Brenda Lee
One of the biggest pop stars of the early '60s, Brenda Lee hasn't attracted as much critical respect as she deserves. She is sometimes inaccurately characterized as one of the few female teen idols. More crucially, the credit for achieving success with pop-country crossovers usually goes to Patsy Cline, although Lee's efforts in this era were arguably of equal importance. While she made few recordings of note after the mid-'60s, the best of her first decade is fine indeed, encompassing not just the pop ballads that were her biggest hits, but straight country and some surprisingly fierce rockabilly.
Lee was a child prodigy, appearing on national television by the age of ten, and making her first recordings for Decca the following year (1956). Her first few Decca singles, in fact, make a pretty fair bid for the best preteen rock & roll performances this side of Michael Jackson. "BIGELOW 6-200," "Dynamite," and "Little Jonah" are all exceptionally powerful rockabilly performances, with robust vocals and white-hot backing from the cream of Nashville's session musicians (including Owen Bradley, Grady Martin, Hank Garland, and Floyd Cramer). Lee would not have her first big hits until 1960, when she tempered the rockabilly with teen idol pop on "Sweet Nothin's," which went to the Top Five.
The comparison between Lee and Cline is to be expected, given that both singers were produced by Owen Bradley in the early '60s. Naturally, many of the same session musicians and backup vocalists were employed. Brenda, however, had a bigger in with the pop audience, not just because she was still a teenager, but because her material was more pop than Cline's, and not as country. Between 1960 and 1962, she had a stunning series of huge hits: "I'm Sorry," "I Want to Be Wanted," "Emotions," "You Can Depend on Me," "Dum Dum," "Fool #1," "Break It to Me Gently," and "All Alone Am I" all made the Top Ten. Their crossover appeal is no mystery. While these were ballads, they were delivered with enough lovesick yearning to appeal to adolescents, and enough maturity for the adults. The first-class melodic songwriting and professional orchestral production guaranteed that they would not be ghettoized in the country market.
Lee's last Top Ten pop hit was in 1963, with "Losing You." While she still had hits through the mid-'60s, these became smaller and less frequent with the rise of the British Invasion (although she remained very popular overseas). The best of her later hits, "Is It True?," was a surprisingly hard-rocking performance, recorded in 1964 in London with Jimmy Page on guitar. 1966's "Coming on Strong," however, would prove to be her last Top 20 entry.
In the early '70s, Lee reunited with Owen Bradley and, like so many early white rock & roll stars, returned to country music. For a time she was fairly successful in this field, making the country Top Ten half-a-dozen times in 1973-1974. Although she remained active as a recording and touring artist, for the last couple of decades she's been little more than a living legend, directing her intermittent artistic efforts to the country audience.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
Artistas semelhantes
-
Sweet Nothins
Country - Lançado por Black Sheep Music em 10/04/2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I'm Sorry
Jazz - Lançado por Black Sheep Music em 13/05/2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All the Way (Original Recordings)
Country - Lançado por Wind & Broomfield Records em 07/08/1961
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Here Comes That Feeling
Jazz - Lançado por Black Sheep Music em 02/05/2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heart in Hand
Pop - Lançado por 2013 Autarc Media GmbH, CH. em 17/07/2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Five O'Clock Bells
Jazz - Lançado por Brenda Lee Music em 09/11/2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Brenda Lee, Volume 2 (Rerecorded Version) (Rerecorded)
Pop - Lançado por Sony ATV em 10/06/2002
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Little Miss Dynamite - 40 Classic Tracks
Pop - Lançado por Ap Music em 09/07/2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Catch
Pop - Lançado por Sandmann & Walther em 22/05/2016
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
This Is Brenda
Pop - Lançado por Cayo Records em 10/10/1960
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Liquid Sunshine
Pop - Lançado por ladies old hits - remastered for gold em 17/03/2016
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Jingle Bells
Country - Lançado por A&r Music em 30/11/2022
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sweet Nothin'S (Singles & Ep's)
Pop - Lançado por Bamboodi em 28/02/2019
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music from the movie "Christmas with the Kranks" (Recordings of 1951 - 1963)
Dean Martin, Brenda Lee, Elvis Presley
Miscellaneous - Lançado por Christmas Album em 31/10/2023
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Little Miss Dynamite: The Best of Brenda Lee
Pop - Lançado por Bringins Music em 19/10/2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Send Me Some Lovin'
Lounge - Lançado por Amra Record em 19/06/2015
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dream Dancers
Pop - Lançado por Sandmann & Walther em 09/09/2016
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo