...singing with or fronting local bands. The most famous to come out of Augusta would have to be Brenda Lee, who was Brenda Mae Tarpley when she was discovered in 1956 by Grand Ole Opry star Red Foley at Bell Auditorium. Miss Lee was a regular on Peach...
...Special broadcast. WRDW's program director at the time, Sammy Barton, suggested that she change her name from Brenda Mae Tarpley to Brenda Lee (Lee being a modified version of Tarpley). She has sold more than 100 million records and has been...
...in Dixie program on WJBF. WRDW program director Sammy Barton suggested the singing prodigy change her name from Brenda Mae Tarpley to Brenda Lee. She went on to sell more than 100 million records. The TV stations were next-door neighbors on...
...right. It doesn't seem like 50 years, that's for sure." It all started with a simple bus ride shortly after Brenda Mae Tarpley's father died in a construction accident when she was 9. Miss Tarpley and her mother, Grace, had been catching...
...country-gospel music show. WRDW countered with its Peach Blossom Special program, which regularly featured 9-year-old Brenda Mae Tarpley, better known now as Brenda Lee. To celebrate its 50th milestone, WJBF is having an open house from 10 a.m...
...She was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1982. Miss Lee was born in Lithonia, near Atlanta, as Brenda Mae Tarpley and had been making some appearances on Atlanta television with little success. She and her mother, Grace, rode...
...Methodist church. Rock around the clock: Brenda Lee, the pint-size queen of '60s heartbreak songs was born Brenda Mae Tarpley in Lithonia, Ga. She lived on both sides of the Savannah River in Augusta and North Augusta. The 4-foot-9...
...and Joanne Lawrence (now Mrs. Ron Huf), moved first to North Augusta (where she lived across West Avenue from Brenda Mae Tarpley, who would become Brenda Lee) and then to Augusta. Her father owned C.K. Lawrence Builders and co-owned Newman-Lawrence...
...Jones), but he did influence Earl Scruggs, who, in turn, influenced thousands of banjo players. BRENDA LEE: Brenda Mae Tarpley got her break in Augusta and became the first hillbilly child superstar. There had been other child performers in...
Moving to Augusta was one of the best things that happened to Brenda Mae Tarpley, who was given her show business name "Brenda Lee" while performing in Augusta. She went from living in a small, box house...
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