Brenda Lee

Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944) known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Known for her musical versatility, she had commercial success with recordings in the genres of pop, country, rock and roll and gospel. She was also one of the best-selling music artists of the 1960s. Her Christmas song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (1958) reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in December 2023 after a music video was released for the song, making Lee the oldest artist ever to reach number 1 the chart. She has been inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Lee was considered a child prodigy for her ability to sing from a young age. After making appearances on 1950s television programs, she signed a recording contract with Decca Records (later named MCA) at age 11. Her earliest recordings were rock and roll, first achieving a commercial breakthrough with "Sweet Nothin's" (1959). Her music shifted towards pop after reaching number 1 with "I'm Sorry" (1960). That year, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" was re-released and became a commercial success for the first time. This new style appealed to teens and adults. Lee had a series of Top 10 hits in multiple countries including "Fool No. 1" (1961), "Break It to Me Gently" (1961), "All Alone Am I" (1962) and "Losing You" (1963). Her single "One Rainy Night in Tokyo" (1965), recorded in Japanese reached the Top 10 in Japan.

Lee then experimented with different musical styles, including an album of New Orleans music titled For the First Time (1968) and a soul-inspired project titled Memphis Portrait (1970). After several personal challenges, Lee was reinvented as a country music artist in adulthood. This began with the country song "Nobody Wins" (1973). She then reached the Top 10 with "Sunday Sunrise" (1973), "Big Four Poster Bed" (1974) and "Rock on Baby" (1974). L. A. Sessions (1976), a pop album, did poorly and Lee reverted back to the country genre again with "Tell Me What It's Like" (1979), which reached the Top 10. She had two more Top 10 country songs through 1981 and recorded country-flavored albums until leaving MCA in 1986.

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" received another revival when it was featured in the film Home Alone (1990). Warner Bros. signed Lee to a new contract and released Brenda Lee (1991), which failed to become a commercial success. It was followed by A Brenda Lee Christmas: In the New Old Fashioned Way (1991). Lee recorded and performed with less frequency during the 1990s and 2000s. Among her new material was a collection of gospel material titled Gospel Duets with Treasured Friends (2007). In 2023, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" topped the US charts after Lee issued a music video to promote the track.

Brenda Mae Tarpley was born on December 11, 1944, at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the second of four children born to Annie Grayce Yarbrough and Ruben Lindsey Tarpley. Her father served in the United States Army for 11 years and then worked various labor jobs, including carpentry, factory work, and construction. Her mother also found factory work in cotton mills. When Tarpley was born, she was one month premature and weighed 4 pounds 11 ounces (2.1 kg). She was given the name Brenda by her mother and was nicknamed "Bootie Mae" by her father.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.