Brenda Mae Tarpley was born in Atlanta, Georgia on December 11, 1944.
Coming from a poor family, Brenda and her two siblings moved with their parents a lot, between Atlanta and Augusta, looking for work.
A musical prodigy, Brenda began singing professionally at the age of six after winning a local singing contest. The first prize was performing on “Starmakers Revue”, an Atlanta radio show, where she appeared for the next year.
Her big break came in 1955, when she turned down a paying gig to perform for country legend Red Foley, who was blown away by her powerful voice. Brenda was signed to a five year contract to appear on Red’s television program, “Ozark Jubilee.” In 1956, she signed with Decca Records.
It wasn’t until 1957 that Brenda got noticed, when she recorded the pop and country hit, “Dynamite.” Standing at four feet, nine inches, and with her booming voice, she was nicknamed “Little Miss Dynamite.
Brenda was well received worldwide. In the early 1960’s, while touring the United Kingdom, her opening act was a little known group out of Liverpool called The Beatles.
Primarily a country artist, Decca marketed Brenda as a pop artist through most of the 1960’s, where most of her major hits came.
On the charts, Brenda reached Billboard’s Top 40 Pop Charts nearly thirty times, going to number one twice. Here are Brenda Lee’s twenty biggest pop hits.
1. I’m Sorry – 1960 – Brenda’s biggest single went to number one for three weeks and was actually the “B” side of “That’s All You Gotta Do.” “I’m Sorry” was held for release for several months, because, at age 15, Decca didn’t think that she was mature enough to know about unrequited love.
2. I Want To Be Wanted – 1960 – Her only other number one song is actually an Italian song “Per Tutta La Vita.” The English lyrics were written by Kim Gannon.
3. Fool #1 – 1961 – From the album “Brenda, That’s All.”
4. All Alone Am I – 1962 – A Greek melody that appeared in the film “Never On Sunday”, the song was translated into English for Brenda, who took it to #3 on the weekly charts.
5. Sweet Nothin’s – 1960 – Her very first pop hit went to #4 on the weekly charts and came from her album “Brenda Lee.”
6. Break It To Me Gently – 1962 – Twenty years after Brenda took this song to #4 on the weekly charts, Juice Newton made a cover of it in 1982 and went to #11.
7. Dum Dum – 1961 – From the album “All The Way” this hit was written by Jackie DeShannon.
8. You Can Depend On Me – 1961 – This #6 song also went to #25 on the R&B; charts for Brenda.
9. Losing You – 1963 – From the album “Let Me Sing”, this song also made it to the Adult Contemporary and R&B; charts.
10. That’s All You Gotta Do – 1960 – The original “A” side to “I’m Sorry”, this side went to #6 on the weekly charts.
11. Everybody Loves Me But You – 1962 – Another #6 hit for Brenda, which was not released on any album at that time.
12. Emotions – 1961 – From the album of the same name, the “B” side, “I’m Learning About Love” also made it to the weekly top forty.
13. Coming On Strong – 1966 – Brenda’s last Top 20 pop hit came from the album of the same name.
14. As Usual – 1963 – From Brenda’s album, “By Request.”
15. Too Many Rivers – 1965 – From the album of the same name, this song was also a #5 country hit for The Forrester Sisters in 1987.
16. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – 1958 – Recorded when she was just thirteen years old, this song only made it to #14 on the weekly charts in 1958, but has become a perennial favorite.
17. Heart In Hand – 1962 – This song was also written by Jackie DeShannon.
18. Is it True – 1964 – From the album, “Top Teen Hits.”
19. The Grass Is Greener – 1963 – This top twenty hit is also from the “By Request” album.
20. My Whole World Is Falling Down – 1963 – The “B” side, “I Wonder” was also a Top 40 hit.
In the 1970’s, after her pop career dried up, Brenda reinvented herself and went back to her country roots, where she had many top 10 hits on the country charts.
Brenda was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002, as well as inducted into both the Country Music Hall Of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame.
She has been married to Ronnie Shacklett since 1963. They have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Her autobiography, “Brenda Lee: Little Miss Dynamite” was published in 2002.
Brenda Lee continues to record and tour and she currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
SOURCES: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Lee_Discography
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits – Joel Whitburn – Billboard Publications
