had success writing Christmas tunes for country singers, most notably "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Gene Autry) and "A Holly, Jolly Christmas" (Burl Ives). Lee recorded the song, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" in July with a prominent twanging guitar part by Hank Garland. Decca released it as a single that November, but it sold only 5,000 copies, and did not do much better when it was released again in 1959. The cover of Bradleys biggest single as a performer, Big Guitar. ... Johnny Marks (November 10, 1909 - September 3, 1985) was a Jewish-American songwriter[1]. He was born in Mount Vernon, New York. ... Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a popular Christmas story about Santa Claus ninth and lead reindeer who possesses an unusually red colored nose that gives off its own light that is powerful enough to illuminate the teams path through inclement weather. ... Orvon Gene Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998) was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television. ... Johnny Marks (November 10, 1909 - September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. ... Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (14 June 1909 – 14 April 1995), an Academy Award winner, was an acclaimed American folk music singer, author, and actor. ... It is proposed that this article be deleted, because of the following concern: Possible copyright infringement If you can address this concern by improving, copyediting, sourcing, renaming or merging the page, please edit this page and do so. ... Walter Hank Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004) was a legendary Nashville studio musician. ...

In 1960, she recorded her signature song, "I'm Sorry", which hit #1 on the Billboard pop chart and was her first gold single. Even though it was not released as a country song, it was the first big hit to use what was to become the new "Nashville Sound" -- a string orchestra and legato harmonized background vocals. (Ray Charles used the same sound that year on the huge pop hit, Georgia on My Mind.) "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" got noticed in its third release a few months later, and sales snowballed; the song remains a perennial radio favorite each December and is probably the record with which she is most identified by contemporary audiences. Im Sorry is a 1960 hit song for then-14-year-old American country-pop singer Brenda Lee. ... For the composer and conductor of the Ray Charles Singers, see Ray Charles (composer). ... Georgia on My Mind is a song written in 1930 by Stuart Gorrell (lyrics) and Hoagy Carmichael (music). ...

Lee was popular in the UK very early in her career. She toured the UK in 1959, before she has achieved much popularity in the US. She had two top 10 hits in the UK that were not released as singles in her native country: "Speak To Me Pretty" peaked at #3 in early 1962, followed by "Here Comes That Feeling."

Her last top-10 single on the pop charts was 1963's "Losing You," while she continued to have other chart songs such as her 1966 song "Coming On Strong" and "Is It True?" in 1964, which was her only hit single recorded in London, England, and produced by the late Mickie Most, who at the time was producing hits for the Animals and Herman's Hermits.

A Brenda Lee album cover.

During the early 1970s, Lee established herself as a country music artist, and earned a string of Top 10 hits. Lee decided to trade in her big Pop career to a more Country type of career instead. The first came with 1973's "Nobody Wins," which reached the Top 5 that spring and also became her last Top 100 pop hit peaking at #70. The follow-up, the Mark James composition "Sunday Sunrise," reached No. 6 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart that October. Other major hits included "Wrong Ideas" and "Big Four Poster Bed" (1974); and "Rock On Baby" and "He's My Rock" (both 1975). After a few years of lesser hits, Lee began another run at the Top 10 with 1979's "Tell Me What It's Like." Two follow-ups also reached the Top 10 in 1980: "The Cowboy and the Dandy" and "Broken Trust" (the latter featuring vocal backing by The Oak Ridge Boys). A 1982 album, The Winning Hand, featuring reissues of a number of Lee's 1960s Monument hits, as well as that of Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, was a surprise hit, reaching the top-ten on the U.S. country albums chart. Her last well-known hit was 1985's "Hallelujah, I Love Her So," a duet with George Jones. Today, she continues to perform and tour as a country singer. Image File history File links BrendaLeeRare. ... Image File history File links BrendaLeeRare. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Mark James is a songwriter, famous for writing hits for singers B.J. Thomas, Brenda Lee, and Elvis Presley, most notably Elvis final #1 hit of his career, Suspicious Minds. ... Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... Press photo of The Oak Ridge Boys. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... The Winning Hand, Monument, 1982 The Winning Hand was a 1982 album featuring Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee and Kris Kristofferson. ... The Taj Mahal, commissioned by the Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum for his wife, Arjumand Banu Begum. ... Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is a Grammy-winning and Academy Award-nominated American country singer, songwriter, composer, author, actress, and philanthropist. ... Kristoffer Kris Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is an influential American country music songwriter, singer and actor. ... Willie Nelson (born Willie Hugh Nelson, April 30, 1933) is an American entertainer and songwriter, born and raised in Abbott, Texas. ... For other persons named George Jones, see George Jones (disambiguation). ...

Life Today

Over the ensuing years, Lee has continued to record and perform all around the world, previously cutting records in four different languages. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at sunset. ... This official history of the Country Music Hall of Fame skirts the scandals well-documented by veteran Music Row historian Stacy Harris. ... The Rockabilly Hall of Fame was established on March 21, 1997 to present early rock and roll history and information relative to the artists and personalities involved in this pioneering American music genre. ...

Chuck Berry wrote a song about Brenda Lee on the album St. Louis to Liverpool. She was also immortalized in the hit Golden Earring song "Radar Love:" "Radio's playing some forgotten song / Brenda Lee's 'Coming on Strong'." She was also remembered as a heroine to Burton Cummings on his self-titled 70's album in the song "Dream of a Child," including the closing line, "I love Brenda Lee / Brenda Lee loves me / yeah..." Charles Edward Anderson Chuck Berry (born 18 October 1926, St. ... St. ... Golden Earring is a Dutch rock/pop group that was founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings (the s was later dropped). ... Radar Love was the worldwide breakthrough hit by the Dutch rock band Golden Earring. ...

Although her songs have often centered on lost loves, and although she did lose her father at a young age, her marriage to Ronnie Shacklett in 1963 was a success. He was able to deal with the notoriously rapacious music industry, which had exploited her badly, and is credited with ensuring her long-term financial success. They have two daughters, Jolie and Julie (who was named for Patsy Cline's daughter) and three grandchildren. Patsy Cline (b. ...

Celebrating over 50 years as a recording artist, Brenda Lee was given the Jo Meador-Walker Lifetime Achievement award by Source Nashville in September 2006. She is the second recipient of the award, Jo Meador-Walker being the first.

Brenda Lee Discography

Singles

Top Twenty Hits

The following Brenda Lee singles made the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, Country or AC chart in the U.S. or in the U.K. “Hot 100” redirects here. ... Hot Country Singles & Tracks is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. ... The Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart (formerly known as Adult Contemporary Singles and only Adult Contemporary) lists the most popular songs weekly calculated by airplay and occasionally sales. ...

• One Step At a Time (1957) US Pop #43, US C&W #15
• Sweet Nothin's (1960) US Pop #4 / UK #4
• I'm Sorry (1960) US Pop #1 / UK #12
• That's All You Gotta Do (1960) US Pop #6
• I Want to Be Wanted (1960) US Pop #1 / UK #31
• *Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (1960) US Pop #14 / UK #6
• Emotions (1961) US Pop #7 / UK #45
• You Can Depend On Me (1961) US Pop #6
• Dum Dum (1961) US Pop #4 / UK #22
• Fool #1 (1961) US Pop #3 / UK #38
• Let's Jump the Broomstick (1961) UK #12
• Break It to Me Gently (1962) US Pop #2 / UK #46
• Everybody Loves Me But You (1962) US Pop #6, US AC #2
• All Alone Am I (1962) US Pop #3, US AC #1 / UK #7
• Heart In Hand (1962) US Pop #15, US AC #4
• It Started All Over Again (1962) US Pop #29 / UK #15
• Here Comes That Feelin' (1962) US Pop #89 / UK #5
• Speak to Me Pretty (1962) UK #3
• Your Used to Be (1963) US Pop #28, US AC #12
• I Wonder (1963) US Pop #25, US AC #9
• Losing You (1963) US Pop #6, US AC #2 / UK #10
• My Whole World Is Falling Down (1963) US Pop #24, US AC #8
• The Grass Is Greener (1963) US Pop #17, US AC #7
• Alone With You (1964) US Pop #48, US AC #8
• As Usual (1964) US Pop #12, US AC #5 / UK #5
• Is It True? (1964) US Pop #17 / UK #17
• Think (1964) US Pop #25, US AC #4 / UK #26
• When You Loved Me (1964) US Pop #47, US AC #8
• Rusty Bells (1965) US Pop #33, US AC #8
• Too Many Rivers (1965) US Pop #13, US AC #2 / UK #22
• Truly, Truly True (1965) US Pop #54, US AC #9
• Coming On Strong (1966) US Pop #11
• Johnny One Time (1969) US Pop #41, US C&W #50, US AC #3
• Nobody Wins (1973) US Pop #70, US C&W #5
• Sunday Sunrise (1973) US C&W #6
• Wrong Ideas (1974) US C & W #6
• Big Four Poster Bed (1974) US C&W #4
• Rock On Baby (1975) US C&W #6
• He's My Rock (1975) US C&W #8
• Tell Me What It's Like (1979) US C&W #8
• The Cowgirl And The Dandy (1980) US C&W #10
• Broken Trust (w/Oak Ridge Boys, 1980) US C&W #9
• Hallelujah, I Love You So (w/George Jones, 1985) US C&W #15

Notes: Im Sorry is a 1960 hit song for then-14-year-old American country-pop singer Brenda Lee. ... It is proposed that this article be deleted, because of the following concern: Possible copyright infringement If you can address this concern by improving, copyediting, sourcing, renaming or merging the page, please edit this page and do so. ...

• *"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" spent a total of 25 weeks on Billboard's Christmas singles chart, charting every year from 1963 to 1969 and again in 1973, 1983, and 1984. In 1997, it charted #16 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Its highest position of #3 on the Christmas chart was reached during the 1965 Christmas season.
• Other Brenda Lee singles which made the Billboard Christmas chart include: "Jingle Bell Rock" (#10 in 1964 and #8 in 1967), "This Time of the Year" (#12 in 1964), and "Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day" (#24 in 1964).

Jingle Bell Rock is the name of a popular Christmas song. ...

International Hits

These singles did well in non-US markets, although they did not chart well (or were not even released) in the US.

• Let's Jump the Broomstick (1961) UK #12
• Speak to Me Pretty (1962) UK #4
• Ich Will Immer auf Dich Warten Germany #13
• Jingle Bell Rock (1964) Germany #1
• Is It True/What'd I Say (1964) UK #17 (A-track released separately in US)
• One Rainy Night in Tokyo (in Japanese)(1965) #1 Japan
• If You Love Me (1965) #1 Japan
• I'm Sorry (1978) #1 France

Selected albums

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. ... Kristoffer Kris Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is an influential American country music songwriter, singer and actor. ... Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is a Grammy-winning and Academy Award-nominated American country singer, songwriter, composer, author, actress, and philanthropist. ... Willie Nelson (born Willie Hugh Nelson, April 30, 1933) is an American entertainer and songwriter, born and raised in Abbott, Texas. ...

See also

• Best selling music artists — World's top-selling music artists chart.
• Always on My Mind

This is the list of best selling music artists (including groups) worldwide, alltime. ... Always on My Mind is a song originally recorded by Brenda Lee and released on June 12, 1972, with music and lyrics by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson Thompson. ...

External links

• Brenda Lee Official Website
• Brenda Lee-A Fan's Tribute
• Brenda Lee-A Living Legend
• Interview Brenda Lee

References