Brenda Lee Coming to Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, 5/4

The Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts has announced BRENDA LEE: THE LADY, THE LEGEND with Country Artist Josie Waverly on Sunday, May 4 at 7:00 PM. Singer Brenda Lee, known as "Little Miss Dynamite," has enjoyed success as a child performer, teen idol, easy-listening chanteuse, and Country Music Queen. She has sustained through each of these career transformations by a powerful voice that belies her diminutive stature (four feet, nine inches tall). An important pioneer of early Rock and Roll, she achieved unprecedented international popularity during the 1960s. She is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame, the only female to be so honored. In 2009 she was honored with a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Lee has sold more than 100 million records, and she continues to perform. Brenda Lee: The Lady, The Legend with Country Artist Josie Waverly Sunday, May 4 at 7:00 PM The Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, 71 E. Main St., Patchogue, NY 11772 Tickets: $36-$76 plus fee; available at patchoguetheatre.com, the box office, or by phone 631-207-1313 Brenda Lee was born Brenda Me Tarpley on December 11, 1944 in Lithonia, Georgia. After winning a talent show at the age of five, she began to appear regularly on local Atlanta radio and television. Her big break came in 1956 when she joined country star Red Foley. Millions of viewers were charmed by her precocious talent, and Lee became one of the first singers whose career was launched by television.

She signed with Decca Records in 1956 and she recorded such early rockabilly classics as "BIGELOW 6-200," "Little Johnah," and "Let's Jump the Broomstick." "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," first issued in 1958, is her best-known rockabilly recording, and it remains a holiday standard. In 1960 the sultry song "Sweet Nothin's" was released, followed by her signature song "I'm Sorry" which held the number one spot in the U.S. for three weeks. Her songs reached Billboard's pop, country, rhythm and blues, and adult contemporary charts fifty-five times, making her the most successful female performer of that decade and placing her fourth overall behind Elvis Presely, the Beatles, and Ray Charles.

Her remarkable ability to master different styles allowed Lee to adapt gracefully as she outgrew her teen idol status. A newly sophisticated stage act in Las Vegas, Nevada, which emphasized torchy ballads, won over both live and television audiences. In the early 1970s she, like many other early rockers, adopted a country style. Lee and her husband/manager, Ronnie Shacklett, have been married since the early 1960s.

Josie Waverly has performed all over the U.S. as a headliner as well as an opening act for many of Nashville's leading entertainers such as Tim McGraw, Charlie Daniels, Loretta Lynn, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, and too many more to mention. She has performed in front of thousands and her shows are attended by a variance of demographics. Once you see her perform it is easy to see how she earned the title "New York State's Queen of Country Music." Whether it's a heart-wrenching ballad or a real up-tempo kicker, Josie's voice fixates everyone in the audience. There is a quality and power in her vocals that turns heads and hearts. She puts her own style into any song she sings, and all the while drawing you in with her delivery. Josie thanks God for her talent and prays He never takes it away!