Brenda Lee
Biography
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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.
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Full filmography
- The Mike Douglas Show (1961) as Self
- American Masters (1986) as Self
- The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) as Self
- Les Rendez-vous du dimanche (1975) as Self
- The Steve Allen Show (1956) as Self
- Navy Log (1955) as Korean Girl
- Discorama (1959) as Self
- The Dick Clark Show (1958) as Self
- The Johnny Cash Show (1969) as Self
- Hullabaloo (1965) as Self
- Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (1980) as Self
- Smokey and the Bandit II (1980) as Nice Lady
- Women in Rock (1986) as Self
- Musik für Sie (1963) as Self
- Ringo & Friends at the Ryman (2025) as Self
- Disneyland's Summer Vacation Party (1986) as Self
- Christmas at the Opry (2023) as Self
- Ladies Night - Most Famous Hits (2003) as Self (archive footage)
- Dick Clark's Good Old Days Part II (1978)
- The Women of Country (1993) as Self
- My Music: A Classic Christmas (2019) as Self (archive footage)
- Brenda Lee: Rockin' Around (2024)
- The Two Little Bears (1961) as Tina Davis
- Country: Portraits of an American Sound (2015) as Self