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Brenda Lee

Brenda Lee

Born: 1944-12-11 • Atlanta, Georgia, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brenda Lee (born Brenda Mae Tarpley; December 11, 1944) is an American performer and the top-charting solo female vocalist of the 1960s. She sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s, and is ranked fourth in that decade surpassed only by Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Ray Charles. She is known for her 1960 hit "I'm Sorry", and 1958's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", which has become a Christmas standard.

At 4 feet 9 inches tall (approximately 145 cm), she received the nickname "Little Miss Dynamite" in 1957, after recording the song "Dynamite" when she was 12, and was one of the earliest pop stars to have a major contemporary international following.

In 1969, Lee returned to the charts with her recording "Johnny One Time". The song reached #3 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart and #41 on Billboard's Hot 100. The song also earned Lee her second Grammy nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal. Later success came with a return 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 and Rockabilly Halls of Fame. She is also a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Lee is the only woman to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Country Music Halls of Fame.

Filmography
Ringo & Friends at the Ryman poster
Ringo & Friends at the Ryman
2025 • Self
Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around poster
Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around
2024
Christmas at the Opry poster
Christmas at the Opry
2023 • Self
My Music: A Classic Christmas poster
My Music: A Classic Christmas
2019 • Self (archive footage)
Country: Portraits of an American Sound poster
Country: Portraits of an American Sound
2015 • Self
Legends in Concert - Brenda Lee: Coming On Strong poster
Legends in Concert - Brenda Lee: Coming On Strong
2010 • Self
No Image
Brenda Lee: In Concert
2007 • Self
Christmas at Belmont poster
Christmas at Belmont
2003 • Self - Host
Ladies Night - Most Famous Hits poster
Ladies Night - Most Famous Hits
2003 • Self (archive footage)
Welcome to the Club: The Women of Rockabilly poster
Welcome to the Club: The Women of Rockabilly
2001 • Self
The Women of Country poster
The Women of Country
1993 • Self
Disneyland's Summer Vacation Party poster
Disneyland's Summer Vacation Party
1986 • Self
Women in Rock poster
Women in Rock
1986 • Self
Smokey and the Bandit II poster
Smokey and the Bandit II
1980 • Nice Lady
Dick Clark's Good Old Days Part II poster
Dick Clark's Good Old Days Part II
1978
The Two Little Bears poster
The Two Little Bears
1961 • Tina Davis