At 4 ft 9 inches tall, she received the nickname Little Miss Dynamite in 1957 after recording the song "Dynamite"; and was one of the earliest pop stars to have a major contemporary international following.

Lee's popularity faded in the late 1960s as her voice matured, but she continued a successful recording career by returning to her roots as a country singer with a string of hits through the 1970s and 1980s. She is a member of the Rock and Roll, Country Music, Rockabilly and Hit Parade Halls of Fame. Lee currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Biography

Early years

Lee's father, Ruben Tarpley, was the son of a farmer in Georgia's red-clay belt. Although he stood only 5 ft 7 inches, he was an excellent left-handed pitcher and spent 11 years in the U.S. Army playing baseball. Her mother, Annie Grayce Yarbrough, had a similar background of an uneducated working class family in Greene County, Georgia.

Lee 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 could whistle the melody of songs she heard on the radio. Both her mother and sister remembered 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 candy or coins for singing.

Child performer

Her father died in 1953, and by the time she turned ten, she was the primary breadwinner of her family through singing at events and on local radio and television shows. In 1955, Grayce Tarpley was remarried to Buell "Jay" Rainwater, who moved the family to Cincinnati, Ohio where he worked at the Jimmy Skinner Music Center. Lee performed with Skinner at the record shop on two Saturday programs broadcast over Newport, Kentucky radio station WNOP-AM. The family soon returned to Georgia, however, this time to Augusta, and Lee appeared on the show '' The Peach Blossom Special'' on WJAT-AM in Swainsboro.

National exposure and stardom

The audience erupted in applause and refused to let her leave the stage until she had sung three more songs. On March 31, 1955, the 10-year-old made her network debut on ''Ozark Jubilee'' in Springfield, Missouri. Although her five-year contract with the show was broken by a 1957 lawsuit brought by her mother and her manager, she made regular appearances on the program throughout its run.

Neither of the 1956 releases charted, but her first issue in '57, "One Step at a Time", became a hit in both the pop and country fields. Her next hit, "Dynamite", coming out of a 4 ft 9 inch frame, led to her lifelong nickname, Little Miss Dynamite.

Lee first attracted attention performing in country music venues and shows; however, her label and management felt it best to market her exclusively as a pop artist, the result being that none of her best-known recordings from the 1960s were released to country radio, and despite her country sound, with top Nashville session people, she did not have another country hit until 1969, and "Johnny One Time".

Biggest hits: 1958–1965

The biggest-selling track of Lee's career was a Christmas song. In 1958, when she was 13, producer Owen Bradley asked her to record a new song 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. However, it eventually sold more than five million copies.

In 1960, she recorded her signature song, "I'm Sorry", which hit No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' pop chart. It was her first gold single and was nominated for a Grammy. Even though it was not released as a country song, it was among the first big hits to use what was to become the Nashville sound – a string orchestra and legato harmonized background vocals. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" got noticed in its third release a few months later, and sales snowballed; the song remains a perennial favorite each December and is the record with which she is most identified by contemporary audiences.

Her last top ten single on the pop charts was 1963's "Losing You" (No. 6), while she continued to have other chart songs such as her 1966 song "Coming On Strong" and "Is It True?" in 1964. The latter, featuring Jimmy Page on guitar, Bobby Graham on drums, was her only hit single recorded in London, England and was produced by Mickie Most. It was recorded at Decca Records number two studio at their West Hampstead complex, as was the 'b' side, a version of Ray Charles' 1959 classic cut, "What'd I Say?", which wasn't released in America.

International fame

Lee enjoys one distinction unique among successful American singers; her opening act on a UK tour in the early 1960s was a then-little-known beat group from Liverpool, England: The Beatles.

Later career

After a few years of lesser hits, Lee began another run at the top ten 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 Lee along with 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.

Recent years

On October 4, 2000, Lee inducted fellow country music legend Charley Pride into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Her autobiography, ''Brenda Lee: Little Miss Dynamite,'' was published by Hyperion in 2002 (ISBN 0-7868-6644-6).

Family

Recognition

Celebrating over 50 years as a recording artist, in September 2006 she was the second recipient of the Jo Meador-Walker Lifetime Achievement award by the Source Foundation in Nashville. In 1997, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; and is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

In 2008, her recording of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" marked 50 years as a holiday standard, and in February 2009, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave Lee a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.

References in popular culture

"Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" was heard in the 1990 movie ''Home Alone''. "I'm Sorry" can be heard in the 1991 movie ''The Fisher King'', the 1993 movie ''This Boy's Life'', and the 1995 movie ''Tommy Boy''. "Sweet Nothing's" can be heard in 2009's critically acclaimed ''An Education''.

"I Wonder," released in 1963, was the song playing at Colleen's funeral in the episode "The Cost of Living" in Season 3 of the ABC television show ''Lost''. The episode originally aired on November 1, 2006.

Kelly Clarkson appeared as Brenda Lee on two episodes of the NBC series ''American Dreams''.

"Break It To Me Gently" plays during the credits of "The Gold Violin", Season 2: Episode 7 of the AMC series ''Mad Men''.

Her 1963 cover of "Fly Me to the Moon" is used in the end credits of the 2010 video game, ''Bayonetta''.

Brenda Lee is also referenced in Smokey and the Bandit.

Discography

Notes

References

External links

Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:American country singers Category:American female singers Category:American rock singers Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rockabilly musicians Category:American pop singers Category:Decca Records artists Category:Charly Records artists Category:Sony/ATV Music Publishing artists Category:Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia

"The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1944 by musician, composer, and vocalist Mel Tormé (aka The Velvet Fog), and Bob Wells. According to Tormé, the song was written during a blistering hot summer. In an effort to "stay cool by thinking cool", the most-performed (according to BMI) Christmas song was born.

"I saw a spiral pad on his piano with four lines written in pencil", Tormé recalled. "They started, "Chestnuts roasting..., Jack Frost nipping..., Yuletide carols..., Folks dressed up like Eskimos.' Bob (Wells, co-writer) didn't think he was writing a song lyric. He said he thought if he could immerse himself in winter he could cool off. Forty minutes later that song was written. I wrote all the music and some of the lyrics."

The Nat King Cole Trio first recorded the song early in 1946. At Cole's behest and over the objections of his label, Capitol Records a second recording was made the same year utilizing a small string section, this version becoming a massive hit on both the pop and R&B; charts. Cole again recorded the song in 1953, using the same arrangement with a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more in 1961, in a stereophonic version with orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael. Nat King Cole's 1961 version is generally regarded as definitive, and in 2004 was the most loved seasonal song with women aged 30–49, while Cole's original 1946 recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974. Mel Tormé recorded the song himself in 1954, and again in 1961, 1966 and 1992.

The Nat King Cole recordings

Second recording: Recorded at WMCA Radio Studios, New York City, August 19, 1946. First record issue. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Nat King Cole, vocal-pianist, Oscar Moore, guitarist; Johnny Miller, bassist; Charlie Grean, conductor of 4 string players, a harpist and a drummer) Lacquer disc master #981. Issued November 1946 as Capitol 311 (78rpm). This is featured on a CD called ''The Holiday Album'', which has 1940s Christmas songs recorded by Cole and Bing Crosby. In 2005 Capitol restored and re-released it for the 25 bit re-mastered Cole album "The Christmas Song", which also contains tracks from his 1960 and 1963 holiday albums.

Third recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, August 24, 1953. This was the song,s first magnetic tape recording. Label credit: The King Cole Trio with String Choir (Actual artists: Nat King Cole, vocal; Nelson Riddle, orchestra conductor) Master #11726, take 11. Issued November 1953 as the "new" Capitol 90036(78rpm) / F90036(45rpm) (Capitol first issued 90036 in 1950 with the second recording). Correct label credit issued on October 18, 1954 as Capitol 2955(78rpm) / F2955(45rpm). Label credit: Nat "King" Cole with Orchestra Conducted by Nelson Riddle. This recording is available on the 1990 CD ''Cole, Christmas and Kids,'' as well as the various-artists compilation ''Casey Kasem Presents All Time Christmas Favorites''. It was also included, along with both 1946 recordings, on the 1991 Mosaic Records box set ''The Complete Capitol Recordings of the Nat King Cole Trio''.

Fourth recording: Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York City, March 30, 1961. This rendition, the first recorded in stereo, is widely played on radio stations during the Christmas season, and is probably the most famous version of this song. Label credit: Nat King Cole (Nat King Cole, vocal; Charles Grean and Pete Rugolo, orchestration; Ralph Carmichael, orchestra conductor). The instrumental arrangement is nearly identical with the 1953 version, but the vocals are much deeper and more focused. Originally done for ''The Nat King Cole Story'' (a 1961 LP devoted to stereo re-recordings of Cole's earlier hits), this recording was later appended to a reissue of Cole's 1960 holiday album ''The Magic of Christmas''. Retitled ''The Christmas Song'', the album was issued in 1963 as Capitol W-1967(mono) / SW-1967(stereo) and today is in print on compact disc. This recording of "The Christmas Song" is also available on numerous compilation albums. Some are Capitol pop standards Christmas compilations while others are broader-based. It's available on WCBS-FM's ''Ultimate Christmas Album Volume 3'', for example.

There were several covers of Nat Cole's original record in the 1940s. The first of these was said to be by Dick Haymes on the Decca label, but his was released first not recorded first. The first cover of "The Christmas Song" was performed by pop tenor and bandleader Eddy Howard on Majestic. Howard was a big Cole fan, and also covered Nat's versions of "I Want to Thank Your Folks" and "I Love You for Sentimental Reasons", among others.

Selective list of notable recordings

Parodies

Footnotes

External links

Category:Christmas songs Category:1946 songs Category:1961 singles Category:1999 singles Category:2009 singles Category:Nat King Cole songs Category:Amy Grant songs Category:Christina Aguilera songs Category:Toby Keith songs Category:Martina McBride songs Category:Joe Nichols songs Category:George Strait songs Category:Kenny Loggins songs Category:Trisha Yearwood songs Category:Vocal duets Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Category:Barbra Streisand songs Category:Bob Dylan songs Category:Sheryl Crow songs Category:CeCe Peniston songs Category:The Partridge Family songs

''In the Street'' is an album by the Village People. It features both original cop Victor Willis and the cop currently in the group Ray Simpson as lead singers. The G.I. Alex Briley also sings the lead for one song, and the re-release in 1999 featured the bonus track America with Miles J. Davis singing the lead vocals. ''Fox on the Box ''and ''In the Street'' contain the same songs, but ''Fox on the Box'' was released by RCA Records in 1982 and ''In the Street'' by Casablanca Records a year later.

Track listing

Category:1983 albums Category:Village People albums