Grandma, What Great Songs You Sang!/Miss Dynamite

by Brenda Lee

Overview

In late 1959, Brenda Lee was dangerously close to becoming a 14-year-old has-been. A dynamic performer, she wowed everyone who saw her in concert, but she'd failed to dent the charts for two straight years after debuting with a pair of middling hits. Clearly, the novelty was wearing off. Earlier that year, Decca had recorded a set of vintage pop standards -- most from the 1910s and '20s -- to transfer her appeal to older audiences, but the LP failed to sell. Then, in August 1959, she recorded "Sweet Nothin's," an irresistibly flirty piece of country-pop; early in 1960, it reached the Top Ten and was followed in short order by three more (two of which hit number one). For this CD reissue, Ace compiles Brenda Lee's first two LPs, which together straddle the line between her pre-fame period (1959's Grandma, What Great Songs You Sang!) and her great breakout of 1960 (Brenda Lee, or its British release, Miss Dynamite). For listeners searching for a title to expand their knowledge of Lee beyond the usual hits compilations, this disc functions very well. The latter LP has a raft of hits and great performances to use for context, while the former shows off her talent in far different settings. Although a Decca executive thought only of the marketplace when he commissioned Lee to sing songs like "Pennies from Heaven" and "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," the results are surprising -- here was a girl who had turned 14 just one month earlier exhibiting marvelous interpretive sense on a set of standards, all of them at least 30 years older than the singer herself. Her self-titled LP of 1960 is one of those great rock records that has been unfortunately superceded by hits compilations; aside from the Top Ten singles -- "Sweet Nothin's," "That's All You Gotta Do," and the number one "I'm Sorry" -- many of the songs here (even the non-hits) end up on compilations, like a re-recorded stereo version of her 1957 hit "Dynamite," "My Baby Likes Western Guys," "Weep No More My Baby," "Let's Jump the Broomstick," and "Wee Wee Willies." ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	12/07/2004
Label:	Ace
UPC:	0029667004220
Rank:	122733

Tracks

1. Some of These Days
2. Pennies from Heaven
3. Baby Face
4. A Good Man Is Hard to Find
5. Just Because
6. Toot, Toot, Tootsie
7. Ballin' the Jack
8. Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody
9. Pretty Baby
10. Side By Side
11. Back in Your Own Backyard
12. St. Louis Blues
13. Dynamite
14. Weep No More My Baby
15. Jambalaya (On the Bayou)
16. (If I'm Dreaming) Just Let Me Dream
17. Be My Love Again
18. My Baby Likes Western Guys
19. Sweet Nothin's
20. I'm Sorry
21. That's All You Gotta Do
22. Heading Home
23. Wee Wee Willies
24. Let's Jump the Broomstick

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Brenda Lee   Primary Artist
The Anita Kerr Singers   Primary Artist
Owen Bradley   Orchestra Director

Technical Credits

Owen Bradley   Audio Production,Producer
Rob Finnis   Liner Notes,Cover Art,Annotation,Coordination,Illustrations
Dan Russo   Composer
Harry Akst   Composer
Mort Garson   Composer
Tom Glazer   Composer
Al Jolson   Composer
Gus Kahn   Composer
Harry Woods   Composer
Marijohn Wilkin   Composer
Dave Dreyer   Composer
Charles Robins   Composer
Johnny Burke   Composer
James Henry Burris   Composer
Jean Schwartz   Composer
Tony Jackson   Composer
Shelton Brooks   Composer
Dub Allbritten   Composer
Jackie Dee   Composer
Chuck Taylor   Composer
Eddie Green   Composer
Benny Davis   Composer
Ernie Erdman   Composer
Egbert VanAlstyne   Composer
W.C. Handy   Composer
Joe Young   Composer
John D. Loudermilk   Composer
Sam M. Lewis   Composer
Ronnie Self   Composer
Jerry Reed   Composer
Nick Robbins   Mastering
Joe Shelton   Composer
Bob Shelton   Composer
Charlie Singleton   Composer
Charles Lamb   Liner Notes
Hank Williams   Composer
Arthur Johnston   Composer
Sydney Robin   Composer