Rock pioneer Brenda Lee shines in new documentary. 'I just wanted to sing'

NEW YORK -- 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.

She is the rare artist inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, moving effortlessly in her career between country, pop, rock and rockabilly sounds.

“I never classified myself as a ballad singer, as a rock singer, as a country singer or anything. I just wanted to sing,” she says in the interview. “Some artists can sing it all. Not me. I have to love what I’m singing or it’s not believable.”

The documentary draws on the commentary of musicologists and such stars as Keith Urban, Tanya Tucker, Trisha Yearwood, Jackie DeShannon, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo.

“I had no trouble getting people to talk about Brenda and why she matters and why we should look to her,” says director Barbara Hall. “This is what’s possible when you just get your head down and stay focused and do what you know you’re good at and don’t give up.”

Lee was the daughter of a carpenter in Atlanta who died in a construction accident when she was just 8. Her mother soon was forced to work in the cotton mill. When she was 10, country music singer Red Foley put her on his national TV program “Ozark Jubilee.” By age 12, she had appeared on various network TV variety shows.

The portrait that emerges is a rare one for the music industry, the story of a young woman who is protected and nurtured. Lee credits producer Owen Bradley; her manager, Dub Allbritten; and the musicians she worked with for looking out for her, treating her like a little sister.

“I hear horror stories about children in show business, but I certainly didn’t have that experience, and I’m grateful for that,” says Lee. “It was like I was one of the group, and that was so important to me.”

The holidays are when Lee shines most, with her hit “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in high rotation. In 2023, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time ever, 65 years after the song’s debut.

“She is in your house every Christmas,” says Hall. “She is a part of something that so many Americans celebrate. So, I’m hoping that people will embrace her story and her music once they get reintroduced to it.”

She recorded it at age 13 in July 1958, not exactly a snowy time in the South. The air conditioner was cranked up in the recording studio and there was a Christmas tree set up to get everyone in the mood. It initially was a bigger hit abroad and later got a boost in the 1990 film “Home Alone.”

“You get a wonderful song and it may lay around for a few years like ‘Rockin’’ did, but if it’s as wonderful as ’Rockin″ was, it’ll show its head sooner or later, and that’s what happened,” Lee says.

Hall, who worked on a 2017 “American Masters” documentary on Patsy Cline, says she tried to find any dirt on Lee and simply couldn't. Even when Lee broke her leg during the shoot and had to be hospitalized, she was gracious and kind.

“If my leg was broken in 10 places and I had to be in a rehab facility, I’d probably be in a bad mood the whole time," she says. "She was cracking jokes and everyone in the room felt like she was their friend.”