Lee Dorsey (December 24, 1924 – December 1, 1986) was an
Afro-AmericanAfro-American is an alternative to the term African American, referring to an American of African ancestry. It also can be used as an umbrella term to refer to all descendants of Africans slaves to the Americas during the Atlantic slave trade. The term had gained currency by 1890 but was surpassed...
popPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
/
R&BRhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
singerSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist...
during the 1960s. Much of his work was
producedIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
by
Allen ToussaintAllen Toussaint, , is an American musician, composer and record producer, one of the most influential figures in New Orleans R&B....
with
instrumentalRock Instrumentals have a separate page.An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. This term is used when referring to popular music rather than to other musical genres such as European...
backing provided by
The MetersThe Meters were an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and also played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists such as Lee Dorsey and Dr John...
.
Born
Irving Lee Dorsey in
New OrleansNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
,
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Dorsey moved to
PortlandPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
,
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
when he was ten years old. He served in the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
and began a career in prizefighting.
BoxingBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
as a
light heavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight division is the weight division between cruiserweight and super middleweight...
in Portland in the early 1950s, he fought under the name "Kid Chocolate" and was quite successful.
Dorsey met
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
/producer Allen Toussaint at a party in the early 1960s, and was signed to the Fury
record labelIn 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,...
.
Lee Dorsey (December 24, 1924 – December 1, 1986) was an
Afro-AmericanAfro-American is an alternative to the term African American, referring to an American of African ancestry. It also can be used as an umbrella term to refer to all descendants of Africans slaves to the Americas during the Atlantic slave trade. The term had gained currency by 1890 but was surpassed...
popPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
/
R&BRhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
singerSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist...
during the 1960s. Much of his work was
producedIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
by
Allen ToussaintAllen Toussaint, , is an American musician, composer and record producer, one of the most influential figures in New Orleans R&B....
with
instrumentalRock Instrumentals have a separate page.An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. This term is used when referring to popular music rather than to other musical genres such as European...
backing provided by
The MetersThe Meters were an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and also played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists such as Lee Dorsey and Dr John...
.
Career
Born
Irving Lee Dorsey in
New OrleansNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
,
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Dorsey moved to
PortlandPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
,
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
when he was ten years old. He served in the
United States NavyThe United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...
and began a career in prizefighting.
BoxingBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
as a
light heavyweightIn boxing, the light heavyweight division is the weight division between cruiserweight and super middleweight...
in Portland in the early 1950s, he fought under the name "Kid Chocolate" and was quite successful.
Dorsey met
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
/producer Allen Toussaint at a party in the early 1960s, and was signed to the Fury
record labelIn 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,...
. The
songA song is a metrical composition intended or adapted for singing, especially one in rhymed stanzas; a lyric; a ballad....
that launched his career was inspired by a group of children chanting
nursery rhymeThe term nursery rhyme is used for ‘traditional’ songs for young children in Britain and many English speaking countries, but usage only dates from the nineteenth century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
s - "
Ya Ya"Ya Ya" is a song by Lee Dorsey. The song was written by Lee Dorsey, Clarence Lewis, Morgan Robinson and Morris Levy. It was inspired by a children's nursery rhyme.-Chart Performance:...
" went to number seven on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in 1961. He
recordedSound 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...
other songs for Fury before the label folded, and Dorsey went back to his car repair business.
Toussaint later came back on the Amy label and began to work with Dorsey once again. From 1965 to 1969 Dorsey put seven songs in the Hot 100, the most successful of which was "
Working In The Coal Mine"Working in the Coal Mine" is a song with music and lyrics by Allen Toussaint.After Toussaint returned to New Orleans from the army , he formed a production company, Sansu, with partner Marshall Sehorn. A number of singles, performed by Lee Dorsey, followed in 1965-66, including "Working in the...
" in 1966. It was to be his second and last Top Ten song. In 1970 Dorsey and Toussaint collaborated on an
albumAn album or record album is a collection of related audio or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites.-...
entitled
Yes We Can; the title song was Dorsey's last entry in the
singlesIn music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.-History:...
chart. It was later a hit for the
Pointer SistersThe Pointer Sisters are an American Pop/R&B recording act from Oakland, California that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s...
under the title, "
Yes We Can Can"Yes We Can Can" is a 1973 funk classic recorded by the American R&B girl group the Pointer Sisters and released on the Blue Thumb record label....
".
Dorsey appeared on an album with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, which led to more recordings on his own with
ABC RecordsABC Records was an American record label, founded in New York City in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records. It originated as the main popular music label operated the Am-Par Record Corporation, the music subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company...
in the late 1970s. In 1980, Dorsey opened for English punk band
The ClashThe Clash were an English rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk rock. Along with punk, they experimented with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly...
on their
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tour.
Dorsey contracted
emphysemaEmphysema is a lung disease, characterized by an abnormal, permanent enlargement of air spaces distal to the terminal bronchioles. The disease is coupled with the destruction of walls, but without obvious fibrosis...
and died in New Orleans in 1986, at the age of 61.
Dorsey's songs have been
coveredIn popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by
artistsA musician is a person who performs or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument.* A singer uses his or her voice as an instrument....
as diverse as
Petula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
("Ya Ya Twist," a 1962
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
version of "
Ya Ya"Ya Ya" is a song by Lee Dorsey. The song was written by Lee Dorsey, Clarence Lewis, Morgan Robinson and Morris Levy. It was inspired by a children's nursery rhyme.-Chart Performance:...
") and
DevoDevo , often spelled DEVO or DEV-O, is an American New Wave band formed in Akron, Ohio in 1973. They are best known for their 1980 hit "Whip It", which made it to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
("Working In The Coal Mine").
He is referenced in the
Beastie BoysBeastie Boys is an American hip hop group from New York City. The group comprises Michael "Mike D" Diamond, Adam "MCA" Yauch, and Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz...
' song
lyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
for "
Sure Shot"Sure Shot" is a single from the Beastie Boys' 1994 album Ill Communication. The single was released a few days after the release of the album, on May 31st, 1994...
" - "...everything I do is funky like Lee Dorsey."
Albums
- Ya Ya (1962)
- Ride Your Pony (1966)
- The New Lee Dorsey (1966)
- Working in the Coalmine (1967)
- Yes We Can (1970)
- Night People (1978)
Chart singles
- "Ya Ya
"Ya Ya" is a song by Lee Dorsey. The song was written by Lee Dorsey, Clarence Lewis, Morgan Robinson and Morris Levy. It was inspired by a children's nursery rhyme.-Chart Performance:...
" U.S. PopThe Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
#7/R&BR&B/Hip-Hop Songs, formerly the Black Singles Chart, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues...
#1 (1961)
- "Do-Re-Mi" U.S. #27/#22 (1962)
- "Ride Your Pony" U.S. #28/#7 (1965)
- "Get Out Of My Life, Woman" U.S. #44/#5/ UK
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
#22 (1966)
- "Confusion" UK #38 (1966)
- "Working in the Coal Mine
"Working in the Coal Mine" is a song with music and lyrics by Allen Toussaint.After Toussaint returned to New Orleans from the army , he formed a production company, Sansu, with partner Marshall Sehorn. A number of singles, performed by Lee Dorsey, followed in 1965-66, including "Working in the...
" U.S. #8/#5/UK #8 (1966)
- "Holy Cow" U.S. #23/#10/UK #6 (1966)
- "My Old Car" U.S. #97 (1967)
- "Go-Go Girl" U.S. #62/#31 (1967)
- "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky (From Now On)" U.S. #95/#33 (1969)
- "Yes We Can - Part 1" --/#46 (1970)
- "Night People" --/#93 (1978)
See also
External links