Lee was a musical prodigy and by the time she was two she would hear songs on the radio once and be able to whistle the complete tune. She was five years old when she started to gain wider attention when she won a local singing contest sponsored by the elementary schools. At age 11, she was offered a recording contract with Decca Records and released the song โDynamite,โ leading to her lifelong nickname, โLittle Miss Dynamite.โ
Lee was popular in the UK very early in her career, and her 1961 rockabilly release โLetโs Jump the Broomstickโ did not chart in the US, but went to #12 in the UK. Her biggest hits during this time include a rockabilly version of the country classic โJambalaya (On the Bayou),โ โSweet Nothinโs,โ โI Want to Be Wanted,โ โAll Alone Am I,โ and โFool #1.โ
In 1960, she recorded her signature song, โIโm Sorry,โ which hit number one on the Billboard pop chart and was her first gold single. Her last top-10 single on the pop charts was 1963โs โLosing You,โ while she continued to have other chart songs such as her 1966 song โComing On Strongโ and โIs It True?โ in 1964.
During the early 1970s, Lee re-established herself as a country music artist, and earned a string of Top 10 hits on the country charts. Her biggest selling track of her career is, oddly enough, a Christmas song: โRockinโ Around the Christmas Tree.โ It was released in 1958, but it sold only 5,000 copies. However, it eventually sold over five million copies and remains a perennial radio favorite each December. In December 2023, Lee became the oldest artist to ever top the Hot 100, when "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" topped the chart 65 years after its release.
Over the ensuing years, Lee has continued to record and perform all around the world, previously cutting records in four different languages. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. In 1992, she recorded a duet with Willy DeVille; Chuck Berry also wrote a song about her. Lee has been married to Ronnie Shacklett since 1963, and they have two daughters and three grandchildren. She is the second recipient of the Jo Meador-Walker Lifetime Achievement award.
Throughout her career, Brenda Lee has released 41 studio albums, 12 compilation albums, and over 100 singles. She has had numerous top twenty hits on the Billboard Hot 100, Country, and AC charts in the US, UK, and Canada.
Blue Christmas
Brenda Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll be so blue thinking about you
Decorations of gray on a green Christmas tree
Won't mean a thing, dear
If you're not here with me
I'll have a blue Christmas that's certain
And when that blue heartache starts hurtin'
But I have a blue, blue Christmas
(I'll have a blue Christmas that's certain)
And when that blue heartache starts hurtin'
You'll be do with alright with your Christmas of white
But I have a blue, blue Christmas
In Brenda Lee's song Blue Christmas, she sings about the feeling of loneliness and sadness during the holiday season when missing a loved one. With lines like "I'll have a blue Christmas without you" and "Decorations of gray on a green Christmas tree, won't mean a thing, dear, if you're not here with me," the song emphasizes the emptiness of the holiday season when spending it without someone special. Lee delivers the song with so much emotion that you can feel the pain in her voice.
The second verse of the song emphasizes the certainty of the blue Christmas she'll be having and how it will hurt. In contrast, the person she's singing to will have a white Christmas, meaning they'll be happy, and okay without her. But for her, it'll be a blue, blue Christmas, emphasizing the sadness and loneliness that she will be feeling during the holiday period.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll have a blue Christmas without you
The absence of you during the holiday season will cause me to feel sad and melancholy.
I'll be so blue thinking about you
Thoughts of you during Christmas will only deepen my sadness and depression.
Decorations of gray on a green Christmas tree
Even though the symbols of Christmas are present, they hold no significance or meaning without your presence.
Won't mean a thing, dear
The usual festive decorations will be dull and meaningless without the joy you bring me during Christmas.
If you're not here with me
Your presence is what truly makes Christmas special, without you it will be a hollow and unfulfilling holiday occasion.
(I'll have a blue Christmas that's certain)
The certainty of my sadness during Christmas is exemplified by this repetition.
And when that blue heartache starts hurtin'
The immense pain and sadness will grow even worse over time.
You'll be do with alright with your Christmas of white
While you will have a blissful, happy holiday season without me, I will not be as fortunate.
But I have a blue, blue Christmas
My holiday season will be consumed by my deep feelings of sadness and emotional despair.
Lyrics ยฉ Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, DEMI MUSIC CORP. D/B/A LICHELLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: BILLY HAYES, JAY W. JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bill Bright
Brenda gave us so many gifts throughout her life. A true sweetheart with the scrappy heart of a bulldog.
American ๐บ๐ธ treasure.
Pisces Howell
The way she sings this is so beautiful love all her music listening in December 2019...
Graeme Smellie
๐๐ผ๐๐ผ๐๐ผ
VaticalDischarge
Brenda Lee is awesome. Such a great singer
sandra salaam
Beautiful songs
Raul Delgado
awesome singer...headed to vegas to her concert ..Dec 5...that's my xmas!!!...Feliz Navidad
David L. Rogers
Lucky...
burt schneider
so many years ago and i still remember it so well and this year i have just lost my son to that bloody decease cancer all the more to try and remember the [past
Bill Bright
๐๐๐
Linda Winton
Love brendalee