"I'm Sorry" | ||||
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Single by Brenda Lee | ||||
from the album Brenda Lee | ||||
A-side | "That's All You Gotta Do" | |||
Released | 16 May 1960 | |||
Recorded | 28 March 1960 | |||
Genre | Countrypolitan [1] | |||
Length | 2:40 | |||
Label | Decca Records 9-31093 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Dub Allbritten, Ronnie Self | |||
Producer(s) | Owen Bradley | |||
Brenda Lee singles chronology | ||||
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"I'm Sorry" is a 1960 hit song by 15-year-old American singer Brenda Lee. The song was written by Dub Allbritten [2] and Ronnie Self. [3] It peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in July 1960. On the UK Singles Chart, the song peaked at No.12. AllMusic guide wrote that it is the pop star's "definitive song", and one of the "finest teen pop songs of its era". In 1999, the 1960 recording by Lee on Decca Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [4]
According to the Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson, Brenda Lee recorded the song early in 1960, but her label, Decca Records, held it from release for several months out of concern that a 15-year-old girl was not mature enough to sing about unrequited love. When the song finally was released, it was considered to be the flip side of the more uptempo "That's All You Gotta Do". Although "That's All You Gotta Do" was a chart success in its own right, reaching No. 6 on the Hot 100, it was "I'm Sorry" that became the smash hit and the standard. [5] On other charts, "I'm Sorry" peaked at number four on the R&B chart and "That's All You Gotta Do" peaked at number nineteen on the R&B charts. [6]
"I'm Sorry" was released as the A-side (with "That's All You Gotta Do" as the B-side) when the single was released in the UK in July 1960. "I'm Sorry" was not one of Lee's more successful singles in the UK, where Lee's previous single, "Sweet Nothin's", and several later releases (notably "Speak to Me Pretty", "All Alone Am I" and "As Usual") were substantially bigger hits.
Although "I'm Sorry" was never released to country radio in the United States as a single, it would in time become accepted by American country fans as a standard of the genre. The song—a fixture on many "country oldies" programs—was an early example of the new "Nashville sound", a style that emphasized a stringed-instrumental sound and background vocals.[ citation needed ]
Chart (1960) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [7] | 2 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [8] | 2 |
Canada (CHUM Hit Parade) [9] | 7 |
New Zealand (Lever Hit Parades) [10] | 1 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [11] | 14 |
UK Singles (OCC) [12] | 12 |
US Billboard Hot 100 [13] | 1 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ( Billboard ) [14] | 4 |
US Cash Box Top 100 [15] | 1 |
West Germany (Official German Charts) [16] | 25 |
Chart (1958-2018) | Position |
---|---|
US Billboard Hot 100 [17] | 159 |
A remake of "I'm Sorry" was a minor hit for Joey Heatherton in 1972 reaching No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100. [18] It was recorded as a track on The Joey Heatherton Album. [19] on July 26, 1972, and issued that November as the second single to the follow-up to Heatherton's sole Top 40 hit "Gone".
"I'm Sorry" has also been recorded by Bobby Vee (album Bobby Vee Sings Your Favorites/ 1960), Jane Morgan (album In My Style/ 1965), Dottie West (album Feminine Fancy / 1968), Allison Durbin (album Are You Lonesome Tonight/ 1977), Billy Joe Royal (album Billy Joe Royal/ 1980) and Roch Voisine (album AmerIIcana/ 2009). A recording by Pat Boone made in 1960 was first released on the 2006 Pat Boone box set The Sixties 1960-1962.
A Czech-language rendering of "I'm Sorry", titled "Roň Slzy", was recorded in 1965 by Yvonne Přenosilová. There is also a lesser known version by Helena Vondráčková. "I'm Sorry" has since been rendered in Danish as "Jeg be'r dig" recorded by Birthe Kjær on her 1974 album Tennessee Waltz and in Flemish as "Vergeef me" recorded by Mieke (album Horen zien en zingen/ 1978).
Alvin and the Chipmunks covered the song for their TV series episode "The Secret Life of Dave Seville".
The song was sampled in the Sweet Valley track "Hypomania".
It is playing in the background in the movie Tommy Boy when David Spade and Chris Farley are sitting in a rural diner, after Spade hits Farley across the face with a large piece of wood. [20]
It was used as an interlude in Beyoncé's 2016 tour The Formation World Tour and in episode 3 of the Netflix series The End of the F***ing World . It plays over the end credits of Richard Linklater's Tape .
Ben Vaughn referenced it in his song "I'm Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)".
Brenda Mae Tarpley, known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first Billboard hit aged 12 in 1957 and was given the nickname "Little Miss Dynamite". Some of Lee's most successful songs include "Sweet Nothin's", "I'm Sorry", "I Want to Be Wanted", "Speak to Me Pretty", "All Alone Am I" and "Losing You". Her festive song "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", recorded in 1958, topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2023, making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the chart and breaking several chart records.
"That'll Be the Day" is a song written by Buddy Holly and Jerry Allison. It was first recorded by Buddy Holly and the Three Tunes in 1956 and was re-recorded in 1957 by Holly and his new band, The Crickets. The 1957 recording achieved widespread success. Holly's producer, Norman Petty, was credited as a co-writer, although he did not contribute to the composition.
"Thank God I'm a Country Boy", also known as "Country Boy", is a song written by John Martin Sommers and recorded by American singer/songwriter John Denver. The song was originally included on Denver's 1974 album Back Home Again. A version recorded live on August 26, 1974, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles was included on his 1975 album An Evening with John Denver. The live version was released as a single and went to No. 1 on both the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles and Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song topped both charts for one week each, first the country chart, and the Hot 100 chart a week later. Thank God I'm a Country Boy also became the name of a variety special show hosted by Denver in 1977.
"Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry" is a song by Swedish band Ace of Base, released as a single on 11 March 1996. It was the third single taken from the band's second album, The Bridge (1995). In Europe, the song peaked at number six in Hungary, number 12 in Denmark and number 17 in Finland. In the US, it reached number six on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. And in Canada, it peaked at number 53 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.
"Let It Be Me" is a popular song originally published in French in 1955 as "Je t'appartiens" interpreted by Gilbert Bécaud. It became popular worldwide with an English version by the Everly Brothers and later with the duet by Betty Everett and Jerry Butler.
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had sold over 15 million copies around the world with the 4th most digital downloads sold of any Christmas single. In 2019, Lee's recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In November 2023, Lee released a music video for the song, and in December 2023 the song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking Lee's third number-one single and making Lee the oldest artist ever to top the Hot 100 at age 78, later breaking the record once again one week later at the age of 79. The song also set the record for the longest period of time between an original release and its topping the Hot 100, as well as the longest time between number-one singles by an artist: 63 years, one month and two weeks.
"I Want to Be Wanted" is a popular song performed by Brenda Lee.
American singer Brenda Lee has issued 29 studio albums, 26 compilation albums, and 4 video albums since 1959. Lee has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the most successful American pop singers of the 20th century. In the Sixties, she earned 46 Hot 100 singles in the United States, more than any female recording artist. Billboard ranked her the "Top Female Artist of the Decade (60s)" and 15th Greatest Hot 100 Female Artist of all time.
Billboard Top Pop Hits is a series of compilation albums released by Rhino Records in 1994 and 1995, each featuring ten recordings from the easy listening charts from a specific year in the 1960s. Ten albums in the series were released, one each for the years from 1960 to 1969.
"Funny How Time Slips Away" is a song written by Willie Nelson and first recorded by country singer Billy Walker. Walker's version was issued as a single by Columbia Records in June 1961 and peaked at number 23 on the Hot C&W Sides chart. The song has been featured in several live action films and television shows, such as in the first episode of the second season of AMC’s Better Call Saul and in the 2020 Netflix drama The Devil All the Time.
Brenda Lee is the second studio album by American singer Brenda Lee. The album was released August 1, 1960 on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. The album's second single "Sweet Nothin's" became Lee's first major hit single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking within the Top 10. This was followed by the third single "I'm Sorry" released the following year that became her first single to top the Billboard Hot 100.
This Is...Brenda is the third studio album by American singer Brenda Lee. The album was released on October 10, 1960, on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. The release was Brenda Lee's second studio album released during 1960 and contained the single "I Want to Be Wanted", which became a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100.
Emotions is the fourth studio album by American singer Brenda Lee. The album was released on April 3, 1961 on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. It was one of two studio albums released by Lee in 1961 and its title track became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year.
All the Way is the fifth studio album by American singer Brenda Lee. The album was released August 7, 1961, on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. It was the second of two studio albums released by Brenda Lee in 1961 and spawned the single "Dum Dum", which became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and a UK single "Speak to Me Pretty", which reached No.3 on the UK singles chart.
Brenda, That's All is the seventh studio album by American singer Brenda Lee. The album was released October 15, 1962 on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. It was the second of two studio albums released in 1962 and included two Top 10 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1962 and 1963.
..."Let Me Sing" is the ninth studio album by American singer Brenda Lee. The album was released December 9, 1963, on Decca Records and was produced by Owen Bradley. The album was the second and final album studio album released by Brenda Lee in 1963.
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"I'm Sorry" is an early example of the Nashville countrypolitan style...