Music Icon Brenda Lee Recalls the Poignant Advice She Got from Fellow Child Star Judy Garland (Exclusive)

Brenda Lee was just 13 years old in 1958 when she recorded her immortal holiday classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Despite her tender age, she was already a showbiz pro with years of experience under her belt.

Lee began singing before she could even remember. By age 3, she was performing on the counter of a local sweet shop in exchange for candy and pocket change. At 5, she won first place at her school’s talent show with a spirited rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” The victory turned her into a local celebrity, leading to invitations to perform throughout her hometown in the Atlanta suburbs. (She often had to stand on a milk crate to reach the microphone.)

When her father tragically died in a construction accident, 8-year-old Lee became her family’s primary source of income. Despite the challenging circumstances, she insists she never felt pressured, saying she was simply doing what came naturally. “I think God shaped my style because we didn’t have a radio and we didn’t have a TV,” she tells PEOPLE. “So I didn’t hear a lot of music growing up. I think that was good in a lot of ways because I could develop my own style. After we got a radio, I listened to everything, and I went to see concerts that came to town.” 

Her life changed forever after attending a show emceed by Red Foley, host of the country variety television program Ozark Jubilee. Foley had heard about the little girl with the big voice and agreed to hear her sing backstage before the show. Impressed, he hired her to perform on his nationally televised series. “He gave me my big break on TV,” Lee says. 

The national exposure quickly catapulted her to stardom. Her preternatural talent earned her comparisons to her hero, Judy Garland, whose mature vocal stylings had also brought fame at a young age. The two crossed paths in the 1950s when both were booked to perform at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. At the time, Lee’s star was rising, while Garland was already a bona fide legend — though undeniably troubled by her tumultuous upbringing in Hollywood’s unforgiving studio system.

“Judy was laying out by the pool in Las Vegas,” Lee remembers. “I was just a teenager — the infancy of a teenager! I got my bravado up and I went over and introduced myself and I said, ‘Miss Garland, could you give me any advice on show business?’”

Lee never forgot Garland’s words. “She thought just a minute, then looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Don’t ever let them take your childhood.’ So I’ve always remembered that.”

Thankfully, Lee heeded Garland’s advice. “I had my childhood,” she says. “I went to public school. I had my friends. I was a cheerleader. I did all the stuff that all the other kids were doing. The only difference was that I sang.”

These days, Lee has advice of her own to any young hopefuls looking to follow in her footsteps. “I would say to them. ‘Make sure this is what you really want and not what someone else wants for you.’ Because it’s hard! It’s hard for kids in the industry. You’re just insulated and you’re told everything: how to move, how to look, how to dress. Sometimes you’re even told how to perform. Luckily that didn’t happen to me. I had good people around me and they just let me be me. I’m like Popeye: I am what I am!” 

Lee celebrated two major milestones in the weeks leading up to Christmas. On Dec. 11, she turned 80 years old alongside her friends and family. Just a day earlier, it was announced that “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify, making it the only holiday song by a female country artist to do so. “I was dumbfounded when I heard,” Lee tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I can’t even think that high, much less say it!”