This Is...Brenda

This Is...Brenda
Studio album by
Brenda Lee
ReleasedOctober 10, 1960 (1960-10-10)
Genres
Length31:54
LabelDecca
Brenda Lee chronology
Brenda Lee
(1960)		 This Is...Brenda
(1960)		 Emotions
(1961)
Singles from This Is...Brenda
  1. "I Want to Be Wanted"/"Just a Little"
    Released: September 1960

This Is...Brenda is a studio album by American singer, Brenda Lee. It was released on October 10, 1960 by Decca Records and was the third studio collection of her career. The album mixed pop and rock tracks together, among them being Lee's chart-topping single from that year called "I Want to Be Wanted". The album itself made the top five of the US Billboard 200 and also received a positive critical reception.

Background, recording and content

Brenda Lee was among the most commercially-successful music artists of the 1960s, with a string of top-10 hits like "I'm Sorry" and "Break It to Me Gently".[2] Among her hits from this era was 1960's "I Want to Be Wanted", which became the centerpiece of Lee's third studio studio album, This Is...Brenda.[3] The collection consisted of 12 songs[4] that mixed adult-themed pop with teen-themed rock material. Examples of pop tracks included a remake of the standard "Teach Me Tonight"[1] while examples of rock tracks included Ray Charles's "Hallelujah I Love Him So" and two songs first cut by Fats Domino: "Blueberry Hill" and "Walking to New Orleans".[1][5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllmusicStarStarStarStar}[1]

This Is...Brenda was met with a positive reception from critics and music publications. Billboard praised her rock and roll delivery throughout the collection, writing, "The gal rocks in great style and the fans should take to the set quickly."[5] Cash Box positively described Lee as "dynamic" in their review and complimented how she transitioned between styles. "She moves with equal ease through the soft beat ballads as the big beat swingers, but it is on the latter that she develops the most excitement," they wrote.[6] Canada's Herald Magazine described Lee as "the female Presley" and complimented the "moan" quality of her voice.[7] AllMusic's Richie Unterberger gave the album a four out of five star rating, finding it to be "significantly above the average pop/rock LP of the era". Unterberger pointed to its production choices and Lee's vocal performances as factors to his conclusion.[1]

Release, chart performance and singles

This Is...Brenda was released on October 10, 1960 by Decca Records and was offered in two vinyl LP formats: mono or stereo.[4] It became her second disc to make the US Billboard 200 survey, peaking at the number four position. It was Lee's highest-peaking album on the Billboard 200.[8] The only single included on the album was "I Want to Be Wanted", which Decca originally issued in September 1960.[9] It became her second song to reach number one on the US Hot 100,[10] while also reaching number ten on Australia's Kent Music Report,[11] number 17 on Belgium's Ultratop chart[12] and number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.[13] Its B-side, "Just a Little" (also a featured track on the album), reached number 40 on the US Hot 100.[10]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."When My Dreamboat Comes Home"
2:15
2."I Want to Be Wanted"
3:05
3."Just a Little"Betty Logan Chotas2:26
4."Pretend"
2:53
5."Love and Learn"
2:06
6."Teach Me Tonight"
3:02
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hallelujah I Love Him So"Ray Charles2:24
2."Walking to New Orleans"
2:31
3."Blueberry Hill"
2:30
4."We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me)"
3:31
5."Build a Big Fence"Chuck Taylor2:28
6."If I Didn't Care"Jack Lawrence2:43

Chart performance

Chart (1960) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[14]4

Release history

Release history and formats for This Is...Brenda
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various October 10, 1960
  • LP mono
  • LP stereo
 [4][15]
1962–1963
  • Brunswick
  • Life
  • Popular
  • Universal Record Club
 [16]
Circa 2012 Compact disc (CD) Hallmark Records [17]
Circa 2020
  • Music download
  • streaming
 MCA Nashville [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Unterberger, Richie. "This Is...Brenda > Review". Allmusic.
  2. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "Brenda Lee - Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Discourse". Billboard. October 24, 1960. p. 34. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Lee, Brenda (October 10, 1960). "This Is...Brenda (Liner Notes)". Decca Records. US. DL-74082.
  5. 1 2 "Reviews of This Week's LP's" (PDF). Billboard. October 24, 1960. p. 37. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Album Reviews: Popular Picks of the Week" (PDF). Cash Box. November 5, 1960. p. 46. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Current Record Choices: Popular". Herald Magazine. December 31, 1960. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  8. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Albums Includes Every Album that Made the Billboard 200 Chart : 50 Year History of the Rock Era. Record Research, Inc. p. 591. ISBN 978-0898201666.
  9. ↑ Lee, Brenda (September 1960). ""I Want to Be Wanted"/"Just a Little" (7" vinyl single)". Decca Records. 9-31149.
  10. 1 2 "Brenda Lee Chart History (The Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  11. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ↑ "Zoeken: Nummer: Brenda Lee". Ultratop. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  13. ↑ "BRENDA LEE songs and albums". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Brenda Lee Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  15. ↑ Lee, Brenda (October 10, 1960). "This Is...Brenda (International LP releases from 1960)". Brunswick Records/Decca Records/Festival Records/Life Records. Brazil/UK/New Zealand/East Asia. SLP-7968 (Brazil); LAT 8360 (UK); FL-7249 (New Zealand); DL-74082 (East Asia).
  16. ↑ Lee, Brenda (October 10, 1960). "This Is...Brenda (LP releases from 1960-1963)". Brunswick Records/Decca Records/Festival Records/Life Records. Australia/Singapore/UK. E-229 (1962); LAT-8360 (1963); SUP-417 (1963).
  17. ↑ Lee, Brenda (October 10, 1960). "This Is...Brenda (Australia CD re-release)". Hallmark Records. Australia. 710932 (CD).
  18. ↑ "This Is...Brenda - Album by Brenda Lee". AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
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