Brenda Lee

Singer Brenda Lee was one of the first country artists to cross over to pop audiences, and she was the highest-charting female artist of the 1960s. ∙ At nine years old, Lee joined the cast of the TV show Ozark Jubilee after impressing host Red Foley with her rendition of “Jambalaya.” ∙ Her first hit, “One Step At A Time,” released when she was 12, peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Country chart and No. 43 on the Hot 100. ∙ Lee’s most famous single, 1958’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” initially only sold 5,000 copies, but by 1978 it had sold 5 million and continues to be one of the most-played holiday songs. ∙ From 1958 to 1962, she had 10 consecutive Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100—a record for a female solo artist that she held for more than 20 years. ∙ The 1960 hit “I’m Sorry” earned Lee her first of four Grammy nominations, and and she was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. ∙ She was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1997 and the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002, making her the first woman to earn both distinctions. ∙ John Lennon once referred to Brenda Lee as the greatest rock ’n’ roll voice of all time.