Julia Lee (musician)
Encyclopedia
Julia Lee was an American
blues
and dirty blues
musician
.
, Missouri
, United States
, Lee was raised in Kansas City
, and began her musical career around 1920, singing and playing piano
in her brother George Lee's band, which for a time also included Charlie Parker
. She first recorded
on the Merritt record label
in 1927 with Jesse Stone
as pianist
and arranger
, and launched a solo
career in 1935.
In 1944 she secured a recording contract
with Capitol Records
, and a string of R&B
hits
followed, including "Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got" (#3 R&B, 1946), "Snatch and Grab It
" (#1 R&B for 12 weeks, 1947, selling over 500,000 copies), "King Size Papa
" (#1 R&B for 9 weeks, 1948), "I Didn't Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song)" (#4 R&B, 1949), and "My Man Stands Out".
As these titles suggest, she became best known for her trademark double entendre
songs, or, as she once said, "the songs my mother taught me not to sing". The records
were credited to 'Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends', her session musician
s including Jay McShann
, Vic Dickenson
, Benny Carter
, Red Norvo
, Nappy Lamare
, and Red Nichols
.
Although her hits dried up after 1949, she continued as one of the most popular performers in Kansas City until her death in San Diego
, California
, at the age of 56, from a heart attack
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and dirty blues
Dirty blues
Dirty blues encompasses forms of blues music that deal with topics that are sometimes considered taboo in society, including sexual metaphors and/or references to drug use of some kind. Due to the sometimes graphic subject matter, such music was often banned from radio and only available on a jukebox...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Biography
Born in BoonvilleBoonville, Missouri
This page is about the city in Missouri. For other communities of the same name, see Boonville Boonville is a city in Cooper County, Missouri, USA. The population was 8,202 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cooper County. The city was the site of a skirmish early in the American Civil...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Lee was raised in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, and began her musical career around 1920, singing and playing piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
in her brother George Lee's band, which for a time also included Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
. She first recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
on the Merritt record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in 1927 with Jesse Stone
Jesse Stone
Jesse Stone was an American rhythm and blues musician and songwriter whose influence spanned a wide range of genres...
as pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, and launched a solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career in 1935.
In 1944 she secured a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
with Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, and a string of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
followed, including "Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got" (#3 R&B, 1946), "Snatch and Grab It
(Opportunity Knocks But Once) Snatch and Grab It
" Snatch and Grab It" is a 1947 novelty song by Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends. The single was number one on the R&B Juke Box chart for twelve weeks and spent seven months on the chart...
" (#1 R&B for 12 weeks, 1947, selling over 500,000 copies), "King Size Papa
King Size Papa
"King Size Papa" is a 1948 novelty song by Julia Lee and her Boy Friends. The song, penned by Johnny Gomez and Paul Vance was released on the Capitol Americana label, catalog number, 40082. The song peaked at number one on the R&B charts and number fifteen on the national pop chart."King Size...
" (#1 R&B for 9 weeks, 1948), "I Didn't Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song)" (#4 R&B, 1949), and "My Man Stands Out".
As these titles suggest, she became best known for her trademark double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
songs, or, as she once said, "the songs my mother taught me not to sing". The records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
were credited to 'Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends', her session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s including Jay McShann
Jay McShann
Jay McShann was an American Grammy Award-nominated jump blues, mainstream jazz, and swing bandleader, pianist and singer....
, Vic Dickenson
Vic Dickenson
Vic Dickenson was an African-American jazz trombonist. Dickenson's career started out in the 1920s and led him through musical partnerships with such legends as Count Basie , Sidney Bechet and Earl Hines...
, Benny Carter
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
, Red Norvo
Red Norvo
Red Norvo was one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba and later the vibraphone as viable jazz instruments...
, Nappy Lamare
Nappy Lamare
Joseph Hilton "Nappy" Lamare was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and vocalist.Lamar's nickname isn't based on a given name of Napoleon; its true origin was revealed by his son:...
, and Red Nichols
Red Nichols
Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols was an American jazz cornettist, composer, and jazz bandleader.Over his long career, Nichols recorded in a wide variety of musical styles, and critic Steve Leggett describes him as "an expert cornet player, a solid improviser, and apparently a workaholic, since he is...
.
Although her hits dried up after 1949, she continued as one of the most popular performers in Kansas City until her death in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, at the age of 56, from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.