Editing Brenda Lee (section)

===Biggest successes: 1958–1966===
[[File:Brenda Lee - Cash Box 1960.jpg|thumb|Lee presented with a [[Music recording sales certification|Gold record]] for "I'm Sorry", cover of ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'', August 27, 1960]]
Lee achieved her biggest success on the [[Record chart|pop charts]] in the late 1950s through the mid-1960s with [[rockabilly]] and [[rock and roll]]-styled songs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brendalee.com/pages/biography.html |title=Brenda Lee: the Lady, the Legend|publisher=Brenda Lee Productions|access-date=April 10, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414094639/http://www.brendalee.com/pages/biography.html |archive-date=April 14, 2009}}</ref> Her biggest hits included "Jambalaya", "[[Sweet Nothin's]]" (No.&nbsp;4, written by country musician [[Ronnie Self]]), "I Want to Be Wanted" (No.&nbsp;1), "[[All Alone Am I]]" (No.&nbsp;3) and "[[Fool No. 1|Fool #1]]" (No.&nbsp;3). She had more hits with the more pop-based songs "[[That's All You Gotta Do]]" (No.&nbsp;6), "[[Emotions (Brenda Lee song)|Emotions]]" (No.&nbsp;7), "[[You Can Depend on Me (Louis Armstrong song)|You Can Depend on Me]]" (No.&nbsp;6), "[[Dum Dum (Brenda Lee song)|Dum Dum]]" (No.&nbsp;4), 1962's "[[Break It to Me Gently]]" (No.&nbsp;2), "[[Everybody Loves Me But You]]" (No.&nbsp;6), and "[[As Usual]]" (No.&nbsp;12). Lee's total of nine consecutive top 10 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits from "That's All You Gotta Do" in 1960 through "All Alone Am I" in 1962 set a record for a female solo artist that was not equaled until 1986 by [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]].{{Citation needed|date= January 2020}}

In 1958, when Lee was 13, producer [[Owen Bradley]] asked her to record a new song by [[Johnny Marks]], who had had success writing Christmas tunes for country singers, most notably "[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]" ([[Gene Autry]]) and "[[A Holly Jolly Christmas]]" ([[Burl Ives]]). Lee recorded the song "[[Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree]]" in July with a prominent twanging guitar part by [[Hank Garland]] and raucous sax soloing by Nashville icon [[Boots Randolph]]. Decca released it as a single that November, but it sold only 5,000 copies, and did not do much better when it was released again in 1959.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1978|title=The Book of Golden Discs|edition=2nd|publisher=Barrie and Jenkins Ltd|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/103 103]|isbn=0-214-20512-6|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/103}}</ref> However, over subsequent years, it eventually sold more than five million copies. Since 2017, the song has appeared at the end of each year on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, having spent (as of December 9, 2023) 54 weeks on the Hot 100, peaking at number 1 in 2023.
[[File:Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Billboard ad 1960.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' ad for "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", November 21, 1960]] 
In 1960, Lee recorded her [[signature song]], "[[I'm Sorry (Brenda Lee song)|I'm Sorry]]". However, the record initially was withheld for months before its release due to concern that the 15-year-old Lee would not understand what she was singing about in the love song. The song became one of the biggest hits of 1960, reaching the #1 chart position in the U.S. and #12 in the U.K.<ref>{{Cite web |last=hanspostcard |date=December 2, 2019 |title=Billboard #1 Hits: #32: 'I'm Sorry'- Brenda Lee- July 18, 1960 |url=https://slicethelife.com/2019/12/02/billboard-1-hits-32-im-sorry-brenda-lee-july-18-1960/ |access-date=December 3, 2023 |website=slicethelife |language=en |archive-date=December 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203143508/https://slicethelife.com/2019/12/02/billboard-1-hits-32-im-sorry-brenda-lee-july-18-1960/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=tolsen |date=January 2, 2013 |title=Billboard Hot 100™ |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/ |access-date=December 3, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US |archive-date=December 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211227031046/https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was her first gold single and was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/3rd-annual-grammy-awards |title=3rd Annual Grammy Awards |publisher=[[Grammy Awards]] |access-date=2024-06-18}}</ref> Even though it was not released as a country song, it was among the first big hits to use what was to become the [[Nashville sound]]&nbsp;– a string orchestra and [[legato]] harmonized background vocals. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" was finally noticed in its third release a few months later, and sales snowballed; the song remains a perennial favorite each December and is the record with which she is most identified by contemporary audiences.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Molanphy |first=Chris |date=December 8, 2023 |title=Why Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" Is Finally No. 1 on the Billboard Charts |url=https://slate.com/culture/2023/12/brenda-lee-rockin-around-christmas-tree-billboard-100.html |access-date=June 28, 2024 |website=Slate}}</ref>

Her last top-ten single on the pop charts in the United States (besides the reappearance each November–December since 2017 of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree") was 1963's "[[Losing You (Brenda Lee song)|Losing You]]" (No.&nbsp;6). 

In 1964, "[[As Usual]]" reached No.&nbsp;12 in the US and No.&nbsp;5 in the UK and "[[Coming on Strong (song)|Coming on Strong]]" peaked at No.&nbsp;11 in the US.{{Citation needed|date= January 2020}} Also in 1964, "[[Is It True (Brenda Lee song)|Is It True]]" peaked at No.&nbsp;17 in both the US and the UK. Featuring [[Big Jim Sullivan]] (guitar), [[Jimmy Page]] (guitar), and [[Bobby Graham (musician)|Bobby Graham]] (drums), it was her only hit single recorded in [[London]], England, and was produced by [[Mickie Most]]. The slide guitar and background singers were overdubbed in Nashville. It was recorded at Decca Records' number two studio at their West Hampstead complex, as was the UK B-side, a version of Ray Charles' 1959 classic cut, "[[What'd I Say]]?" which was not released in North America.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brenda Lee – Is It True / What'd I Say {{!}} Releases {{!}} Discogs |url=https://www.discogs.com/master/350095-Brenda-Lee-Is-It-True-Whatd-I-Say |access-date=June 28, 2024 |website=Discogs|date=1964 }}</ref> "Is It True" was composed by noted British songwriting team [[Ken Lewis (songwriter)|Ken Lewis]] and [[John Carter (English musician)|John Carter]], who were also members of UK hitmakers the [[The Ivy League (band)|Ivy League]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ivy League {{!}} Allmusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-ivy-league-mn0000069393 |access-date=June 28, 2024 |website=Allmusic}}</ref>