Lee Hazlewood
Encyclopedia
Lee Hazlewood born Barton Lee Hazlewood was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 and pop singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

, and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...

 during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....

 in the 1960s.

Hazlewood had a distinctive baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

 voice
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...

 that added an ominous resonance to his music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

. Hazlewood's collaborations with Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....

 as well as his solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...

 output in the late 1960s and early 1970s have been praised as an essential contribution to a sound often described as "Cowboy Psychedelia" or "Saccharine Underground".

Career

The son of an oil man, Hazlewood was born in Mannford, Oklahoma
Mannford, Oklahoma
Mannford is a town in Creek, Pawnee, and Tulsa counties in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. In 2010, the population was 3,076 compared to 2,095 at the 2000 census. A bedroom community of Tulsa sitting on Lake Keystone, this town claims to be, "the Striped Bass Capital of the...

 and spent most of his youth living between Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, and Louisiana
Louisiana
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 in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. He grew up listening to pop and bluegrass music.
Hazlewood spent his teenage years in Port Neches, Texas
Port Neches, Texas
Port Neches is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,601 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

 where he was exposed to a rich Gulf Coast music tradition. Hazlewood studied for a medical degree at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...

 in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

. He served with the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

.

Following discharge from the military, Hazlewood worked as a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 while honing his songwriting skills. His first hit as a producer and songwriter was "The Fool", 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...

 by rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...

 artist
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....

 Sanford Clark
Sanford Clark
Sanford Clark is an American country-rockabilly singer and guitarist best known for his 1956 hit "The Fool".-Biography:...

 in 1956. Hazlewood partnered with pioneering rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...

, producing and cowriting an unprecedented string of hit instrumental records, including "Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards...

", "Boss Guitar", "40 Miles Of Bad Road", "Shazam!", "Rebel Rouser" and "[Dance With The] Guitar Man".

Hazlewood is perhaps best known for having written and produced the 1966 Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....

 U.S./UK #1 hit, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
These Boots Are Made for Walkin'
Jessica Simpson recorded her own version of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" for the soundtrack to the film The Dukes of Hazzard . Simpson's cover was co-produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and was released as the soundtrack's first single in 2005)...

" and "Summer Wine
Summer Wine
"Summer Wine" is a song written by Lee Hazlewood. It was originally sung by Suzi Jane Hokom and Lee Hazlewood in 1966, but it was made famous by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood in 1967. This version was originally released as the B-side of "Sugar Town" the previous year, before featuring on the...

". He also wrote "How Does That Grab Ya, Darlin'", "Friday's Child", "So Long, Babe, "Sugar Town" and many others for Sinatra. Among his most well-known vocal performances is Some Velvet Morning
Some Velvet Morning
"Some Velvet Morning" is a psychedelic pop song written by Lee Hazlewood and originally recorded by Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra in late 1967. It first appeared on Sinatra's album Movin' with Nancy, the soundtrack to her 1967 television special of the same name. The song has been covered many times...

, a 1967 duet with Nancy Sinatra. Hazlewood performed that song along with "Jackson" and "See the Little Children" on her 1967 television special Movin' With Nancy
Movin' With Nancy
Movin' With Nancy was a television special featuring Nancy Sinatra in a series of musical vignettes featuring herself and other artists. Produced by Nancy's production company, Boots Enterprises, Inc., and sponsored by Royal Crown Cola, the show was originally broadcast on the NBC television...

. He wrote the theme song "The Last of the Secret Agents" for the 1966 spy-spoof film
The Last of the Secret Agents
The Last of the Secret Agents? is a 1966 film that spoofs the spy film genre starring the then-popular comedy team of Allen & Rossi.-Plot:...

. Nancy Sinatra, who had a role in the film, recorded the song for the soundtrack. For Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

's 1967 detective movie, Tony Rome
Tony Rome
Tony Rome is a 1967 detective film starring Frank Sinatra and directed by Gordon Douglas, adapted from Marvin Albert's novel Miami Mayhem. Filming took place on location in Miami, Florida, with some scenes being shot during the day at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, where Sinatra was performing in...

, Hazlewood also wrote the theme song which was performed by Nancy. He also wrote "Houston", a 1965 US hit recorded by Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...

. This Town
This Town
"This Town" is the title of a song written by Lee Hazelwood and recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1967. The song first appeared on Sinatra's 1967 album The World We Knew and also on his 1969 Greatest Hits album....

, a song that was recorded by Frank Sinatra that appeared on his 1969 Greatest Hits album and is the basis for Paul Shaffer's "Small Town News" segment theme on The Late Show with David Letterman, was written by Hazlewood.

Though it did not receive much attention at the time, Hazlewood also worked with Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...

 and the International Submarine Band
International submarine band
The International Submarine Band was formed by country rock pioneer Gram Parsons while a theology student at Harvard University and John Nuese, a guitar player for local rock group, The Trolls. Nuese is largely credited with having persuaded Parsons to pursue the country-rock sound he would later...

 in the mid 1960s. Gram Parsons's departure from the band and decision to become part of The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...

 created legal problems with Hazlewood.

In the 1970s Hazlewood moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where he wrote and produced the one-hour television show Cowboy in Sweden together with friend and Director Torbjörn Axelman, which also later emerged as an album.

Hazlewood was semi-retired from the music business during the 1970s and 1980s. However, his own output also achieved a cult status in the underground rock scene, with song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

s covered by artists such as Rowland S. Howard
Rowland S. Howard
Rowland Stuart Howard was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, he played electric guitar in the post-punk group The Birthday Party. Howard died of liver cancer in December 2009, aged 50 years....

, Miles Kane
Miles Kane
Miles Peter Kane is an English musician originally from Meols on the Wirral near Liverpool, best known as the co-frontman of The Last Shadow Puppets and former frontman of The Rascals...

, Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band. The band's original lineup – vocalist/organist Mark Stein, bassist/vocalist Tim Bogert, lead guitarist/vocalist Vince Martell, and drummer/vocalist Carmine Appice – recorded five albums during the years 1966–69, before disbanding in 1970...

, Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...

, Primal Scream
Primal Scream
Primal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie and now based in London. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , and Darrin Mooney...

, Entombed
Entombed
Entombed, or entomb, may refer to:* To entomb is to inter a body in a tomb.* Entombed , a pioneering Scandinavian death metal band* Entombed , a video game from Ultimate Play the Game* Entombment of Christ...

, Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten
Einstürzende Neubauten is a German post-industrial band, originally from West Berlin, formed in 1980. The group currently comprises Blixa Bargeld , Alexander Hacke , N.U...

, Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...

, The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...

, Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic
Hooverphonic are a Belgian rock/pop group, formed in 1995. Though early on categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be described as a lone genre, but rather encompass alternative, electronica, electropop, rock, and mixture of others...

, Anita Lane
Anita Lane
Anita Lane is an Australian singer and songwriter who directly influenced the early 1980s European post-punk landscape.-Birthday Party:Lane was born in Melbourne, Australia in the late 1950s. Lane began singing and writing songs at age 16. She was a classmate with Rowland S. Howard who would...

, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

, Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

, The Tubes
The Tubes
The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band, whose 1975 debut album included the hit single, "White Punks on Dope". During its first fifteen years or so, the band's live performances combined quasi-pornography with wild satires of media, consumerism, and politics...

, Thin White Rope
Thin White Rope
Thin White Rope was an American rock band fronted by Guy Kyser and related to the desert rock and paisley underground sub-genres. It was formed in Davis, California in 1984, and released five albums to critical acclaim....

 and Slowdive
Slowdive
Slowdive were an English shoegaze band that formed in 1989. The band formed in Reading, Berkshire and primarily consisted of Nick Chaplin , Rachel Goswell , Neil Halstead , and Christian Savill...

.

In 2006, Hazlewood sang on Bela B.'s
Bela B.
Dirk Felsenheimer , better known under his stage name Bela B., is a German musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for being the drummer and one of the singers in the German band Die Ärzte. In 2006 he released his first solo album entitled Bingo. Bela B...

 first solo album, Bingo, on the song "Lee Hazlewood und das erste Lied des Tages" ("Lee Hazlewood and the first song of the day"). He said that he loved producing and writing albums.

In 2005 he was diagnosed with terminal renal cancer, yet undertook an extensive round of interviews and promotional activities in support of his last album, Cake or Death.

His last recording was for the vocals of Icelandic quartet Amiina
Amiina
Amiina is an Icelandic band composed of Hildur Ársælsdóttir , Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir , Maria Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir , and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir . They frequently perform live and in the studio along with Sigur Rós...

's single "Hilli (At The Top Of The World)
Hilli (At The Top Of The World)
"Hilli " is the second single from the album Kurr released by Icelandic band Amiina. The song features American musician Lee Hazlewood in his last recording and collaboration...

".

Hazlewood died of renal cancer
Renal cell carcinoma
Renal cell carcinoma is a kidney cancer that originates in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule, the very small tubes in the kidney that filter the blood and remove waste products. RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, responsible for approximately 80% of cases...

 in Henderson, Nevada
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...

 on August 4, 2007, survived by his wife Jeane, son Mark and daughters Debbie and Samantha.

1960s-1970s

  • 1963 — Trouble Is a Lonesome Town

  • 1964 — N.S.V.I.P.
  • 1965 — Friday's Child (refashioned as HOUSTON in 1968)
  • 1966 — The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood
  • 1966 — These Boots Are Made For Walkin' (LP: MGM 2354 036)
  • 1967 — Lee Hazlewoodism Its Cause and Cure
  • 1968 — Nancy & Lee — a collaboration with Nancy Sinatra
    Nancy Sinatra
    Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....

  • 1968 — Something Special
  • 1968 — Love and Other Crimes
  • 1969 — The Cowboy and the Lady — a collaboration with Ann Margret.
  • 1969 : Forty (different songs than Friday's child)
  • 1970 — Cowboy in Sweden
    Cowboy in Sweden
    Cowboy in Sweden is a 1970 album by musician Lee Hazlewood. It is considered to be one of his best albums.The album was recorded to complement a TV production of the same title that Hazlewood starred in...

    — recorded in Sweden
    Sweden
    Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....


  • 1971 — Requiem for an Almost Lady
    Requiem for an Almost Lady
    Requiem for an Almost Lady is a 1971 album by musician Lee Hazlewood. It is considered to be one of his best albums.-Track listing:All songs written and arranged by Lee Hazlewood#"I'm Glad I Never..." – 1:04#"If It's Monday Morning" – 3:54#"L.A...

  • 1972 — Nancy & Lee Again — a collaboration with Nancy Sinatra
  • 1972 — 13
  • 1973 — I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
  • 1973 — Poet, Fool or Bum
    Poet, Fool or Bum
    Poet, Fool or Bum is a 1973 album by musician Lee Hazlewood.The album was not as well received as his previous work. NME's Charles Shaar Murray answered the question posed by the title in a one-word review with "bum."-Track listing:...

  • 1974 — The Stockholm Kid Live at Berns
  • 1975 — A House Safe for Tigers
  • 1976 — 20th Century Lee
  • 1977 — Movin' On
  • 1977 — Back on the Street Again


1990s-2000s

  • 1993 — Gypsies & Indians — a collaboration with Anna Hanski
  • 1999 — Farmisht, Flatulence, Origami, ARF!!! & Me...
  • 2002 — For Every Solution There's a Problem
  • 2002 — For Every Question There's an Answer — interview CD
  • 2002 — Total Lee! The Songs Of Lee Hazlewood (Various Artists) — Tribute Album
  • 2002 — Bootleg Dreams & Counterfeit Demos
  • 2003 — Lycanthrope Tour/Europe 2002
  • 2004 — Nancy & Lee 3 — a collaboration with Nancy Sinatra
  • 2006 — Cake or Death


External links

The Official Website of Lee Hazlewood
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