Grammy Awards Honor Country Singer Brenda Lee
Music Star's Hit-Song Career & Fan Appeal Spans 50 Years
Brenda Lee debuted on the U.S. music scene as a rockabilly singer and swiftly emerged as one of the biggest pop artists of the late 1950s through the mid-1960s, with top-10 singles such as Jambalaya (On the Bayou), Sweet Nothins', Fool No. 1, I'm Sorry, I Want to be Wanted, Break It to Me Gently and the still-popular Christmas cut-turned-classic, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, which turned out to be the biggest-seller of her long career.
A Hit-Song Career: From Rockabilly Music to Pop Radio Hits
Dubbed "Little Miss Dynamite" after releasing the vocally-charged Dynamite single on the Decca label in 1957, the petite Lee was, in her chart heyday, outdone only by Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and the Beatles, the latter of whom opened for Lee in 1962 during a tour of the United Kingdom.
Since then, the Nashville-based entertainer has toured some 52 countries and recorded in four different languages. She's also been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Hit Parade Hall of Fame, and in 1996, she joined the Country Music Hall of Fame. And in a private Feb. 7, 2009, ceremony she will be a recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award presented as part of the 51st annual Grammy Awards.
Grammy Awards Honor Brenda Lee with Lifetime Achievement Award
In a Dec. 22, 2008, statement announcing the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, Neil Portnow, president/CEO of The Recording Academy, said, "This year's recipients are a prestigious group of legendary performers, creative architects and technical visionaries who have made lasting contributions to the music and global communities," Additionally, he added, "Their outstanding accomplishments, legendary passion and artistry have positively affected our culture and will continue to influence and inspire generations to come."
According to information from The Recording Academy, the Lifetime Achievement Award honors lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium, with recipients determined by vote of The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. Aside from Lee, this year's Lifetime Achievement Award winners also will include Gene Autry, the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Four Tops, Hank Jones, Dean Martin and Tom Paxton.
Creating a Hit-Country Music Legacy
Born Brenda Mae Tarpley on Dec. 11, 1944, in the charity ward of an Atlanta, Ga., hospital, Lee--whose parents were hard-working but uneducated--became the primary breadwinner for her family by age 10, thanks to her singing talents, and after her father's death in 1953.
Although she scored her first country-music hit in 1957 with One Step at a Time, a song that made it to No. 15 on the U.S. country charts, her management and record label reportedly considered it a wiser business move to promote the teen singer to the pop market. As a result, her early singles were never pushed at country radio, even though her vocal sound and musical roots were decidedly country.
Lee, however, came full circle in the early 1970s when she worked to re-establish herself as a country music artist. Her efforts were successful, and the much-loved performer yielded a number of top- 10 songs on the country charts, beginning with 1973's Nobody Wins, which made its way to No. 5. That same year, she charted Sunday Sunrise, a No. 6 single on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart. Then, in 1974-75, she recorded a string of country hits such as Wrong Ideas (No. 6), Big Four Poster Bed (No.4), Rock On Baby (No. 6) and He's My Rock (No. 8).
Country Singer's Collaborations, Gospel Album Add to Music Success
After a few years of lesser hits that eeked into country music's Top 40, Lee began another run in the Top 10 with 1979's Tell Me What It's Like, a former No. 8, and a pair of follow-ups in 1980 that reached No. 8 and No. 10, respectively, Broken Trust (with backing vocals by The Oakridge Boys) and The Cowboy and the Dandy.
Then, in 1982, Lee collaborated on a double-album for Monument Records titled The Winning Hand. Released in December that year, the recording, which also featured Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, surprised all its participants when it became a commercial success and made its way to No. 4 on the U.S. country album charts. Then, in 1985, Lee achieved country radio and country chart success once more when she recorded, a duet with George Jones.
Married to her childhood sweetheart, Ronnie Shacklett, since 1963, today, Lee continues to perform and tour as a country singer. She has released 72 singles and recorded 29 studio albums, four video albums and 26 compilation/specialty albums, including 2008's Greatest Country Songs / Greatest Gospel Legends of Rock CD from Curb Records, and her first gospel CD, the 11-song, Dove Award-nominated Gospel Duets with Treasured Friends.
Sources
Academy Announces Special Merit Award Recipients, press release issued Dec. 22, 2008. Accessed Dec. 22, 2008, at www.grammy.com
Brenda Lee entry, Wikipedia. Accessed Dec. 22, 2008, at wikipedia.org
Brenda Lee: The Lady, The Legend, official Web site. Accessed Dec. 22, 2008, at www.brendalee.com
Brenda Lee
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