Brenda Lee’s name may not be as recognizable as some of the other music stars from the 1960s but when you think of Christmas, you’ll know her song, and start humming her catchy tune, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
When Lee, now 78, first hit the stage, she wasn’t old enough to drive but her powerful vocals steered her “unprecedented international popularity” as the most successful female artist of the 1960s.
Lee, whose voice defied her diminutive stature at only 4 foot 9, became a fan favorite when she was only 12.
Brenda May Tarpley, born in 1944, got her start in the late 1940s, became huge in the 1950s, and over her career–that started before she left elementary school–she topped the charts 55 times, earning the title as the most successful female recording artist of the 1960s.
When Lee was only eight (according to Rolling Stone), her father, a construction worker, was killed at work and little Brenda–who then changed her last name to Lee–became the family’s primary provider.
Taking care of her younger brother, big sister, and mother–a cotton mill worker–was not a duty, but something she wanted to do. She said that she was thrilled when she made her first $20, so she could help her family: “Even at that young age, I saw that helped our life,” Lee said, adding “It put some food on the table. It helped, and I loved it.”
The Atlanta-born chanteuse, called a “pioneer of early rock and roll,” by the Georgia Encyclopedia, achieved “unprecedented international popularity in the 1960s.”
But, an incredibly humble human, Lee credits those who helped her achieve her dreams. When Christianity Today asked what she thinks about being a legend, Lee said “I don’t think of myself that way!” She continued, “I’m just a girl who’s been blessed to be doing what I’m doing, and there’s a lot of people who’ve sweated a lot of tears and put a lot of life’s work into me to be able to have my dream. So, if I’m a legend, then they’re legends, too.”
In 1956, the young girl joined country star Red Foley for a show at the Bell Auditorium near her home in Augusta, and she belted out “Jambalaya,” by Hank Williams.
She was then signed to appear on Foley’s Ozark Jubilee, a country music show, where millions of viewers fell in love with the sassy 12-year-old whose talent was developed well beyond her age.
In the same year, Lee signed with Decca Records, and the next year, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and fusing country with rhythm and blues–highlighted by her hiccupping vocals–she recorded early rockabilly classics like “BIGELOW 6-200,” “Little Jonah,” and “Let’s Jump the Broomstick.”
When asked if–when as a young girl–she was nervous performing in front of large crowds, she answered: “No, not really. Nobody ever told me to be nervous. The stage always felt like a hometown to me because I had been in front of people ever since I was 3 years old, singing to people. So it was a very comfortable spot for me.”
In 1957, Lee earned the nickname “Little Miss Dynamite” for her pint-sized powerhouse recording of the song “Dynamite,” and in 1958, fans heard “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree,” a genre and generation-crossing holiday standard, released when she was only 13.
“I knew it was magical,” she told Rolling Stone.
Over the next couple of years, she charted with hits like “Sweet Nuthin’s,” “All Alone Am I,” and “Fool #1.”
Most of her songs, however, contradicted her experience as a young girl. Her mother didn’t let her date and she graduated high school not understanding the heartbreak of young love.
She was only 16 when she said “Love could be so cruel” in the song “I’m Sorry” and only 16 when she said “I want his lips to kiss me” in the song “I Want to be Wanted,” both back-to-back hits when she was still in school.
And when she turned 18, she met Ronnie Shacklett, whom she’s now been happily married to for 60 years.
Life on the road for Lee as a youngster had its difficulties. She celebrated her 12th birthday in Las Vegas and speaking with the Las Vegas Journal, Lee explained her loneliness.
“Of course, I wasn’t even allowed to walk through a casino, I was so young. So I didn’t even know what a casino looked like. They took me into the kitchen, then into the showroom. And then when my show was over, I was brought back out through the kitchen and back up to my room. Children weren’t allowed … in the casino area.” She continued, “There wasn’t anything to do in Vegas for a kid. The most fun I had was on the stage.”
Speaking on what she missed out on as a child, the award-winning Lee said, “Many times, I yearned to be with my friends rather than be out there on the road.”
Turns out she made new friends on the road, like with the music group that opened for her at a 1962 show in Germany. “I hung out with John,” she says effortlessly, speaking of John Lennon. “He was extremely intelligent, very acerbic with his jokes, just a gentle person. When I found out that they later said they were fans of my music, I was just floored.”
Experts explain why your poo is green and when you should seek medical help
More severe sickness
A greenish-colored stool may result from germs like salmonella, norovirus, or even giardia, a parasite.
They make your stomach empty more quickly than usual, which is the source of the discolouration.
Some people might have undiscovered gall bladder or liver illness.
According to Guts UK, “Bile acid diarrhoea is another condition that can cause green stools because it causes bile to remain in the stools without being reabsorbed, discoloring them.”
“This can occur if you have liver or gall bladder disease, or if you have had bowel surgery or disorders of the small intestine.”
According to Harvard Health Publishing Chief Medical Editor Howard E. LeWine, “Eating dark green vegetables, like spinach and kale, is usually related to intermittent green stool in someone who otherwise feels fine.”The quick exit of green bile from the small intestine during diarrhea is another cause of green stool.
“Medications, including bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol), iron supplements, and some antibiotics, may also result in greenish colored stool.”
Your feces’ color might reveal a variety of information.
There’s an unwritten social norm in our culture that prohibits discussing personal hygiene practices in public. However, you should investigate it for the sake of your health, particularly if you see something that seems a little strange.
Yes, we are discussing aiming for a number two. And what that implies if your feces are green in color.
It’s a subject that thousands of people search for answers to on a daily basis, with many going to Google to find out why their excrement is green.
Like a lot of things connected to your health, it might be perfectly safe. On the other hand, it might also indicate something far more dangerous that requires a medical examination.
My poop is green; why?
The most frequent cause of green stool is a significant shift in the type of food and diet that you regularly eat.
Many people report that consuming more green foods has practically caused their color to change.
We’re discussing asparagus, peas, broccoli, kale, and spinach, among other things.
Chlorophyll, if you remember anything from your biology studies in school, is a substance found in these dark green foods that allows plants to produce energy from sunlight.
It goes beyond just veggies.
Green poop can also result from eating other meals with bright colors.
Therefore, don’t panic if you’ve been consuming more blue or purple foods.
Foods that may induce this discoloration include smoothies, ice pops, fizzy drinks, blueberries, and food coloring used in frosting.
Being ill and medication
If you’re taking antibiotics for a medical condition, you may have green stools, according to the UK charity Guts UK.
Moreover, having a gastrointestinal (GI) ailment may contribute to an illness. If you have this kind of infection, you’ll also probably notice that you’re using the restroom more frequently.
One GI condition that might be the source of the discoloration is Crohn’s disease. This results in severe inflammation of the digestive tract, which can produce cramps and diarrhea, as well as blood in your stool.
Green poop is another symptom that people with celiac disease (gluten intolerance) may encounter.
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