Heeeres Johnny! Top Ten: Johnny One Time (#1)

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And there goes Johnny! It's time to put my countdown of my favorite songs with "John" or "Johnny" in the title to bed. Goodnight, John Boy. As for the song that tops the list, you probably (a) didn't see this one coming and (b) have never heard it. Oh, well. Here it is. #1: Johnny One Time - Brenda Lee Oh, sure you've heard of Brenda Lee. Every Christmas you get treated to her holiday standard "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," and everyone knows her classic hit "I'm Sorry" (so popular that Ben Vaughn wrote a song called "I'm Sorry [But So Is Brenda Lee]"). And, of course, Golden Earring sang her praises in "Radar Love," along with her "forgotten song," "Comin' On Strong." But this song? This is so forgotten it makes "Comin' On Strong" (which is a terrific song, BTW) seem like Little Miss Dynamite's most popular song in comparison. It was a minor hit in early 1969, making the "easy listening" charts and landing outside of the top 40 in pop and country. That's probably because they really didn't know where to put this song: it was way too "pop" for even the "Countrypolitan" country sounds (even though it was written by two legendary country songwriters), and it was way too "soft" for the increasingly "rock" side of the top 40. (I say that, remembering that this was the year that gave us "H*ney." ) That's really too bad, because this is one of Brenda Lee's greatest songs. Her delivery reinforces that "dynamite" moniker she picked up, and the lyrics are terrific. Maybe through this little discussion a few more people will know the greatness of "that forgotten song" by the great Brenda Lee. Thanks for reading. Johnny One Time Written by Dallas Frazier and A.L. "Doodle" Owens Recorded by Brenda Lee From Johnny One Time, 1968 Did he tell you: