Artist: Brenda Lee
Title: Rockin' Around: The Story Behind The Iconic Singer (Mercury Studios)
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Tell me more: Brenda Lee is a groundbreaking American singer who has achieved fame in a number of musical genres including rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music; the American artist scored her first Billboard hit in 1957 when she was only 12 and has sold more than 100 million records globally. The Atlanta, Georgia native's holiday favorite "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (recorded in 1958) topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 2023, making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the chart. Now 80, Lee's incredible genre-defying career is celebrated via an insightful documentary titled "Rockin' Around: The Story Behind The Iconic Singer" that is available via a terrific Mercury Studios Blu-ray + DVD release.
In addition to archival footage of the artist performing in the 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s, there are modern-day interviews with Lee as well as Keith Urban, Tanya Tucker, Trisha Yearwood, Jackie DeShannon, Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo and radio personality Shotgun Tom Kelly discussing Lee's amazing career.
The documentary provides a look at the myriad of challenges she has faced throughout her life, as well as her successes (Lee was Billboard's Top Female Artist of the Decade in the 1960s). Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, Lee's parade of classic hits includes "Sweet Nothin's," "I'm Sorry," "I Want to Be Wanted," "Speak to Me Pretty," "Losing You" and "All Alone Am I." There is also plenty of time dedicated to the success of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (written by Johnny Marks) and that song's extraordinary road to iconic status.
Information: mercurystudios.co.
Robert Kinsler
