BRENDA LEE

Born Brenda Mae Tarpley on December 11, 1944 in  Atlanta, Georgia.  When in 1955, Brenda's mom married Jay Rainwater, the family lived in Cincinnati, Ohio. Brenda began working in Jimmy Skinner's Record Shop on two Saturday programs over WNOP in Newport, Kentucky. Brenda sang the big country music hits of the day.  From the beginning it was obvious that this was a rare talent with a distinctive throaty style and rich vocal presence. By age 6, she was astounding listeners with a mature sound and lyric interpretation reserved for women who had gathered both through time and experience.

Later that year, the family moved to Augusta, Georgia. Brenda appeared on the Peach Blossom Special on WJAT-TV. While appearing on this show, the name "Brenda Lee" was created by the show's producer, Sammy Barton. He felt that Tarpley was to difficult to remember and suggested that she shorten her last name to Lee. Jay Rainwater opened a record store in Augusta and called it the Brenda Lee Record Shop. Station WRDW originated a program in the shop each week and Brenda sang on the show. Disc jockey Charlie Raiford "Peanuts" Faircloth was the announcer. 

While Brenda received no money for these shows, the exposure led to several bookings.  Her single "Dynamite" gave her the nickname of "Little Miss Dynamite" because of her explosive stage act. The title is still used today to describe Brenda to this day. In 1957, Dub Albritten became her personal manager and remained so until his death in 1972. Brenda and her family also moved to Nashville in 1957.

During a Jackie Wilson concert at the old Fairgrounds Coliseum in Nashville, Tennessee, Brenda met her future husband, Ronnie. They were married on April 24, 1963 at Radnor Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee.

Throughout the 60s, Brenda was the darling of her peers - a generation of teenagers who cut their rock 'n roll teeth on the young singer, whom music critics and audiences alike had fallen in love with. Before turning 20, Brenda had recorded a phenomenal 256 sides - a musical odyssey that even at this early stage included classic million sellers like "I'm Sorry," "Fool Number 1," "Emotions," "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," and "That's All You Gotta Do." - to mention only the tip of Brenda's career signature songs.

Rarely has a performer grown from childhood to maturity with the momentum that has propelled this lady into a fourth decade of making music.

Perhaps what set her most apart from other girl singers of her era was her onstage performances. She not only possessed undoubtedly one of the most unique female voices in the history of recorded music, but she also had the uncanny ability to hold an audience spellbound. Many reviewers compared her to Elvis Presley in her onstage dynamics.

For Brenda the world continues to be her stage. One of America's most in demand musical exports of the 60s, audiences in 52 foreign nations have shouted their approval and Brenda continues to be a globe trotter. Her foreign tours bring her annually in front of fans with well worn and well loved collections of her music.

Brenda's survival instincts are well honed and well in line with her "get down to basics approach" to life in general and her career in particular. She continues to do what she does best - sing. A continuing stream of Brenda's musical releases in the '90's have produced platinum CD's, not only on America shores, but in foreign music capitals from London to Tokyo.

Brenda maintains a vast army of fans, and adds scores of new fans annually. They encompass a generation of "baby boomers" who grew up with rock 'n roll. They also include her parents' generation who were charmed with Brenda as a child performer and watched her grow up before their eyes. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all are the young people who populate her concerts and comb classic record bins to reassemble a career in sight and sound that they are too young to experience.

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