Brenda Lee, real name Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), was an American teen idol and country singer from Lithonia, Georgia.

She sang in a big adult voice from childhood and began her recording career at age 12 in 1956, with songs like "BIGELOW 6-2000" and "Little Jonah". The song "Dynamite" coming out of a 4 ft 9 in (1.45 meter) frame led to her lifelong nickname, "Little Miss Dynamite".

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 hit the top of the charts with "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." Then, disc jockeys also dubbed her "Little Miss Razz Matazz" after her husky, pounding voice belted out her second big hit, "Sweet Nothin's."

Brenda Lee, while being a major female singer in early rock history, is considered the first female artist to be known as a crossover artist between early rock and country music. She was later joined in the same category by the late female singer Patsy Cline. In 1963, Lee released an album of uptempo American standards titled Sincerely, Brenda Lee.

Her last top-10 single was 1963's "Losing You", was a moderate success, while she continued to have other chart songs such as her 1966 song "Coming On Strong".

As of this writing in the new millennium, she is best remembered for her hit single "I'm Sorry", a favorite song heard continuously on the radio by her fans across the world.

Over the ensuing years, Brenda Lee continues 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.

A few of Brenda Lee's better-known hits

• "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" (1956)
• "Rock-A-Bye Baby Blues" (1957)
• "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (1958)
• "Sweet Nothin's" (1959)
• "I'm Sorry" (1960)
• "Break It to Me Gently" (1962)
• "All Alone Am I" (1962)
• "Johnny Blaster and the monster sauce of Kippiville!! tomato." (1960)

Quotation

• "Radio's playing some forgotten song, Brenda Lee's 'Coming on Strong'"

From "Radar Love" by Golden Earring

External link

• www.brendalee.com