Brenda Lee

Brenda Lee
Lee in 1965
Lee in 1965
Background information
Birth nameBrenda Mae Tarpley
Born (1944-12-11) December 11, 1944 (age 79)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres
OccupationSinger
Years active1951–present[1]
Labels
Spouse
Ronnie Shacklett
(m. 1963)

Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944),[2] known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first Billboard hit aged 12 in 1957 and was given the nickname "Little Miss Dynamite". Some of Lee's most successful songs include "Sweet Nothin's", "I'm Sorry", "I Want to Be Wanted", "Speak to Me Pretty", "All Alone Am I" and "Losing You". Her festive song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", recorded in 1958, topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 2023, making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the chart and breaking several chart records.[3]

Having sold over 100 million records globally, Lee is one of the most successful American artists of the 20th century. Her U.S. success in the 1960s earned her recognition as Billboard's Top Female Artist of the Decade and one of the four artists who charted the most singles, behind Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Ray Charles. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, four NARM Awards, three NME Awards and five Edison Awards.[4] She is the first woman to be inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2023, she was named by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest singers of all time.[5]

  1. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (February 20, 2018). "Brenda Lee: Inside the Life of a Pop Heroine Next Door". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  2. ^ Lee, Brenda; Oermann, Robert K.; Clay, Julie (2002). Little Miss Dynamite: the life and times of Brenda Lee. Hyperion. pp. 305. ISBN 9780786866441.
  3. ^ "Brenda Lee Hits No. 1 on the Hot 100, Becoming the Oldest Artist to Ever Top the Chart". TheMessengerEntertainment. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  4. ^ "Brenda Lee: The Lady, The Legend". Rockabillyhall.com. Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rolling-Stone was invoked but never defined (see the help page).