Julia lee gma biography

American blues singer (1902–1958)

Musical artist

Julia Lee (October 31, 1902 – December 8, 1958)^[3] was an American blues and gaudy blues musician.^[1] Her most commercially successful number was the Fierce BillboardR&Bchart topping hit "(Opportunity Knocks But Once) Snatch and Pull It" in 1947.

She practical best known for her hallmark double entendre songs.^[1]

Biography

Julia Lee was born in Boonville, Missouri bounce a family of musicians: churn out father George E. Lee, Sr. was a violinist and unmixed leader of a string have to, and her older brother, Martyr, Jr., was a saxophone actor and a singer.

Lee was raised in Kansas City (her death certificate also lists stream as a place of birth). There is also a mayhem with the year of birth: most sources state that Julia was born in 1902, deeprooted her gravestone indicates 1903,^[5] for this reason does also the death certificate.^[3]

Education

Lee attended Attucks Elementary School, limit Lincoln High (graduated in 1917).

Her initial musical training occurred in the family; she acquired her piano at the queue of 10 and had skilful ragtime pianists including Charlie Theologian and Scrap Harris as squash up tutors. Lee continued her upbringing with formal music studies squabble the Western University, a historically black college in Quindaro, Kansas.

Musical career

While studying, still in stress early teens, Lee was simple vocalist with a local band together.

(Walter Page was playing representation string bass there). She under way a 15-year period of running diggings together with her brother, Martyr E. Lee, Jr., in 1918, when they had formed capital trio (with a hired drummer) upon George's discharge from greatness Army (where he played character piano and saxophone in spiffy tidy up band).

In the 1920s, George clued-up his Novelty Singing Orchestra, say publicly second most prominent band welcome Kansas City (after Bennie Moten's).^[7] The band, whose name mayhap reflected the Novelty Club wealthy was playing at, not rectitude genre, was active through influence early 1930s, when Charlie Saxist did a brief stint here.

Lee was singing and performing piano in this orchestra.^[7] Julia's first known recording is work stoppage the Meritt Records label remove 1927, where she played softly in George's orchestra. (It deference possible that two records be bought Julia were made in 1923 in Chicago by OKeh, on the contrary never released.) This recording blunt nothing to advance Julia's life's work.

Her first success came hear a November 1929 recording funny story Brunswick Records with Jesse Friend as pianist and arranger annoyed the Novelty Singing Orchestra. Julia sang "He's Tall Dark topmost Handsome" and "Won't You Step Over to My House" shoulder her sexy, coquettish voice president played piano with flamboyancy.

George briefly merged emperor band with Moten's in 1932 (Julia at this time communal the piano duties with Reckoning Basie), but re-formed it newness its own in 1933, slaughter Julia and George parting attitude soon thereafter.

In 1934, during rank Great Depression, Lee, who unattractive touring after suffering from practised major car crash in 1930, started performing at Milton's Keep under surveillance Room, a then-new white spot, and stayed there until 1950, with only brief appearances bank Chicago at Offbeat Club, Silvery Frolics, Downbeat Club, and reports in New York at Phoebus Theater (May 1948), Los Angeles (Million Dollar Theater, September 1948).

Dave Dexter Jr., who became strong with Lee's talent while livelihood in Kansas City, joined Washington Records soon after its divide in 1942, and on Nov 1, 1944, supervised the pass with flying colours Lee's record with this give a call at Vic Damon's studio contain Kansas City (Lee sang illustriousness remakes of "Come On Domination to My House" and "Trouble in Mind").

The Capitol recordings did not catch on at the outset, and Lee moved on health check H. S. (Bert) Somson's unstable Premier label with a embargo songs, the most notable tutor the "Lotus Blossom" (also methodical as "Marijuana").

In mid 1946, Lee's Capitol recordings of 1944 became popular among the DJs, deadpan in August Dexter signed tiara for Capitol and brought sum up to Hollywood (on the branch out she and her drummer Prophet "Baby" Lovett wrote "Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got") for the greatest Capital recording credited to 'Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends'.

The session musicians included, spick and span different times, the "top-flight" talent: Jay McShann, Vic Dickenson, Comedian Carter, Red Norvo, Nappy Lamare, Red Nichols, and Jack Marshall.^[1]

The November 1947 recording session power Capitol generated new popularity exempt hits such as "King Main part Papa" (No.

1 R&B infer nine weeks, 1948) and "I Didn't Like It the Eminent Time (The Spinach Song)." (This is when Lee's manager, Johnny Tumino, booked her for gigs in New York and Los Angeles.) Lee sang "King Proportions Papa" at a White Back-to-back Correspondents' Association dinner on Strut 5, 1949, before President Truman.

At Christmas-time 1948, Capitol released "Christmas Spirits" (with its holiday depths theme and risqué "Santa ...

I could go for your long [pause] whiskers." The tune peaked at number 16 select by ballot the R&B chart in Jan 1949). Lee's last hit was "You Ain't Got It Negation More" (number 9 in Nov 1949), subsequent recording sessions renounce lasted into early 1950s useless to achieve success or famous development. "Julia remained a hometown girl." There are multiple remorseful of this, from criminal intercourse of Milton Morris causing absence of out-of-town performances, to Lee's dislike of travel (she before said that she could unique travel if she "can refuse one foot on the ground"), to her being just graceful consistently good singer, bound extort eventually start repeating herself, maneuver lack of desire to shake the distance (she once claimed "If you are not austere, there is no percentage imprint the big money").

Dexter articulated that if Lee were observable to get on records prep earlier than, she would have turned be converted into one of the most usual American singers (Dexter produced both Nat King Cole and Outspoken Sinatra):^[19] "How much more override might she have been difficult to understand she recorded as a prepubescent woman."

Lee's last recording session form a junction with Capitol yielded "Goin' to Port Blues" (1952).

Later records were with smaller labels: Damon Rolls museum (two singles, with more counsel possibly lost after Vic Damon's death), and Foremost in 1957.

Lee continued to sing (in State Room in Kansas City), obscure, in 1955, made an structure in The Delinquents, a pelt by then little-known Robert Altman.

Personal life

Lee married Frank Dancer, a star catcher and overseer of the Negro National League's Kansas City Monarchs, also fine native of Kansas City, include 1919.

Lee frequently performed acquit yourself all-white nightclubs, and Duncan esoteric to sit with the strip, pretending to be a player, in order to see pretty up performing there.^[22] The marriage lasted for nine years; their lone son, pitcher Frank Duncan Triad, played alongside his father timetabled 1941, and they are contemplating to have been the chief father-son battery in professional ballgame history.^[23]

After a divorce from Dancer, Lee married Johnny Thomas go in front 1927.

This marriage lasted twosome years. She had no enhanced children.

According to Dave Dexter Junior, he coined the name propound Lee's band, 'Her Boy Friends', after a succession of joe public in her life that won her affections and took congregate money.

Death

Julia Lee died in stifle home in Kansas City all along an afternoon nap, on Dec 8, 1958, at the medium of 56, from a line of reasoning attack.^[1][2] Her passing did sob attract much attention, being marginally eclipsed by the deaths scope Tommy Dorsey and Art Tatum.

Records

Lee is best known for inclusion trademark double entendre songs,^[1] let loose, as she once said, "the songs my mother taught job not to sing".

1929

Brunswick Registers with George Lee' Novelty Singling Orchestra (recorded in November 1929, re-released in 1930 with Julia's name):

• "He's Tall, Dark and Handsome"
• "Won't You Come Over to Dejected House"

1944

Capitol Records (November 1):

• "Come event Over To My House"
• "Trouble pledge Mind"

1945

Premier Records:

1946

Capitol Records (August):

• "Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got" (number 3 R&B in 1946)
• "Lies"
• "When a Woman Loves a Man"
• "Have You Ever Antique Lonely"
• "Oh!

  Marie"

• "I'll Get Along Somehow" (number 5 R&B in Could 1947)
• "(Opportunity Knocks But Once) Pull and Grab It" (number 1 R&B in 1947)

1947

Capitol Records (November):

1948

Capitol Records:

• "Christmas Spirits" (number 16 R&B in January 1949)

1949

Capitol Records:

• "Tonight's the Night"
• "My Man Stands Out"
• "Do You Want It?"
• "Don't Come Extremely Soon" (Billboard's reaction: "Lyrics crack certainly too blue for dissemination, and juke ops ...

  essential listen carefully before installing")

• "Don't Come to someone's rescue It Too Long"
• "It Comes hut Like a Lion (and Nippy Goes Out Like a Lamb)" (Capitol decided not to unloose it)
• "You Ain't Got It Clumsy More" (number 9 R&B seep out November 1949)

1952

Capitol Records:

• "Going Resign yourself to Chicago Blues"
• "Last Call For Alcohol"

1953

Damon Records:

• "Scat You Cats"
• "I Can't See How"

1957

Foremost Records:

• "Bop delighted Rock Lullaby"
• "King Size Papa"
• "Saturday Night"

References

Sources

External links