Brenda Lee’s name may not be as recognizable as some of the other music stars from the 1960s but when you think of Christmas, you’ll know her song, and start humming her catchy tune, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
When Lee, now 78, first hit the stage, she wasn’t old enough to drive but her powerful vocals steered her “unprecedented international popularity” as the most successful female artist of the 1960s.
Lee, whose voice defied her diminutive stature at only 4 foot 9, became a fan favorite when she was only 12.
Brenda May Tarpley, born in 1944, got her start in the late 1940s, became huge in the 1950s, and over her career–that started before she left elementary school–she topped the charts 55 times, earning the title as the most successful female recording artist of the 1960s.
When Lee was only eight (according to Rolling Stone), her father, a construction worker, was killed at work and little Brenda–who then changed her last name to Lee–became the family’s primary provider.
Taking care of her younger brother, big sister, and mother–a cotton mill worker–was not a duty, but something she wanted to do. She said that she was thrilled when she made her first $20, so she could help her family: “Even at that young age, I saw that helped our life,” Lee said, adding “It put some food on the table. It helped, and I loved it.”
The Atlanta-born chanteuse, called a “pioneer of early rock and roll,” by the Georgia Encyclopedia, achieved “unprecedented international popularity in the 1960s.”
But, an incredibly humble human, Lee credits those who helped her achieve her dreams. When Christianity Today asked what she thinks about being a legend, Lee said “I don’t think of myself that way!” She continued, “I’m just a girl who’s been blessed to be doing what I’m doing, and there’s a lot of people who’ve sweated a lot of tears and put a lot of life’s work into me to be able to have my dream. So, if I’m a legend, then they’re legends, too.”
In 1956, the young girl joined country star Red Foley for a show at the Bell Auditorium near her home in Augusta, and she belted out “Jambalaya,” by Hank Williams.
She was then signed to appear on Foley’s Ozark Jubilee, a country music show, where millions of viewers fell in love with the sassy 12-year-old whose talent was developed well beyond her age.
In the same year, Lee signed with Decca Records, and the next year, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and fusing country with rhythm and blues–highlighted by her hiccupping vocals–she recorded early rockabilly classics like “BIGELOW 6-200,” “Little Jonah,” and “Let’s Jump the Broomstick.”
When asked if–when as a young girl–she was nervous performing in front of large crowds, she answered: “No, not really. Nobody ever told me to be nervous. The stage always felt like a hometown to me because I had been in front of people ever since I was 3 years old, singing to people. So it was a very comfortable spot for me.”
In 1957, Lee earned the nickname “Little Miss Dynamite” for her pint-sized powerhouse recording of the song “Dynamite,” and in 1958, fans heard “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree,” a genre and generation-crossing holiday standard, released when she was only 13.
“I knew it was magical,” she told Rolling Stone.
Over the next couple of years, she charted with hits like “Sweet Nuthin’s,” “All Alone Am I,” and “Fool #1.”
Most of her songs, however, contradicted her experience as a young girl. Her mother didn’t let her date and she graduated high school not understanding the heartbreak of young love.
She was only 16 when she said “Love could be so cruel” in the song “I’m Sorry” and only 16 when she said “I want his lips to kiss me” in the song “I Want to be Wanted,” both back-to-back hits when she was still in school.
And when she turned 18, she met Ronnie Shacklett, whom she’s now been happily married to for 60 years.
Life on the road for Lee as a youngster had its difficulties. She celebrated her 12th birthday in Las Vegas and speaking with the Las Vegas Journal, Lee explained her loneliness.
“Of course, I wasn’t even allowed to walk through a casino, I was so young. So I didn’t even know what a casino looked like. They took me into the kitchen, then into the showroom. And then when my show was over, I was brought back out through the kitchen and back up to my room. Children weren’t allowed … in the casino area.” She continued, “There wasn’t anything to do in Vegas for a kid. The most fun I had was on the stage.”
Speaking on what she missed out on as a child, the award-winning Lee said, “Many times, I yearned to be with my friends rather than be out there on the road.”
Turns out she made new friends on the road, like with the music group that opened for her at a 1962 show in Germany. “I hung out with John,” she says effortlessly, speaking of John Lennon. “He was extremely intelligent, very acerbic with his jokes, just a gentle person. When I found out that they later said they were fans of my music, I was just floored.”
At 69, Kevin Costner gets re-do to “look younger” after shock divorce, claims insider
Following a divorce, it’s common for one or both parties to make changes. Perhaps some new clothes? A brand-new vehicle? Perhaps a new hairstyle, a new career, or a new social circle to go out and drink with?
My argument is that, after going through something as life-altering and, typically, traumatizing as a formal separation from someone you thought you would be in love with forever, it’s only normal to make changes to your daily life.
It appears that even celebrities can undergo post-divorce makeovers. As it happens, if Radar Online is to be believed, Kevin Costner is currently in the middle of one.
The short version of Costner’s love life and how it unfolded in 2023—which our coverage of it has been extensive—is that the Dances With Wolves star and Christine Baumgartner parted ways last year after 19 years of marriage.
According to all reports, Costner was taken aback by his ex-wife’s decision, while Christine was the one who started the divorce process. After an inevitable court struggle, Baumgartner received an order for Costner to pay $63,209 in child support each month.
Although it might seem like a lot, it is far less than the $161,592 that Christine was reportedly looking for.
A few months later, the 69-year-old Costner was the focus of several rumors that connected him to different women. I suppose this is to be anticipated, given the day his divorce was finalized, he became become one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors.
In recent months, there has been a lot of conjecture that he is now dating singer Jewel; the two are said to have taken a plane trip together for vacation. In an April interview, Jewel herself mentioned Kevin, slyly describing the actor as “a great person.”
Regarding the speculations that connected the two of them, she said in the same interview, “The public fascination is intense for sure.”
CANNES, FRANCE – MAY 19: On May 19, 2024, in Cannes, France, Kevin Costner is seen on the “Horizon: An American Saga” Red Carpet at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals. (Image by FilmMagic/JB Lacroix)
The world won’t likely find out if Costner has found new love until an official announcement is released, but Radar Online claims that the leading man in Yellowstone has changed since splitting from Christine.
“He fusses over his hair nonstop and is now getting weaves,” a source reportedly told news outlet The Globe. “He is dabbling in other beauty treatments like Botox and spray tans to look younger.”
“He used to be a wash-and-go guy, but now he spends hours getting ready and gets really obsessed with his hair,” the insider said. With the bleached fuzz on top of his head, his buddies make fun of him for appearing like a scarecrow, but he doesn’t mind because he thinks it looks wonderful.
Indeed, when Costner was photographed at the Cannes Film Festival this month to introduce the first movie in his new four-part Western serial Horizon: An American serial, he flashed bleached blond hair and a noticeably longer hairline.
How do you think Costner looks now? Please tell us in the comments section.
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