On this episode of Biscuits and Jam, Southern Living’s Sid Evans sits down with the incredible Brenda Lee to explore her incredible life, from humble beginnings in Georgia to becoming a music icon. Brenda shares how her early love for music, inspired by the Grand Ole Opry and her Baptist church, led her to the Ozark Jubilee and a record deal with Decca Records. Plus, hear her reflections on recording "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" at just 13, her Christmas traditions, and friendships with legendary artists like Tanya Tucker and Kris Kristofferson.
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00:00Well, Brenda Lee, welcome to Biscuits and Jam.
00:02Well, thank you.
00:04It's great to see you, and it's really an honor to have you on the show.
00:10Where am I reaching you right now?
00:12You're reaching me in Nashville, Tennessee.
00:14Oh, right up the road from us. We're down here in Birmingham.
00:17Oh, yeah, that's not too far.
00:19No, no. Well, I love Nashville, and I love having you on the show.
00:26And I really, yeah, I've followed you for a long time, and I kind of can't believe you're here.
00:34Well, I appreciate it. I sure do. Thank you.
00:37Well, so, Brenda, you grew up in Georgia, but I've heard that you moved around a lot,
00:46and I'm wondering if there was a particular town that always felt the most like home to you.
00:54I guess it would have been Nashville.
00:56We lived a lot of places, even in the north we lived, and I enjoyed the culture of all of it,
01:04but I think I felt in my heart that Nashville was where I needed to be.
01:10Yeah. And when did you kind of arrive in Nashville?
01:15About 1956.
01:21Wow. So, you were there pretty young, and already starting to record, and
01:29surrounded by all sorts of folks in the music business, and yeah, I guess that really did,
01:34that really was your home.
01:37It was. I had the great producer Owen Bradley, and I had what they call the A Team, which was
01:44the team of musicians that were absolutely the best in town, the Anita Kerr singers.
01:51Yeah.
01:52It was just a wonderful time in music, because we were all, I wouldn't say we were all starving,
02:02but some of us were close to it, and we were glad to have a job, and we became very close.
02:11I was just a little girl, and they just kind of adopted me and took care of me.
02:19And Brenda, you grew up without a lot of money. I mean, your family was not real wealthy.
02:29And I've read, I think it was in your memoir, Little Miss Dynamite, you talked about how
02:38you kind of had conflicting feelings about Georgia for a while, because it kind of reminded you
02:44of hard times. But I'm wondering, what are your thoughts about Georgia now,
02:50when you kind of look back on that place?
02:53Well, like the song, Georgia's always on my mind, because all of my relatives live there.
03:00So I go down often, see my brother and all my cousins and aunts and uncles that are still
03:10there, and it's a fun time for me.
03:13So you still have a lot of family in Georgia?
03:16I do, a lot.
03:18Yeah. On both sides, so on your mom's side and on your dad's side?
03:23Mostly on my mother's side.
03:25Okay, okay. You know, Brenda, I know that you lost your father when you were quite young,
03:32but I'm wondering what you can tell me about him and what he did for a living.
03:37He was a carpenter. He did all the pretty trim that you see in the mansions in Atlanta.
03:46And he was just a working man. And he called me booty.
03:57He did.
03:58I don't know why, but he called me booty. And I always remember,
04:03if he said it once, he said it a thousand times, he would say,
04:07booty, I won't live to see it, but one day you're going to be a big star.
04:16I have no idea where that came from, because I wasn't even 10 years old, but I was singing.
04:25So thank you, daddy.
04:30Wow, that's really something that he saw something in you that young.
04:36He did.
04:38And told you that.
04:39Yeah, we had a radio, and mama was a Dodgers fan, and daddy was a Yankees fan. Well,
04:50they would keep enough battery for the radio to where they could, you know, when the game time
04:57came, they could listen. But they also kept my special battery where I could listen to the
05:04Grand Ole Opry and hear the singers, because they knew how much I loved music.
05:12So that's what you were tuning into that was kind of an influence on you?
05:18Oh, I would say so, yeah.
05:21And then I was discovered by Red Foley. And of course, he had the Ozark Jubilee.
05:29And we finally moved to Springfield, Missouri, and I became a regular on That.
05:37And I was seen on Red's show by the Perry Como people and the Steve Allen people,
05:45who had huge TV shows at that time. And they invited me to come do their shows and
05:53everything just took off.
05:55Took off from there. Boy, it sure did.
05:57I want to ask you about your mom. So after your dad passed away, how did she
06:05get by? How did she kind of handle that incredibly difficult transition?
06:12She handled it real well. And I think she did that because of us. She had three children.
06:20We never knew that we were poor. And I always say poor, with three O's. We never knew that,
06:33because back then in the South, if you didn't have anything to eat, or times were a little hard,
06:42you just went to your aunt's house, or your uncle's house, or the friend down the street's
06:48house. So we never realized that we were poor, because everybody was in the same boat, so to say.
06:58Yeah. Was your mother a musical person? Was she a good singer?
07:03She could sing. She could. Yes, she could. But I don't think she ever wanted to, but she could sing.
07:12And what about your siblings?
07:15No.
07:15No.
07:17No. But they did everything else well, but no.
07:22So just you.
07:24Yeah.
07:25Wow.
07:26God skipped over them and came to the midget, and here I am.
07:33Brenda, I want to ask you about food, because this is a Southern Living podcast,
07:37so we got to talk about food for a second.
07:39Okay.
07:40I'm wondering what you grew up with on the table. I mean, was your mom a good cook?
07:48My mom was a great cook, and we always had food. And there was a wonderful black lady
08:00that lived at the end of our dirt road, and if we didn't have food,
08:07we knew we could always go to her house. She had about 10 kids. And if we were hungry,
08:14we went to her house until mama could get up enough money to buy the food. And everybody says,
08:23well, wasn't that awful? Didn't you feel awful? No, I thought it was fun. I thought,
08:29I didn't know we didn't have the money. I just knew that we were visiting someone we loved,
08:36and we were eating. That's all. A kid doesn't know.
08:40Yeah. And what was her name?
08:43I can't tell you at this time, but she was the sweetest woman. I think she welcomed everybody
08:54on the street end, and she always had a big meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And Lord
09:02knows where she got the money to do that. I don't know, but she did.
09:07Are there things that come to mind, specific dishes or things that you kind of
09:12look forward to or that you liked to eat?
09:16Yeah. Well, in Georgia, they call them fried whole cakes.
09:20It's cornbread. So, I loved my fried cornbread. I loved the fried chicken. We didn't have much
09:29of that. Daddy would kill squirrels and all, but I wouldn't eat them. I'd say,
09:36Daddy, I play with those. I'm not eating those. But I can't remember being hungry because
09:45if we didn't have it, mama was from a family of 10 children, and they all lived around us.
09:52So, if we didn't have it, we just walked a mile or so, and they would have it.
09:58When you think about all the folks in your family, who stands out as a good cook? Was
10:04there a grandmother or an aunt or a cousin who was kind of known for being a good cook?
10:09Well, by Aunt Irene, my mother's sister was a wonderful cook. Granny, mama's mama,
10:16was a good cook. And my mother was a fabulous cook because they didn't have a whole lot to work with,
10:23and they had to make things work that probably if you said it today, you'd just go, no.
10:30But they made it work.
10:32Yeah. Brenda, we've got to talk about Christmas, of course. I'm wondering what the holiday looked
10:40like for you as a kid. I mean, it seems like you kind of missed some of your childhood in a way
10:47because you were singing all the time and performing. But I'm wondering what Christmas
10:54looked like in your house.
10:56Like everybody else, we had a big Christmas tree, and we would always get one thing we
11:02asked for, but that was it. I remember the year I wanted a bicycle. So, I went out on Christmas
11:11morning. The bike, of course, wasn't under the tree, and mama said, Brenda, go out to the road,
11:21dirt road, she said, and get me whatever's in the mailbox. So, I went out, and there stood
11:30a bright red boy's bike. Hand me down, mind you. I did not care. I jumped on that sucker,
11:40and I made it down that dirt road in no time at all.
11:47I've heard you say that you were a little bit of a tomboy.
11:50Oh, very much so. Yeah.
11:54You know, when you think about your holiday traditions that you've developed over the years,
12:00what are some of your favorites?
12:02Well, we don't open presents till Christmas morning.
12:06Okay.
12:06Now, we'll open things from other people, but Santa Claus presents, we don't open
12:14till Christmas morning. In fact, they're not even out. When the girls were really, really little,
12:20and they just were so happy, we kind of kept it a secret that they were going to get presents. But,
12:29yeah, we had good Christmases. We always did.
12:33Was going to church part of your holiday tradition?
12:37Absolutely. My mother's sister's son was the minister, or preacher, as we used to say.
12:48You couldn't hardly miss, because they noticed we were all related, and they would tell on you.
12:57So, we had to show up. But I love church. I love singing in church. I started singing
13:05on the altar when I was three years old, four years old.
13:10And what denomination of church was this?
13:13Protestant, Baptist.
13:14Okay, Baptist church.
13:15And I remember the first gospel song I learned was, I loved Hank Williams,
13:23and it was Mansion Over the Hilltop. And I love gospel music.
13:30How did that one go?
13:31I'm satisfied with just a cottage below, a little silver and a little gold.
13:43But in that city where the ransom shall shine, I want a mansion, that silvery line.
13:57Beautiful song.
13:58Oh, wow. I've got some chills right now. That's just wonderful.
14:05And it sounds like you just remember it like it was yesterday.
14:08Oh, I do. I do. You'll have to get that record. You'll love it.
14:13I'm gonna. Well, so, Brenda, you recorded Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree in 1958,
14:22I believe, when you were, I think, 13 or so. It's still one of the most popular Christmas
14:26songs ever recorded. And I'm just wondering if you have any memories of being in the studio
14:33that day or being aware of anything really special happening when you recorded that.
14:43I think we all knew that it was a wonderful song. We all knew. All the A-team, as I call them,
14:50of the musicians, and of course, the great Owen Bradley and Anita Kerr singers and all.
14:58I think we all knew. I don't think we ever thought that it would be my signature song.
15:07But somebody came. I forget. I wasn't that old, 13. I forget when it was out. But they said,
15:18Brenda, have you seen that new movie? And I said, what? And they said, it's called Home Alone,
15:24and your song is all over it. And I said, which song? And they said, Rockin'. And that was the
15:32explosion that rocked Rockin' to where it got. Well, it was a hit already. I mean, it was a hit
15:42earlier, but then it became really just a mega, mega hit, right?
15:46Yes, it did. The funny thing about it was, of course, he wrote most of the Christmas standards,
15:53but it was written by a Jewish man named Johnny Marks. And he said, I don't know where
16:01these songs come from. He said, I'm Jewish. I said, well, go Baptists.
16:11That's incredible. And to have not just one, but so many. Tell me about your connection to
16:20Johnny Marks.
16:21That's who I was talking about, Johnny Marks.
16:24Tell me about him and how you kind of became
16:28connected to him and what your relationship was like with him over the years.
16:33We had a wonderful relationship. And it wasn't because Rockin' was such a hit.
16:40We stayed friends until Johnny passed away. And he was just the most unassuming, sweet,
16:48sweet man that you would ever want to be. And I so miss him. I really do.
16:56Well, he really left something for the world with that song and I'm sure so many others.
17:03Yes.
17:04All right, Brenda, I want to ask you just a couple of kind of quick ones about Christmas.
17:10And the first one is, what is one dish that you always want to see on a Christmas table? I mean,
17:17if it's Christmas, then you need to have blank. What would that be?
17:22Oh, Lord. Won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz? Let me see. What dish? Mashed potatoes.
17:33Oh, okay. That's got to be there.
17:35Yeah, it's got to be there. I don't even care about the turkey. I'd rather have chicken.
17:43So what about Christmas movies? Do you have a favorite?
17:47Not really. I watch them all. I love the Christmas movies. Every one of them. And it
17:52gets me in the spirit. Not that I'm not already, because I love Christmas. But there's so many
17:58great Christmas songs. If you think about it, there's a plethora of them. And they're all good.
18:06Can you still watch Home Alone?
18:08Oh, yeah. Love it. Love it.
18:12There are certain ones that just never get old, you know?
18:15I know.
18:16And, well, you know, anything that you watch that you feel like could really be real,
18:24or really happen, or maybe even happen to you, then you always remember it.
18:30And that's how that movie was.
18:33All right, one more. What is your idea of a great looking Christmas tree? Do you like one that is
18:40really kind of overdone with everything on it? Or do you like one that's kind of
18:46more, you know, spare? What's your idea of a great one?
18:51I like one that has the old ornaments that we've collected through the years.
18:58Even the ornaments that the children have made in school. And I like it to be like
19:04eight or ten foot tall. I like big old trees. And I like to decorate and light them. And
19:11I have a wonderful lady that helps me with everything. Her name's Redda,
19:17and she can really decorate. So I get her to decorate it, and
19:22it looks like it came out of the magazines.
19:29Well, and I'm with you on the old ornaments. And, you know, sometimes the uglier the better.
19:35Oh, absolutely. Sometimes I even use the ones that the kids broke when they were little.
19:42I just hang them right up.
19:44Well, Brenda, I want to go back to Hank Williams for a minute. You know,
19:49you've talked about him being a major influence on you. And I'm wondering what it was about his
19:56music or his persona that really struck a chord with you.
20:02I loved his music because, and the way he sang his music, because it sounded like
20:12that he lived those songs. In the ballads, it sounded like he hurt with those lyrics.
20:24He was just so unassuming and so sweet. And, Lord, to lose him that early was just awful.
20:37And I still think he's probably one of the greatest writers to come down the pike.
20:44Did you get to meet him?
20:46I did. I did. I loved it. I was like, I couldn't say anything. I was like,
20:55hi. But he was just precious. And he was everything I thought he would be. He looked
21:02just like his pictures. He looked just like he looked on TV. He sounded just like he sang.
21:09And I was just awestruck.
21:13And handsome.
21:14Oh, I tell you what. I loved meeting Elvis, but Hank, that's a whole nother round.
21:24I want to ask you about a song you recorded called Sweet Nothings.
21:30Oh, goodness.
21:31It's just such a great song, Brenda.
21:34It is. And it's got this just rock and roll edge to it.
21:41It does.
21:42It really, it's kind of amazing how mature your voice sounded when you recorded that song.
21:50I was 13, maybe just 12, I'm not sure. Of course, we had the A team of musicians,
21:58Grady Martin, Buddy Harmon, Floyd Kramer, Butch Randolph, Bobby Moore, Grady Martin,
22:06I said that one, the Anita Kerr singers, Owen Bradley and Bobby Bradley and all in the booths.
22:19And it was just magic. It was like, I don't think we ever did a tune
22:27that we did more than two takes. That's how great they were. You played it for them once
22:34on a demo to let them hear what it was to maybe get some kind of feel, and they went with it.
22:44And it was always right.
22:45Well, so many of those songs, you can tell the musicians are just so good.
22:51Every note is so crisp. The timing is so great. And that song just is, it's so much fun.
23:00I'm wondering what other artists have said to you about that song over the years. Do they talk to
23:06you about that one in particular, having an influence on them?
23:10Yeah, they do. And the sweetest story was the guy that wrote it, Ronnie Self, who also wrote,
23:18I'm sorry, wrote a lot of my songs. He was so proud because he had about eight or ten kids,
23:28I forget. And he said, Brenda, that song let me buy a milk machine for my kids. I thought,
23:40is that not the sweetest thing? But he was so serious with it. He wrote, like I said,
23:47he wrote a lot of my songs.
23:49Brenda, I want to ask you about Chris Christopherson. You recorded his first song,
24:00Nobody Wins, back in, I think, 1974. And I came across the most wonderful video of y'all singing
24:09Born to Love Me. And the whole music world is still kind of reeling from his loss just a week
24:16or ten days ago. And I'm just wondering what he meant to you as an artist and a friend.
24:24Well, you know, he was buried to one of my best friends, Rita Coolidge.
24:29The last time I talked to Chris, we were getting inducted into something, I forget.
24:40But I could tell that he just wasn't Chris. And it just broke my heart, because I thought,
24:50I probably wouldn't get to see him again. And I didn't, because he and his wife lived in Hawaii,
24:57and he had just come in for that. And of course, they went back. But I mean, the songs he wrote,
25:05they'll withstand the test of time. They are just as fresh and new today as they were the day he
25:13wrote them. And he sang them, and whoever else sang them, because they're great songs. And he
25:21was a great guy. Well, you guys also had some magic together, I think, on stage. I mean,
25:29you clearly seemed to enjoy performing together. Yeah, I love artists. I love performing with
25:37artists. And the last one I performed with, I think Trisha and I did something, and it was so fun.
25:47And people say, why would you sing with another girl? They might sing better than you. I said,
25:54well, who gives a darn? We're having fun. She sings like she sings. I sing like I sing.
26:02Well, speaking of other artists, I wanted to also ask you about Tanya Tucker, who
26:10has been on this podcast. And I know that you've been friends with her for a long time. And
26:16she's another Grammy winner, and you inducted her into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
26:24Not long ago, what did it mean to you to be able to do that for her in that moment?
26:32Meant everything. I met Tanya when she was 12 on Music Row, and she hadn't had anything then.
26:42And Bo was with her, her daddy, of course. And the first thing she said to me is, she said,
26:48I'm going to be a star one day. And I thought, well, you little precocious thing,
26:54you probably will be. And then we became really good friends. And she's a doll. She's loyal.
27:03She's kind. She's in your face. She says what she means and means what she says.
27:11And she's unapologetic for who and what she is. And you gotta love that about somebody,
27:20that they can be so true about how they really feel in this industry. Because that's a no-no.
27:30Sometimes, you know that. But not her. Not her. You either take her the way she is,
27:36or just leave her alone. That's how she thinks. Well, the two of you share something pretty unique
27:42in that you both became stars. You were both on a really big national stage when you were
27:50really, really young. And that just doesn't happen very often.
27:54No, it does not. And I met her, like I said, when she was 13.
28:01And I just knew she was sassy even then. And I thought, oh, Lord, I don't know if the business
28:15is ready for you or not. But it's not going to matter because here you go. But she's one of the
28:24sweetest, most giving people that I know. And a lot of people don't think that. They don't know it,
28:34but she is. Well, it's been really fun to see her have such a great kind of whole second career in
28:41the last few years. So that's been fun to watch. Brenda, I know that you've been through some
28:48pretty difficult things in your life, but you've always seemed to have a very positive
28:56outlook on the world. And you've had a remarkably stable life, if I may say so, for someone who
29:04is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including a marriage for six or so decades.
29:12Don't tell it. Don't tell it.
29:15How do you manage that?
29:17I'm just me. And when I commit, it's hard to get rid of me. And my husband will tell you that.
29:28But no, I'm loyal to the ones that are loyal to me. And in this industry, that's hard because
29:39everybody's so busy, and it's normal, but they're so busy just trying to survive
29:47what this business offers that it's hard to make relationships. But Patsy Cline was
29:57one of my dearest friends. Loretta, they were all older than me, but it didn't matter. Tammy,
30:06Tammy, all the girl singers, I just loved them because I really respected what they did,
30:13what they offered, and how hard it was. Yeah, it looks easy on the stage, and you know what?
30:20It is. But once you get off that stage, and you take off the makeup, and you take off the stage
30:28clothes, and you get back on that bus for a thousand-mile trip to the next gig, that's the
30:35work. The work on the stage is that work because you love it. The work is getting to where you love,
30:44and that's the part you look forward to.
30:48You know, at the time you became a star and really had so much success, I mean,
30:55there were just not a lot of women who were successful in country music, in rock and roll.
31:06And I wonder when you kind of look at what's happening now, do you feel like there have been
31:17some huge strides made in terms of women in all kinds of music?
31:25Oh, I do. I do. I feel like it's based today, more than ever,
31:35on your talent. Not how you look, not how you present yourself, not who you know, but you.
31:43And it took a lot of years to get there, and none of us are giving that up. So
32:00I think it's a wonderful thing. I do.
32:04Well, Brenda, I just have one more question for you. What does it mean to you to be Southern?
32:11Oh, gosh. What does it mean to be Southern? Well, I think Southern,
32:22if you grow up in the Deep South, you learn really quickly what respect is.
32:30You learn really quickly to tell the truth.
32:35You learn to work, and you learn to respect your elders. And that's how I was raised.
32:48Well, I think that comes through in everything that you do.
32:52And it is just such an honor to have you on Biscuits & Jam. Thank you so much for being here,
32:57Brenda Lee.
32:57Thank you. Now, all I want you to do is send me a biscuit with some jam on it. I really like that.
33:09I think I can do that.
33:11Thumbs up.
33:12Thank you, Brenda.