What a voice! ...BRENDA LEE I'M SORRY REACTION | First time hearing

[@gary17509]

"Break It to me gently" - another beautiful song by Brenda Lee.

[@donmcneal233]

Juice Newton has a great take on Break It... too! Whoa...!

[@donw804]

@@donmcneal233 Love Juice's version.

[@avidrdr5640]

She recorded her first hit at 12 years old. There's a live performance of her on KZbin at that age singing "Dynamite" on tv. Under 5 feet tall with a powerful voice, she earned the nickname "Little Miss Dynamite". She went on to rank 4th in #1 hits during the 60's decade with only Elvis, The Beatles and Ray Charles having more. She's still active in Nashville.

[@brgilbert2]

[avidrdr] I think you should revise your information about her age. Brenda Lee got her first major break when Red Foley discovered her and put her on his show, a Country Western venue when she was 9 I think. There are videos of her singing Dynamite on that show before she was twelve years old. If she did cut a record of it, it was probably a local hit on a Country station because it never received any play time up in the Pacific Northwest.

[@avidrdr5640]

@@brgilbert2 That Red Foley appearance happened on March '55 when she was 10. Her birthday's in Dec (1944), so discussing her age at different stages of her career can be confusing. Her first record, "Jamabalaya", was released when she was 11 but for some reason, whether a mistake or deliberate, the record company proclaimed her to be 9 years old. There were other network tv appearances between her Red Foley appearance and her record releases. I think there were earlier recorded live appearances even before Foley's show, but not on a national network. "Jambalaya" was her 1st single, but her 1st charted hit was "One Step at a Time", when she was 12. She's from just outside Atlanta and won a talent contest when she was 5, winning a spot to sing on a local radio station for a year. Her father was killed on a job accident when she was 7 and she earned money at local venues until she was basically the sole breadwinner for the family by the time she was 10. So yes, she was well known from the radio here in the southeast for several years before her Red Foley appearance. We're almost the same age, she's from near Atlanta and I grew up near Birmingham, so we heard her on the radio a lot. Back then a lot of people swore, because of her voice, that she was a grown woman ("midget" was used, but that wasn't considered by most people at the time to be a derogatory term, just a descriptive adjective).

[@brgilbert2]

@@avidrdr5640 Ah, thanks for the heads up. There is a video here discussing her life which I watched a few years ago. I think it was because of my first discovering Angelina Jordan and trying to think of anyone of that age when I started listening to music in the 50's. I came up with Brenda Lee and remembered "I'm Sorry" when she was 15 not aware that she was actually 5 years old when she started. I commented from memory but probably should have revisited it before posting my reply.

[@kevinhayden4605]

She sang “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree”. You’ve probably heard that tune a million times at the store during Christmas season.

[@HarriBestReactions]

Someone just said that too 😀

[@DK-ed7be]

@@HarriBestReactions 13 years old when she recorded it.

[@elevown]

i know that from some film.. any idea what it is in? ground hog day maybe? gotta be a christmas or wintery film..

[@BOOMNERD51]

Makes me grin every time!

[@BOOMNERD51]

Makes me grin every time!

[@nugnorab5257]

50s & 60s the generations of legend.

[@davecarroll8186]

I saw he when I was 16 and she was 16 in Indianapolis in 1961....I was lucky to have been born to hear all of the best music ever!!

[@mamb70]

She signed a recording contract at age 13 or 14, that's how great she was. Listening to this 60 years never got tired of it. She was on Fire 🔥 doing Sweet Nothings? Really showed her grit and range.

[@fusiliers]

You should absolutely listen to Connie Francis, another powerful voice from this era. Start with "Who's Sorry Now?".

[@deegomez2089]

@farmer...She has so many great songs, my fave is a little known song she covered called Al Di La 🎶🎵

[@nkcbrazil]

@dee, yes her Italian songs, also Mala Femina another great one, it’s amazing everyone reacts to her pop songs when the Italian songs where her best and really showed off her great voice much much more, but no one reacts to them.

[@dahuffy]

"Where The Boys Are"

[@autumnamber6849]

@@deegomez2089 I know Al di la, others sang it too, great song.

[@Johnnybomb1]

The talking part in the middle is reminiscent of The Ink Spots. In fact, she covered a few of their songs. "We three" being one of them.

[@toodlescae]

Love Brenda Lee. She was about 15-16 when she recorded this.

[@wnsafford1854]

Brenda Lee was just 15. She turned 15 Dec. 1959, recorded "I'm Sorry" March 1960 & it hit #1 on Billboard Hot 100 July 1960. Incredible voice for any age, but 15?! Amazing.

[@bengilbert7655]

And never grew taller than 4'9".

[@leonardshevlin7260]

Little Miss Dynamite was a seasoned professional when she recorded this at 15. Her singing career had been supporting her family since she was 10 (her father had been killed on the job).

[@DK-ed7be]

You know the song, you hear it every Christmas. Rockin Around the Christmas Tree was recorded by then 13 year old Brenda Lee.

[@georgeprime2249]

I believe she was known as ' Little miss Dynamite. '

[@kennethleebenjamin7360]

She was close with the great Patsy Cline , if you want to hear the voice of an angel please listen to Patsy Cline and Connie Frances . Love your page

[@suzie4417]

I grew up listening to Brenda Lee & I can remember where I was whenever I heard this beautiful voice singing I’m Sorry ! Part of growing up was listening to Brenda, Leslie Gore, The Ronettes, and my wonderful Motown stars - all with diamonds in their voices 💝🥰🇨🇦🎵☮️ Brenda started singing around 3yrs, was known at 5 yrs old and by 12 she was the breadwinner for the family, her father couldn’t work & I think passed away . At 15 yrs she was so popular and her record sales were in third place with Elvis & Roy Orbison #1 #2 ! She was nicknamed Little Miss Dynamite 🥰💥✨

[@dsusan17]

Brenda Lee is in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall Of Fame. Little Miss Dynamite! Great, great pick and analysis.

[@arrowheartmusic7791]

Emotions by Brenda Lee 👍🏽 you’ll love it

[@marysue8815]

Love her, I believe that is the first 45 record I bought as a teen, your song choices and reaction are wonderful

[@axiomist4488]

She started singing at age 11, in 1956, with a version of Hank Williams's "Jambalaya". She was known originally as Little Brenda Lee, due to the fact that she's 4'10'' . I always thought she was such a cutie.

[@johnwingate8799]

I'm 64 and my dad was a big fan.not many people talk about her now.thank u for appreciating her voice.

[@rranger1014]

"And the radio played that for gotten song, Brenda Lee's coming on strong" -Radar Love

[@karenstrong8887]

Brenda Lee was my Mother’s era but I loved her and still do. I found a video of her on KZbin singing as a little girl, she is tiny. I love her singing The End Of The World.

[@ocheltree1]

What a FANTASTIC review/reaction, Harri!!! She's one of those rare phenom's that once you've heard her, you will always recognize that voice. She give's you the shivers in a good way!

[@HarriBestReactions]

She blew me.away!

[@alanhodges8839]

Shivers and goose pimples and left me on a high.

[@supasoulproductions]

She was a short petite teenager when she made this recording. But her voice was so powerful she got the nickname Little Miss Dynamite! Lots of guys were in love with Brenda Lee!

[@avidrdr5640]

True, but also because her first big hit and the song she sang on her first tv appearance when she was 12 was titled "Dynamite". That appearance is available on KZbin. It's awesome!

[@rs-ye7kw]

Another great voice from the early '60's was Timi Yuro. "Hurt" is her best known hit.

[@appledoreman]

Absolutely!

[@wayne_twentyfive]

"What's The Matter Baby" was another great song by Timi .. And the cover of it done by the wonderful Ellen Foley is also fantastic .. Cheers, Wayne

[@alanjay5974]

I agree. I've just added my comment to back up yours for this great record.All the best.

[@pegatheetoo1437]

My favorite version of that song!

[@yellow4for2]

Someone has to react to Timi so people can hear what their missing

[@sharonpate5481]

I remember when Brenda Lee hit the music scene. She was very young and a tiny little thing. People were just blown away by that voice coming from such a petite girl. Love this reaction ☮️🌼♥️

[@avidrdr5640]

I remember also. Her rendition of "Jambalaya" was epic and it was blew country music fans away.

[@GM8101PHX]

I started my Oldies collection from my cousins that were teens when these wonderful hits were made! I think I have well over 20,000 songs from the time period of 1957 (when I was born) to 1963! I was stunned when I watched her sing on TV and voice was amazing!

[@rogerduffey1428]

All 4'9" of her!! Little miss dynamite!!

[@rachelginter3616]

Omg..it's been years since I've heard Brenda Lee..thank you for this reaction

[@39thala]

You're hitting some of my personal Favs today Harri. Shelley Fabares "Johnny Angel", and now Brenda Lee, "I'm Sorry".

[@wlg2367]

Brenda is an Icon of Rockabilly music and lives in Nashville, she is 77 years of age.

[@wayne_twentyfive]

Brenda Lee was without doubt one of the best singers of all time .. Many fantastic songs of hers you could react to .. "All Alone Am I" was another big hit, and my personal favourite .. But whatever you choose, you'll be rewarded !

[@deniserhodes2655]

I love her All Alone Am I!!!

[@wayne_twentyfive]

@@deniserhodes2655 It's one of my all-time favourite songs 👍👍👍

[@39thala]

And she was only 15 years old when she released this in 1960.

[@wallytverstol8627]

little woman with a lot of power

[@wgdavis5353]

Hi Mr. Harri, Ms. Brenda is little lady with a powerful great voice.. Very underrated, my opinion.. She did "Rocking Around The Christmas Tree", and song with Dynamite in the title plus others.. ♠W.G.

[@dagmar.6954]

Another great songstress from the late 50's & early 60's. She started very young & had a very unique voice. She covered different genres including rockabilly, pop & country. Some other hits by her are "Sweet Nothin's", "Break It To Me Gently", "All Alone Am I".

[@debbiechang5781]

A tiny woman with big hair and a giant voice! Nice. 🌺✌️

[@jmelio1]

Love Benda Lee! Just a few of some other great songs of hers...'Sweet Nothin's', 'Break it to Me Gently', All Alone Am I'

[@P-M-869]

Brenda was a singing star at 13 years of age. Try Sweet Nothing

[@vitordio2472]

OHHH MY OHHH MY THIS VOICE..

[@barbarachieppo9603]

I remember my mom playing this on our record player in the dining room in the early 70's ✌❤

[@angelarasmussen1800]

You left out powerful and sultry... Just AMAZING 😳🎺🎷🎵❣️

[@JustVinnyMusic]

If you were a guy and in high school when this came out, it was really a personal song because this is just what you dreamed that every girl that dumped you would say. And she sings it so that you just want to say: "yeah, it's okay, you're forgiven."

[@39thala]

This song was co-written by 50's rockabilly singer, Ronnie Self. He got a gold record for the song, and the story goes, he took it out of the frame and played it. It turned out to be a German marching band, so he raised hell with Decca records and they gave him a real "I'm Sorry" gold record. Ronnie also co-wrote several other Brenda Lee songs including her hit, "Sweet Nothins' (One of her best rockabilly tunes) and several others that he co-wrote along with Dub Allbritten

[@coffee-xg6my]

Lol, that's a hilarious story about the Gold Record. But not surprising that the record company would try to pull a stunt like that. I've read that Ronnie was a pretty firey outrageous guy too. I can believe he would raise hell with them about it.

[@shawnklein9997]

So many songs that are great ; too many rivers is one of my favorites but I’d say there’s about a dozen that are amazing, anything off her greatest hits album

[@DawnSuttonfabfour]

Pure Brenda; aged 15! They played her a lot on radio when I was a kid.

[@delorespetree3243]

I had a cousin that could sing like her Brenda was so good

[@BOOMNERD51]

Great reaction, Harris! The dynamic range, the range range. Rocks! ❤️

[@ronhunt9396]

She was and is such a cutie 💓 with a smooooth voice and several hits. Another great video and I'm a subscriber now for a couple months. Keep doing what you're doing. Great job

[@bengilbert7655]

Hometown girl! My mother says she remembers her as a little girl singing at local churches.

[@tsc6454]

I love her version of Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. I think it may have been the first holiday hit of the Rock n Roll era

[@chevy266nova]

"I'm Sorry" is a 1960 hit song by 15-year-old American singer Brenda Lee. It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in July 1960.

[@carloseduardorodriguesdeal716]

Man I'm from Brazil and I love 50's 60's songs and I was trying to figure out if today We have anyone could have a voice like that. I didn't find even any cover close to her voice.

[@wp5355]

My favorite Brenda Lee song!

[@riptide8085]

It wasn’t just Brenda it was the the orchestration behind it that helped make it great. Thr Nashville sound

[@nkcbrazil]

Tha amazing Brenda Lee, Here are some other great ones by Brenda to be the first to react to and my personal favorites 😊”All Alone Am I” “I want to be Wanted” and “Emotions”

[@neptune9]

It's about time someone reacted to Brenda Lee. Long overdue! One of my favorites, as is 'Break It To Me Gently'.

[@tomsgrexit]

This song comes on the classic country music station all the time!! I've heard it since I was a kid, but didn't really look into the singer until much later! Brenda Lee's voice is incredible!!

[@dlbeal]

Brenda Lee's All Alone am I is another great hit.

[@gika9771]

It is so cool, that you hear this old nice songs

[@dufrenedana1]

I LOVE BRENDA LEE!!!

[@davidmazon7516]

She's got that southern belle voice that I always loved.

[@karolyn8644]

Here's a bit of trivia about Brenda Lee. My best friend's father was the announcer on a TV show, Ozark Jubilee out of Springfield, MO, in the 1950s. Porter Wagoner was her godfather. She grew up with Brenda. They went rollerskating together, & sang together. She tells me that Brenda "had a mouth on her like a sailor" and a voice so powerful that she once cracked the glass in a recording booth window.

[@timothymunger3186]

I seem to remember that Rockabilly is pretty popular over there. Brenda Lee was also one of the early women of Rockabilly, along with Wanda Jackson and others. Those days from the late 40's and into the 50's were an interesting time when western swing was evolving into rockabilly and rock and roll by the mid to late 1950's. It's easy to forget that Les Paul's version of the electric guitar only came out in 1952 (and changed the face of popular music). Brenda Lee was a part of that new generation in the 1950's. Popular music was changing so much.

[@philsdon8932]

She was thirteen when she recorded that. As an adult, she measured 4'9". That's why they called her Little Miss Dynamite.

[@dianefiske-foy4717]

Excellent and perfect reaction Harri 👍🏻👏🏻🥰‼️

[@josepharnita2748]

THE BUBBLE HAIRDO. WOW THE MEMORIES

[@robertdanyus6836]

You need to do Ronnie and The Ronettes also

[@davidcraddock7011]

she was on the pop charts too

[@westsidechgopaesani3790]

the live video of her at age 13 is a killer video and you get to see her emotions and how young she was. She starred on grand ole opry at age 8, so by 13 she had stage presence.

[@melvinyoung3474]

Brenda Lee was only 15 when she recorded I'm Sorry I've seen her original video and her age is very appearant.

[@jucadvgv3449]

just to let you know, she was something like 14 or 16 when she recorded this song! she was simply amazing, she recorded several other hits at about this same age, and she also went on to have a long career.

[@avidrdr5640]

She was rated 4th in #1 charted hits throughout the 60's decade, with only Elvis, The Beatles and Ray Charles having more.

[@beverlysmith8025]

Huge voice in a tiny, tiny lady!

[@josephscally6270]

Whenever I hear this song I think of a specific time and place as you do. In this case I remember being a young lad and hearing my mother play this song over and over and over again. To the point where to this day probably 60+ years later I can still remember the words.

[@marciv2964]

" Dynamite " is a great introduction to Brenda

[@famat161]

Her trills have trills.

[@Mark-iv7np]

Her voice is incredible, always loved it. Signed a recording contract at 13 or 14. This was done when she was about the same age. SWEET NOTHINGS is great really shows her upper range.

[@user-ed9ki3vi6d]

Luv the music

[@tallestmountain]

She made in Pop and Country as did her mentor Patsy Cline.

[@donw804]

Brenda Lee had more hits by the time she was 16 than many artists could hope for in their whole career. Rockin Around the Christmas Tree remains my most favorite Christmas song even after all these years.

[@ronfinn9169]

Great voice

[@dianagoncalves3768]

Yeah she's amazzzinnggg!! Cheers great reaction ✌️😎🇵🇹

[@emagrandalen4494]

My favourite Brenda Lee song is "Break it to me Gently"

[@dawnmanzetti1633]

❤️ loved your reaction to Brenda Lee

[@Boatzilla2]

Good one, Harri. In a similar vein, please check out Connie Francis when you have time time. She was pretty huge in the '50s and '60s. "Lipstick On Your Collar," "Stupid Cupid." "Breaking in a Brand New Broken Heart."

[@joeskinner6009]

All good.

[@edithdavis2848]

Far from a woman, just barely a teenager. She has a marvelous voice far older then her years and she only got better. I remember when she started. 71 years young

[@alanjay5974]

If u liked Brenda Lee's voice which is great, try TIMI YURO singing HURT. It's possibly the most powerful & emotional voice combined.

[@fishydigit]

Love ya Harri. Thanks for sharing with us...

[@linda1541]

Kinda has the same vibe as Patsy Cline’s song “Crazy.” Both are crossover greats.

[@Gloren50]

If you like Brenda Lee, check out Timi Yuro's 'Make the World Go Away', 'Smile', 'Hurt' or even 'Cry'. They were contemporary artists in the late 50s-60s. Brenda's more 'country' and Timi more R&B/Blues, but both have big, dramatic voices. Timi also covered Brenda's 'I'm Sorry'.

[@beegee1960]

To m, this her best recording.

[@IVORIESMAN]

15 years old - insane...!

[@wendysilva8749]

Little Miss Dynamite... love your reaction. She is GREAT, or as you young'ins say GOAT!

[@HarriBestReactions]

You're now a young'in too 😀😀

[@bessiesobjack8647]

This song gives me goosebumps, I love it and Brenda Lee also. These songs from this era is what I grew up with. So many memories keeps popping up. I can’t describe it.🎼🎶🦋🎵🔥🔥

[@Patienthost]

Brenda's, voice is phenomenal. It's hypnotizing. It is comforting, I agree with you. Except the forgiving her for destroying my property part, no, I'm female. 🤣 I love this song, too! 😁👍

[@BoxerRick]

Home run, Harri!! This is old classy stuff right here. Her voice was so strong as a teenager. Loved it Brother. Your reactions are 🔥

[@lindawarren6721]

Hey, fabulous song & I just love your reaction...tingles, yeah!❤ Johannesburg SA in the house 🤗🤗

[@richardw4336]

Brenda has a back catalogue well worth a look. Losing You, All Alone Am I, Too Many Rivers and on and on. In this country we had Helen Shapiro having number ones at the age of 14 and she's also worth checking out, Walking Back To Happiness, You Don't Know, Tell me What he Said and also I'd back the people telling you about Timi Yuro who has an outstanding voice.

[@airalynsaudade483]

You should react to Emotions by Brenda Lee

[@beeseewill2407]

Brenda Lee was so young when she started singing ,but what a mature voice she had.

[@cathyortiz1280]

"Rocking Around the Christmas Tree."