Lee Michaels

Lee Michaels (born Michael Olsen, November 24, 1945, Los Angeles, California) plays the Hammond organ, piano, and guitar (plus vocals), and is best known for his 1971 Top 10 pop hit single, "Do You Know What I Mean."

Career

Michaels began his career with The Sentinals, a San Luis-based surf group that included drummer Johny Barbata, later of The Turtles, Jefferson Airplane, and Jefferson Starship. Michaels joined Barbata in the Strangers, a group led by Joel Scott Hill, before moving to San Francisco. There he joined an early version of The Family Tree, a band led by Bob Segarini.^[1] In 1967, he signed a contract with A&M Records, releasing his debut album, Carnival Of Life, later that year. As a session musician, he played with Jimi Hendrix, among others.

Michaels' choice of the Hammond organ as his primary instrument was unusual for the time, as was his bare-bones stage and studio accompaniment: usually just a single drummer, most often a musician known as "Frosty" (Bartholomew Eugene Smith-Frost) a member of Sweathog (band),^[2] or with Joel Larson of The Grass Roots. This unorthodox approach attracted a following in San Francisco, and some critical notice, but Michaels did not achieve real commercial success until the release of his fifth album (Fifth), which produced a surprise US Top 10 hit (#6 in the fall of 1971), "Do You Know What I Mean" and a Top 40 follow-up, a cover version of the Motown standard, "Can I Get A Witness". Michaels recorded two more albums for A&M before signing a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1973. His Columbia recordings failed to generate much interest, and Michaels went into semi-retirement from the music industry by the end of the decade.

Album discography

A&M Records

• Carnival of Life (1968)
• Recital (1968)
• Lee Michaels (1969, One Way Records 1996)
• Barrel (1970, One Way Records 1996)
• Fifth (1971, Pickwick 1979, One Way Records 1996)
• Space and First Takes (1972)
• Lee Michaels Live (1973, One Way Records 1996)

Columbia

• Nice Day for Something (1973)
• Tailface (1974)

ABC Records

• Saturn Rings (1975)

Rhino

• The Lee Michaels Collection (1992)

One Way Records

• Absolute Lee by Lee Michaels (1996)

Shout Factory

• Hello: The Very Best of Lee Michaels (2004)

References

1. ^ Richie Unterberger, Liner Notes for Roxy's Roxy; www.richieunterberger.com.
2. ^ Who, based in Texas, continues to perform as Barry Smith or B.E. "Frosty" Smith:Experience Summary; www.soulhat.net; Biography of Barry Smith; www.frostysmith.tripod.com.

External links

• Lee MICHAELS's Official web site (to be verified)

http://www.leemichaels.com

• Lee Michaels Biography on allmusic.com
• Lee Michaels MySpace tribute page

Persondata
Name	Michaels, Lee
Alternative names
Short description	American musician
Date of birth	November 24, 1945
Place of birth	Los Angeles, California, United States
Date of death
Place of death