LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Brenda Lee: Owen Bradley
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The comparison between Lee and Cline is to be expected, given that both singers were produced by Owen Bradley in the early '60s. Naturally, many of the same session musicians and backup vocalists were employed. Brenda... had a bigger in with the pop audience, not just because she was still a teenager, but because her material was more pop than Cline's, and not as country. Between 1960 and 1962, she had a stunning series of huge hits: "I'm Sorry," "I Want to Be Wanted," "Emotions," "You Can Depend on Me," "Dum Dum," "Fool #1," "Break It to Me Gently," and "All Alone Am I" all made the Top Ten. Their crossover appeal is no mystery. While these were ballads, they were delivered with enough lovesick yearning to appeal to adolescents, and enough maturity for the adults. The first-class melodic songwriting and professional orchestral production guaranteed that they would not be ghettoized in the country market.
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Lee was a child prodigy, appearing on national television by the age of ten, and making her first recordings for Decca the following year (1956). Her first few Decca singles, in fact, make a pretty fair bid for the best preteen rock & roll performances this side of Michael Jackson. "BIGELOW 6-200," "Dynamite," and "Little Jonah" are all exceptionally powerful rockabilly performances, with robust vocals and white-hot backing from the cream of Nashville's session musicians (including Owen Bradley, Grady Martin, Hank Garland, and Floyd Cramer). Lee would not have her first big hits until 1960, when she tempered the rockabilly with teen idol pop on "Sweet Nothin's," which went to the Top Five.
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In 1957, the family eventually moved to Nashville where Brenda was taken under the wing of manger Dub Allbritten and the legendary producer Owen Bradley. These two men were both very loving father figures in her life. Young Brenda toured the country with stars like Patsy Cline, Mel Tillis, and George Jones. By 12, she starred at the Grand Ole Opry and in Vegas. In September of 1959, Brenda rocketed to number one on the Rock and Roll charts with, "Sweet Nothings." Although Brenda was making good money, most of it was held in trust until she was 21 due to the Jackie Coogan Law.
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In the early \'70s, Lee reunited with Owen Bradley and, like so many early white rock & roll stars, returned to country music. For a time she was fairly successful in this field, making the country Top Ten half-a-dozen times in 1973-1974. Although she remained active as a recording and touring artist, for the last couple of decades she\'s been little more than a living legend, directing her intermittent artistic efforts to the country audience. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide', 'One of the biggest pop stars of the early \'60s, Brenda Lee hasn\'t attracted as much critical respect as she deserves. She is sometimes inaccurately characterized as one of the few female teen...');">Expand [+]
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Brenda continued to perform and tour at a relentless pace. Her 1989 appearance on K.D. Lang's album "Shadowland" gave her yet another Grammy nomination. In 1998, Owen Bradley died, and Brenda was completely devastated. She mustered every fiber in her being to sing "There Will Be Peace In the Valley" at his funeral. In 1999, Brenda was diagnosed with cysts on her vocal chords.
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Owen Bradley took over Lee's sole producer in 1958 and produced all of her Nashville sessions through 1968. Except for the rock & roll number “Dynamite” (which gave her the enduring nickname Little Miss Dynamite), chart hits eluded her for the next couple years. However, during the interim, Albritten discovered her records were selling in Europe, and she took the opportunity to tour France in February 1959. This was the beginning of international stardom for Lee. Not only was her tour successful, but the following years would find her performing in South America, Australia, Japan, and all through Europe. During the 1960s, she recorded her hits in several European languages.
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