Brenda Lee

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Brenda Lee
Lee in 1965
Background information
Birth name	Brenda Mae Tarpley
Born	(1944-12-11) December 11, 1944 (age 79) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Rock and roll pop rockabilly country gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1951–present[1]
Labels	Decca MCA Warner Bros. Telstar
Spouse(s)	Ronnie Shacklett ​ (m. 1963)​

Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944),^[2] known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first Billboard hit aged 12 in 1957 and was given the nickname "Little Miss Dynamite". Some of Lee's most successful songs include "Sweet Nothin's", "I'm Sorry", "I Want to Be Wanted", "Speak to Me Pretty", "All Alone Am I" and "Losing You". Her festive song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", recorded in 1958, topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 2023, making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the chart and breaking several chart records.^[3]

Having sold over 100 million records globally, Lee is one of the most successful American artists of the 20th century. Her U.S. success in the 1960s earned her recognition as Billboard's Top Female Artist of the Decade and one of the four artists who charted the most singles, behind Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Ray Charles. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, four NARM Awards, three NME Awards and five Edison Awards.^[4] She is the first woman to be inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2023, she was named by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest singers of all time.^[5]