Emotions (Brenda Lee album)

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.

Emotions
Studio album by Brenda Lee
Released	April 3, 1961
Recorded	August 16, 1960 – January 19, 1961[1]
Studio	Bradley Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre	Rock and roll[2] pop[2]
Length	33:55
Label	Decca
Producer	Owen Bradley
Brenda Lee chronology
This Is...Brenda (1960) Emotions (1961) All the Way (1961)
Singles from Emotions
"Emotions" / "I'm Learning About Love" Released: February 1961

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
New Record Mirror	3/5[3]

Background and content

Emotions was recorded in seven sessions between August 16, 1960 and January 19, 1961 all at the Bradley Film and Recording Studio located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.^[1] Like Lee's previously released This Is...Brenda, the album's production mixed the sounds of Rockabilly with the Nashville Sound production, according to Richie Unterberger of Allmusic. Seven of the album's twelve tracks were cover versions. The album's eighth track "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was a remake of the single by The Shirelles and the songs "Georgia on My Mind" and "Swanee River Rock" were previously recorded by Ray Charles.^{[citation needed]} While Unterberger found that the songs seemed to be on the "filler side", he still felt that Lee "brought commitment to each and every one of her vocals." Also included on the album was two songs co-written by American country artist Mel Tillis: "Emotions" and "Crazy Talk". The album received four out of five stars from reviewer Richie Unterberger, who stated, "While it was the kind of record that could appeal to both kids and adults, it wasn't watered down, as the production on its own was pretty delightful to listen to, matched by the excellence of Lee's incredibly (for a teenager) mature vocals."^[2] Emotions was issued originally as an LP record upon its initial release, with six songs on each side of the record.^[4] The album has been reissued and released on a compact disc in the United Kingdom.^[5]

Release

Prior to the album's release the tracks "Emotions" and "I'm Learning About Love" had been issued on a single in December 1960: "Emotions", written by Mel Tillis and Ramsey Kearney, had been the favored side reaching #7 in February 1961 although "I'm Learning About Love" also became a Top 40 hit peaking at #33.^[6] while also reaching #45 on the UK Singles Chart.^[7] The album was officially released on April 3, 1961 on Decca Records and peaked at #24 on the Billboard 200 album chart, becoming Lee's first album not to peak in the Billboard 200 Top 10.^[8]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Emotions" – (Ramsey Kearney, Mel Tillis) - 2:51
2. "Just Another Lie" – (Ernest R. Suarez) - 3:20
3. "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)" – (Marguerite Monnot, Geoff Parsons, Edith Piaf) - 2:40
4. "Crazy Talk" – (Mel Tillis, Wayne P. Walker) - 2:42
5. "When I Fall in Love" – (Edward Heyman, Victor Young) - 3:01
6. "Around the World" – (Harold Adamson, Victor Young) - 2:23

Side two

1. "Swanee River Rock" – (Ray Charles) - 2:07
2. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" – (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) - 2:54
3. "I'm Learning About Love" – (Louis Innis, Grady Martin) - 2:41
4. "Georgia on My Mind" – (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) - 3:39
5. "Cry" – (Churchill Kohlman) - 2:49
6. "I'm in the Mood for Love" – (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh) - 2:48

Personnel

• Brenton Banks – strings
• Harold Bradley – guitar
• Howard Carpenter – strings
• Floyd Cramer – piano
• Dottie Dillard – background vocals
• Ray Edenton – guitar
• Buddy Emmons – steel guitar
• Buddy Harman – drums
• Lillian Hunt – strings
• Anita Kerr – background vocals
• Brenda Lee – lead vocals
• Grady Martin – guitar
• Bob Moore – bass
• Louis Nunley – background vocals
• Boots Randolph – saxophone
• Vernel Richardson – strings
• Bill Wright – background vocals

Sales chart positions

Album

Chart (1961)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200[8]	24

Singles

Year	Song	Peak chart positions
		US [6]	UK [7]
1961	"Emotions"	7	45
	"I'm Learning About Love"	33	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Release history

Release history and formats for Emotions

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
North America	April 3, 1961	Vinyl LP	Decca Records	[9]

References

1. "Brenda Lee's recording sessions". Praguefrank's Country Music. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08.
2. Unterberger, Richie. "Emotions > Review". Allmusic.
3. Watson, Jimmy (22 July 1961). "Brenda Lee: Emotions" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 19. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
4. "Emotions by Brenda Lee". Rate Your Music. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15.
5. "Emotions profile". Brenda Lee.com.
6. "Billboard chart positions > singles". Allmusic.
7. "Brenda Lee UK chart runs". Polyhex. Archived from the original on 2010-03-10.
8. "Emotions > charts". Allmusic.
9. Lee, Brenda (April 3, 1961). "Emotions (Liner Notes)". Decca Records. DL-74104.