Brenda Mae Tarpley (born in1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. She had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s ranking fourth in that decade, behind only Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Ray Charles. She is known for her 1960 hit “I’m Sorry“, and 1958’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree“, which has become a Christmas standard. At 4 ft 9 inches tall, she was nicknamed “Little Miss Dynamite” in 1957, after recording the song “Dynamite” when she was 12.
In 1969, Lee returned to the charts with her recording “Johnny One Time.” The song reached #3 on Billboard‘s Adult Contemporary Chart. It also earned her second Grammy nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal. Later success came with a return to her roots as a country singer, with a string of hits through the 1970s and 1980s. She is a member of the Rock and Roll, Country Music and Rockabilly Halls of Fame, and is also a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. She is the only woman to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Country Music Halls of Fame.
She has continued to record and perform around the world, having previously cut records in four different languages. In 2017, her song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” showed up at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100, after not having been on the charts since 1961. On the chart of December 21, 2019, it reached a new peak of #3 in the United States with 37.1 million streams and 5,000 digital sales; the following week it moved up to #2.
Today, she lives in Nashville with her husband Ronnie Shacklett, who she met at a November 1962 Bo Diddley and Jackie Wilson concert (and married 6 months later). They have 2 daughters and 3 grandchildren. She has been very involved with the Country Music Hall of Fame, often announcing the annual inductees, and then officially presenting them with their membership medallions.
Davenie Johanna “Joey” Heatherton (born in 1944) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. A sex symbol of the 1960s, she is best known for her many television appearances during that time, particularly as a frequent variety show performer, although she also appeared in TV and movie acting roles and recorded The Joey Heatherton Album (for which she posed nude for the cover). She performed for over a decade on USO tours presented by Bob Hope, and starred in several feature films. Her father was Ray Heatherton, TV’s The Merry Mailman.
In April 1969, she married Lance Rentzel, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver. In November 1970, Rentzel was arrested for exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl; he pleaded guilty and promised to undergo psychiatric treatment. She filed for divorce in September 1971 and her career lost its luster; some say she never recovered from the psychological shock of Rentzel’s offense. She had a successful run as the spokesperson for Serta mattresses, but her frequent substance abuse and anorexia exacerbated matters. With infrequent jobs, marital problems, and substance abuse, it wasn’t long before she found herself on the wrong side of the law.
Like many Hollywood stars of that era, Heatherton isn’t active on any social media platform and is no longer active in the entertainment industry, so little is known about her today. She last resurfaced in the tabloids in 2014 when, while residing in an apartment building in Sherman Oaks, CA, a neighbor was granted a restraining order against her after she ambushed her with a shoe in a dispute over the noise made by the neighbor’s blender.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (born in 1940) known as Pelé is a Brazilian former professional soccer player who has been labeled “the greatest of all times” by FIFA (the international governing body of the sport). He was among the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. In 1999 he was named Athlete of the Century by the International Olympic Committee and was included in the Time list of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. In 2000, Pelé was voted World Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games, which included friendlies, is recognized as a Guinness World Record.His 643 goals for Santos FC (with whom he played for 19 seasons beginning when he was 15) was the most goals scored for a single club until it was surpassed by Lionel Messi of Barcelona in December 2020. Реlé rеtіrеd from Ѕаntоѕ in 1974, and wаѕ ѕіgnеd by the New York Соѕmоѕ, where he played for two years and scored 31 goals in 66 games.
In 2016 when he was 75, the soccer superstar was forced to withdraw from participating in the Rio Olympics Opening Ceremony, citing his health as a concern. In early 2020, he was in a fragile state following a hip replacement and stepped back from the public as he was embarrassed about being seen in his physical condition. Since then, according to his son, “…he doesn’t want to go out, be seen, or do practically anything that involves leaving the house.” In September of last year, he had surgery to remove a colon tumor and has been in an out of hospital since.
