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Lefty Frizzell
One of the most important country artists of the 1950's and 1960's, Lefty Frizzell contributed some time-honored hits to country music, and the influence of his distinctive vocal delivery can be heard today from artists who admit they copy him. Willie Nelson, Randy Travis, John Anderson, Merle Haggard, Keith Whitley and George Jones all credit Frizzell with influencing their vocal style.
Born William Orville Frizzell on March 31, 1928, in Corsicana, Texas, he got his nickname as a result of a short lived boxing career. His interest in music developed as a child, and at the age of 12 he landed his own radio show at KELD in El Dorado, Arkansas, where his family had briefly settled. By the end of his teens, he was playing in the bars of his native Texas covering the hits of his idol, Jimmie Rodgers. By the mid 1940s he was heavily influenced by the honky tonk music of artists like Ted Daffan, Floyd Tillman and Ernest Tubb.
By 1950 Frizzell had quite a following at a local dancehall, the Ace of Clubs, in Big Spring, Texas. By this time he had developed his own vocal style. Inspired by Floyd Tillman, he bent notes as if his vocal cords were guitar strings, stretching single syllables into several to give additional emphasis to a lyric. Like a blues singer he took his time singing each and every line, taking the lazy Southern drawl and making it a distinctive vocal style. "What I sing, to me every word has a feeling about it," he said in an interview just prior to his untimely death. "I had to linger, had to hold it, I didn't want to let go of it. I want to hold one word through a whole line of melody, to linger with it all the way down. I didn't want to let go of that no more than I wanted to let go of the woman I Ioved."
As Frizzell's popularity spread, he attracted the attention of Jim Beck, a Dallas recording studio owner. The Columbia record label had already signed a few artists who recorded at Beck's studio. In 1950 Beck recorded some demos on Frizzell and took them to Nashville. At an appointment with Columbia A&R man Don Law, Beck had wanted Law to hear the songs. Captivated by Frizzell's voice, Law went to Big Springs and offered Frizzell a contract. He recorded Frizzell singing "If You've Got The Money, I've Got The Time" and "I Love You A Thousand Ways" in July and Columbia released the single in September. Within two months the record sold more than two and one half million copies. Each side of the single remained number one for three weeks! The record sold so quickly that seventeen days after its release, Columbia had Frizzell back in the studio for more recording.
In 1951, three of his seven singles went to Number One with Frizzell holding the spot for half the year with "I Want To Be With You Always" (11 weeks), "Always Late (With Your Kisses)" (12 weeks), and "Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses)" (3 weeks). In 1951 he toured with the legendary Hank Williams. "Hank and I did shows together," Lefty recalled to John Lomax. "We'd flip a coin to see who'd go on first." Then, the hottest star in country music was invited to join the cast of the Grand Ole Opry at the age of 23. Welcomed to the show on July 21, 1951, by "Prince Albert Show" host Red Foley, Frizzell sang "I Love You A Thousand Ways" and "I Want To Be With You Always." That October, Frizzell and Columbia celebrated as four of his hits made it into Billboard's Top Ten country chart during a single week - "Always Late (With Your Kisses)" at #1, "Mom and Dad's Waltz" at #2, "I Want To Be With You Always" at #7 and Jimmie Rodger's "Travelin' Blues" at #8.
By February, 1952, after only eight months in Nashville, Frizzell left the Opry on his own accord and moved to California where he appeared on the TV shows "Town Hall Party" and "Country America." Between 1950 and 1954 he charted with 15 consecutive Top Ten hits. "Run 'Em Off," released in 1954, was the end of his Top Ten streak as Rock 'N Roll set back the hard country style of Frizzell and others like him. It was not until 1959 with "Long Black Veil" did he return to the Top Ten. Then, mediocre chart success until his 1964 release of "Saginaw, Michigan," his last #1, and his last time in the Top Ten.
Frizzell broke new ground, not only with his vocal style - he was the first country singer to wear rhinestones on stage. It happened around 1953 shortly after he relocated to California. One of the best western tailors in the Los Angeles area was a Russian-Jewish immigrant by the name of Nudie Cohen. Formerly a maker of lingerie for New York burlesque shows, he became established as a cowboy clothier around 1946 when he outfitted Tex Williams' band. Nudie took the brazen step of including Lefty's initials in rhinestones on his lapel. Although Frizzell liked sharp clothes, he did not want to risk looking like a sissy. Nudie was prepared with the argument that only a tough guy could pull off wearing rhinestones, coupled with the fact that women love men who look "flashy." Convinced, Frizzell wore the suit and got rave reviews from fans, the press and envious colleagues. Within a few days, Frizzell was telling Nudie not to skimp on the rhinestones.
Frizzell continued recording for Columbia through 1972 and signed with the ABC label in 1973 where he went through decent success with "I Never Go Around Mirrors" and "Lucky Arms." However, his hard lifestyle was wrecking his marriage. Suffering from high blood pressure, he refused to take his medication, preferring instead to drink. As he was preparing to leave on tour he suffered a massive stroke and died a few hours later on July 19, 1975. His last single, "Falling" was charting at the time of his death.
Lefty Frizzell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982.
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