Rock pioneer Brenda Lee shines in new documentary. 'I just wanted to sing'
Come and take a trip to the giddy birth of rock ‘n’ roll through the eyes of one of its pioneers — Brenda Lee
NEW YORK (AP) — Come and take a trip to the giddy birth of rock ‘n’ roll through the eyes of one of its pioneers — Brenda Lee.
The “I'm Sorry” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” hitmaker who shared stages with both Elvis Presley and the Beatles is a guide to those heady years in “American Masters — Brenda Lee: Rockin’ Around,” which premieres Monday on PBS.
“That era can never be repeated again,” she tells The Associated Press on the eve of the broadcast. “That was an era when the money wasn’t thought about, the fame wasn’t thought about. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. The artists of that time were there to do their thing, and they loved it, whether they got paid or not.”
Lee, 80, had her first hit record in 1960 at age 15 and went on to sell more than 100 million albums. In the ’60s, she earned more Hot 100 singles in the United States — 46 — than any recording artist besides the Beatles, Presley or Ray Charles. She won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
