(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post.)
Brenda Lee - "I'm Sorry"
Hit Number 1: July 18, 1960
Stay at Number 1: 3 Weeks
I'm sure some of you might think of Brenda Lee as the "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" girl. It's become one of the most popular Christmas songs ever, and one of the most notable. But along with the iconic Christmas song, Lee also had two #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. The first was "I'm Sorry", a slow but powerful ballad by Lee that was a true showcase on the kind of voice that she really had.
Lee had started out as a child performer as early as the age of 5. When she was 6, she had won a singing contest that was sponsored by local elementary schools, and her reward was to appear live on an Atlanta radio show, "Starmakers Revue". Lee's father died when she was only 8, and her family was pretty troubled financially. She would be her family's main source of income by performing at events on the local radio and TV shows. She was noted for performing on the country music show "TV Ranch", and she was so short that the host would lower a stand microphone as low as it could go, and give her a wooden crate to stand on so that she could reach it. This isn't too surprising, considering she was only a child at the time. But it's still worth noting that, because Lee only grew to be 4 feet 9 inches tall. That's the catch with her, and is what made her so amazing to people in her time. That that big powerful voice came from someone who was so petit in stature. That voice is definitely present on "I'm Sorry".
There isn't anything particularly exciting about "I'm Sorry" if you just consider the content and the orchestration. It's just another song by a teenager (she was only 15 when she recorded "I'm Sorry") about lamenting a love that fell apart. There are some "weeping" strings in it, but that's pretty much it as far as instrumentation. But if that's all you look at with this song, then you're looking at it all wrong. Because what makes "I'm Sorry" great is that powerful voice by Lee in it. She sure does not sound like some 4'9" pipsqueak, as you would probably expect someone of that stature to have a weak and soft voice. Lee doesn't sing that way at all. She lets everything loose and belts out this song like it's nothing. We will see Lee and her great voice again soon enough in this blog.
GRADE: 8/10
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Something is up with Billboard's website, and I can't look at chart archives, which was my source of doing my "JUST MISSED" (earlier "THE TWOS") and "THE TENS" segments on these posts. Luckily I can still find a way to find the #1 songs, the dates they hit the top spot, and how long they were there. But until this issue on Billboard's website gets resolved (if it ever does get resolved) I can't do my "JUST MISSED" and "THE TENS" segments. So, "I'm Sorry" about that. Hopefully it gets resolved before too long.
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