NEW YORK (AP) — Come and make a journey to the giddy start of rock ‘n’ roll via the eyes of one in every of its pioneers — Brenda Lee.
The “I’m Sorry” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” hitmaker who shared levels with each Elvis Presley and the Beatles is a information to these heady years in “American Masters — Brenda Lee: Rockin’ Around,” which premieres Monday on PBS.
“That era can never be repeated again,” she tells The Related Press on the eve of the printed. “That was an era when the money wasn’t thought about, the fame wasn’t thought about. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. The artists of that time were there to do their thing, and they loved it, whether they got paid or not.”
Lee, 80, had her first hit document in 1960 at age 15 and went on to promote greater than 100 million albums. Within the ’60s, she earned extra Scorching 100 singles in the US — 46 — than any recording artist apart from the Beatles, Presley or Ray Charles. She gained a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
She is the uncommon artist inducted into each the Nation Music Corridor of Fame and the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame, shifting effortlessly in her profession between nation, pop, rock and rockabilly sounds.
“I never classified myself as a ballad singer, as a rock singer, as a country singer or anything. I just wanted to sing,” she says within the interview. “Some artists can sing it all. Not me. I have to love what I’m singing or it’s not believable.”
The documentary attracts on the commentary of musicologists and such stars as Keith City, Tanya Tucker, Trisha Yearwood, Jackie DeShannon, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo.
“I had no trouble getting people to talk about Brenda and why she matters and why we should look to her,” says director Barbara Corridor. “This is what’s possible when you just get your head down and stay focused and do what you know you’re good at and don’t give up.”
Lee was the daughter of a carpenter in Atlanta who died in a development accident when she was simply 8. Her mom quickly was compelled to work within the cotton mill. When she was 10, nation music singer Pink Foley put her on his nationwide TV program “Ozark Jubilee.” By age 12, she had appeared on varied community TV selection exhibits.
The portrait that emerges is a uncommon one for the music trade, the story of a younger lady who’s protected and nurtured. Lee credit producer Owen Bradley; her supervisor, Dub Allbritten; and the musicians she labored with for searching for her, treating her like a little bit sister.
“I hear horror stories about children in show business, but I certainly didn’t have that experience, and I’m grateful for that,” says Lee. “It was like I was one of the group, and that was so important to me.”
The vacations are when Lee shines most, along with her hit “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in excessive rotation. In 2023, it topped the Billboard Scorching 100 chart for the primary time ever, 65 years after the music’s debut.
“She is in your house every Christmas,” says Corridor. “She is a part of something that so many Americans celebrate. So, I’m hoping that people will embrace her story and her music once they get reintroduced to it.”
She recorded it at age 13 in July 1958, not precisely a snowy time within the South. The air conditioner was cranked up within the recording studio and there was a Christmas tree set as much as get everybody within the temper. It initially was an even bigger hit overseas and later bought a lift within the 1990 movie “Home Alone.”
“You get a wonderful song and it may lay around for a few years like ‘Rockin’’ did, but if it’s as wonderful as ’Rockin″ was, it’ll show its head sooner or later, and that’s what happened,” Lee says.
Corridor, who labored on a 2017 “American Masters” documentary on Patsy Cline, says she tried to seek out any grime on Lee and easily could not. Even when Lee broke her leg throughout the shoot and needed to be hospitalized, she was gracious and sort.
“If my leg was broken in 10 places and I had to be in a rehab facility, I’d probably be in a bad mood the whole time,” she says. “She was cracking jokes and everyone in the room felt like she was their friend.”
