Brenda Lee

[TC Chris]

I just heard a nice interview with Brenda Lee on public radio--her Christmas song is #1--and they played a bit of "I'm Sorry," a classic good song. Haer it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGLR25EJtfE

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Brenda Lee recorded that song when she was a teenager. She was discovered by Red Foley. She was known for keeping time with her left foot "like she was stomping out a prairie fire" according to Red Foley..... Her material was some on Decca that benefited from the Nashville Sound.

[Dr. Radio]

"The classics are timeless"

And I don't mean that in the "keeping time with your left foot" kinda way.

[TC Chris]

One of the comments to that YouTube video said this:

"Brenda Lee recorded this song at the age of 15 on March 28th, 1960. The vocal along with the wonderful arrangement are almost beyond description they are so good. Forget genres and styles this is pure talent the likes of which are rarely seen."

That captures it nicely. I am fascinated by how an art flourished within the confines imposed by technology. At the beginning of commercial recording, the 10" disc (well, the cylinder before that) at 78 rpm had about a three-minute run time, so popular music developed a three-minute convention.

Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert & Sullivan, was horrified by recording. He feared that bad music would be around forever. He was partly right; recordings of bad music are as durable as those of good music, and maybe more so since they don't get played as much. But what he did not foresee was that we would treasure the good ones and remember them, that they would set standards by their superior quality.

I keep being reminded of these many gems. Yesterday I heard a radio piece that included a bit of Edith Piaf singing "Je ne regrette rien." Oh my. You can hear her here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Kvu6Kgp88

There's a good film biopic about Piaf that you can read about here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Vie_en_Rose_(film)

We have the good fortune to live in a time when these small miracles are readily available for listening.

Chris Campbell

[electra225]

Brenda Lee, Tanya Tucker, Marie Osmond and Leann Rimes are examples of female artists whose best material was recorded before they were 20.

[back-2-mono]

Little Miss Dynamite!