''Brenda Lee'' is the second studio album by American singer

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

. The album was released August 1, 1960 on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

and was produced by Owen Bradley. The album's second single "Sweet Nothin's" became Lee's first major hit single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking within the Top 10. This was followed by the third single " I'm Sorry" released the following year that became her first single to top the Billboard Hot 100.

Background and content

''Brenda Lee'' was prepared in four separate sessions between 1958 and 1960 all at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio. The first session took place October 19, 1958, followed by a second session on August 13, 1959, which was then proceeded by a third session March 27, 1960. The final session took place one day later on March 28, 1960. Like her previous release, the album contained twelve tracks. Two tracks were stereo remakes of her earliest singles, her cover of

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

's "

Jambalaya Jambalaya ( , ) is an American Creole and Cajun rice dish of French (especially Provençal cuisine), African, and Spanish influence, consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. Ingredients Traditionally, the meat includes sa ...

", which was Lee's first single in 1956, and her 1957 single "Dynamite". The second track entitled "Weep No More Baby" was written by

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "I ...

and

Marijohn Wilkin Marijohn Wilkin ( Melson; July 14, 1920 – October 28, 2006) was an American songwriter, famous in country music for writing a number of hits. Wilkin won numerous awards over the years and was referred to as "The Den Mother of Music Row," a ...

. The ninth track " That's All You Gotta Do" was written by

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

artist

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

, which was released as the B-side to Lee's 1960 single "I'm Sorry". The album was originally released in the U.S. in monaural (Decca DL 4039) and stereo (Decca DL 74039) versions on an

LP record The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

, containing six songs on the first side of the record and six songs on the opposite end. The album has never been reissued on a

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

in the United States, but it has been released in this format in Argentina and the United Kingdom.

Release

The album's first single "

Let's Jump the Broomstick "Let's Jump the Broomstick" is a song written by Charles Robins and performed first by a black Nashville group, Alvin Gaines & The Themes, in 1959, then covered that year by Brenda Lee. Her version reached No.12 in the UK Singles Chart, United Ki ...

" was released in April 1959. While it did not chart in the United States, the track did chart in the United Kingdom, peaking at #12 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. "Sweet Nothin's" was released as the album's official second single in September 1959, becoming her first single to reach the Top 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at #4. In addition, the song also reached the same position on the UK Singles Chart. The third and final single released was " I'm Sorry", which became Lee's first song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while also reaching #12 in the United Kingdom. "I'm Sorry's" B-side also gained significant radio airplay in 1960 and the song entitled " That's All You Gotta Do" peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both the songs "Sweet Nothin's" and "That's All You Gotta Do" also peaked within the Top 10 and 20 on the ''Billboard'' R&B music chart in 1960, reaching #12 and #19 respectively. ''Brenda Lee'' was officially released on August 1, 1960, peaking at #5 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, becoming one of three albums released to peak within the Top 10 on the ''Billboard'' 200 list.

Track listing

;Side one #"Dynamite" (

Mort Garson Morton Sanford Garson (20 July 1924 – 4 January 2008) was a Canadian composer, arranger, songwriter, and pioneer of electronic music. He is best known for his albums in the 1960s and 1970s, such as '' Mother Earth's Plantasia'' (1976), He also ...

Tom Glazer Thomas Zachariah Glazer (September 2, 1914 – February 21, 2003) was an American folk singer and songwriter known primarily as a composer of ballads, including: "Because All Men Are Brothers", recorded by The Weavers and Peter, Paul and M ...

) – 1:57 #"Weep No More Baby" (

) – 3:00 #"

Jambalaya (On the Bayou) "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Hank Williams that was first released in July 1952. It is Williams' most covered song. Named for a Creole and Cajun dish, jambalaya, it spawned numerou ...

" (

) – 2:42 #"(If I'm Dreaming) Just Let Me Dream" (Charles Singleton) – 2:49 #"Be My Love Again" (Chuck Taylor) – 2:37 #"My Baby Likes Western Guys" (Jackie Dee) – 2:13 ;Side two #"

Sweet Nothin's Sweet Nothin's is a 1959 song by Brenda Lee written by Ronnie Self. It peaked at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 12 on the Hot R&B Sides chart, in 1960. The song (as Sweet Nuthin's) also charted on the UK Singles Chart in 1960, peaki ...

" (

Ronnie Self Ronnie Self (July 5, 1938 – August 28, 1981) was an American rockabilly singer and songwriter. His solo career was unsuccessful, despite being signed to contracts with Columbia and then Decca from the late 1950s through the early 1960s. His ...

) – 2:24 #" I'm Sorry" (Dub Allbritten, Self) – 2:40 #" That's All You Gotta Do" (

) – 2:27 #"Heading Home" – 2:40 #"Wee Wee Willies" (Self) – 2:06 #"

" (Chas Robbins) – 2:25

Personnel

Harold Bradley Harold Ray Bradley (January 2, 1926 – January 31, 2019) was an American guitarist and entrepreneur, who played on many country, rock and pop recordings and produced numerous TV variety shows and movie soundtracks. Having started as a session ...

– guitar *

Floyd Cramer Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signatu ...

– piano * Dottie Dillard – background vocals *

Buddy Emmons Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. Affectionately known by ...

–

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (11 November 1930 – 27 December 2004), professionally Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and released a jazz al ...

– guitar *

Buddy Harman Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American country music session musician. Career Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Harman played drums on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry ...

– drums * Anita Kerr – background vocals * Douglas Kirkham – background vocals, drums *

Millie Kirkham Millie Kirkham (born Mildred Eakes; June 24, 1923 – December 14, 2014) was an American singer who was featured on many classic hit recordings from the mid-1950s through the 1980s. Early life Kirkham was born Mildred Eakes in Hermitage, Tenne ...

– background vocals * Brenda Lee – lead vocals *

Grady Martin Thomas Grady Martin (January 17, 1929 – December 3, 2001) was an American session guitarist in country music and rockabilly. A member of The Nashville A-Team, he played guitar on hits such as Marty Robbins' " El Paso", Loretta Lynn's " Co ...

– guitar *

Bob Moore Bob Loyce Moore (November 30, 1932 – September 22, 2021) was an American session musician, orchestra leader, and double bassist who was a member of the Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 1960s. He performed on over 17,000 documented recor ...

– bass * Louis Nunley – background vocals *

Boots Randolph Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III (June 3, 1927 – July 3, 2007) was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit "Yakety Sax" (which became Benny Hill's signature tune). Randolph was a major part of the "Nashville sound" for most o ...

– saxophone * Bill Wright – background vocals

Sales chart positions

;Album ;Singles

References

{{Authority control 1960 albums Brenda Lee albums Albums produced by Owen Bradley Decca Records albums