Little Miss Dynamite: The Life and Times of Brenda Lee

by Brenda Lee, Robert K. Oermann, Julie Clay

In this candid autobiography, Lee recounts her astonishingly dramatic life, filled with early poverty, tragic deaths, a nonexistent childhood, a controlling manager, young elopement, illnesses, barely averted financial disaster, and one of show businesss most durable marriages. Brendas life has touched some of the most legendary names in the annals of entertainment, from Elvis Presley to Elton John. Its a tumultuous life, sprinkled with humour, heartache, and hope. And yet, the real story here is that she is in many ways an everywoman.

Genres: Music, Memoir, Biography, Autobiography, History, Biography Memoir

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

There is more than one author with this name
Born 1941
Singer

Reviews

[Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has much in the way of historical value and I loved learning more about Nashville how it became the home of Country Music. Her personal life was fascinating to read. Her humble beginnings into the music industry and becoming a star. Some of the reading was loaded with too many statistics for me to remember and that becomes tedious to the flow of the book.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Brenda Lee is amazing. Before reading this book, I only knew a few of her songs and virtually nothing of her life story. Now I see what a truly pioneering, talented, and influential performer she was. The book makes me want to hunt up videos of some of her old performances and listen to some of her hits that I don't recognize by title.

The book itself, I give 3 stars. I liked it and recommend it to those interested in popular music history, country music, rockabilly, Nashville, or of course Brenda Lee herself. The book dutifully recounts her remarkable life and accomplishments. She worked with a lot of people and her experiences with many of them are mentioned. But if you're looking for dirt or sour grapes, look elsewhere. Brenda Lee is preternaturally positive. In her telling, she's just a girl from modest circumstances with a great voice and a passion for performing. Through luck and hard work, she became more successful than she ever could imagine. Despite her stature in the musical world, she hasn't let her success change who she is.

Granted, most autobiographies put the subject in the most favorable light. I assume this one is no different. Nonetheless, I like reading about someone who isn't bitter about her life's setbacks and who isn't out to get even with those who did her wrong. Her accomplishments are fact. How she really feels about this event or that person, who can say? I'm content to accept her story as written and wish more people could approach life as she does.

The book contains a discography, although it only lists title, year of release, country of release, and peak chart position. It would have been nicer if it included label, catalog number, songwriter credits, and a list of notable sidemen, of which there were many. Also, the book lacks an index.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Brenda Lee when I read she wrote a memoir in the early 2000s wanted to give it a try. She writes an honest memoir of being born in the south and starting her career as a singer at the very young age of eight. Very tiny child with a powerful voice. She writes of the ups and downs of her life. Losing her dad at nine. Even though she was making money it was in a trust fund and for a short while lived in a dingy trailer trying to support her family. she had to go to court to have some money released so she could buy a home for her family.
She has travelled the world met tons of other famous people and always had something nice to say about them. I enjoyed reading about this talented singer.

[Br. Thanasi (Thomas) Stama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written autobiography by Brenda Lee in 2002. Love her singing. Love her songs. This was a great walk down memory lane!

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! It not only chronicles Brenda’s life but the history of music as well. I found it fascinating.

[JoAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not read a bio in many many years, but I bought this book several years ago and decided to read as a change of pace. She is of my era but I really only thought of her as a country singer. She is so much more. Very diversified in her singing. I wish I had known that earlier as I would have liked to hear her perform the variety she sang, other than country. I was surprised by the very "famous" people she worked with but what I found particularly interesting was the recording industry information. I had NO idea what goes on behind the scenes other than what I see on tv shows. This is not a "poor little me and the terrible life I had as a child" story, which if written differently, probably could have been. I certainly would recommend to anyone who is a country music fan and who knows who she is.

[Noellasue · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book started out okay, but after about 80 pages, I started skimming the text. While I understand she seemed to be popular, I'd never even heard of her before 1960 with her song, I'm Sorry.

It all seemed like just listing names of famous people she met in her travels, with an occasional personal story thrown in.