Katie Lee (singer)

Katie Lee (b. October 23, 1919 in Tucson, Arizona) is an Arizona folk singer, writer, actress and photographer.

She graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After that, she went on to study with two of the most successful folksingers of the 1940s, Burl Ives and Josh White. Her early albums of folk music, "Life is Just a Bed of Neuroses" (1960) and "Songs of Couch and Consultation" (1957) are long out of print, but six more recent CD's are still available [ [http://www.katydoodit.com/pages/Katies_Music_NEW.shtml Welcome to the real Katie Lee web site... | MUSIC ] ] . She has also released three videos, including "Love Song to Glen Canyon" (DVD, 2007).

After joining a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon she became a regular on river trips on the Colorado River and joined the opposition to the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. In the 1980s she recorded a cassette-only release "Colorado River Songs" consisting of old songs popular among river runners on the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon, and some original compositions. This release was hailed by Edward Abbey and David Foreman among others. "Colorado River Songs" was expanded to include more songs and re-released in 1997 on compact disc. She has also released "Glen Canyon River Journeys" on CD, which mixes music and spoken word commentary.

She has also written three books,"Sandstone Seduction," "Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle" and "All My Rivers Are Gone". "Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle" is a study of the music, stories, and poetry of the American cowboy. It was also recorded as an album.

"Sandstone Seduction" , a memoir, relates her continuing love affair with desert rivers and canyons, and reveals her Lady Godiva-style bicycle ride through downtown Bisbee, Arizona, where she lived at the time.

Chronicles of her adventures in Baja California appear in the book "Almost An Island" written by Bruce Berger. Lee presently lives in Jerome, Arizona.

References in popular culture

Utah Phillips praised Katie Lee and "Songs of Couch and Consultation" on the 1996 album "The Past Didn't Go Anywhere" in the "Half a Ghost Town" track.

= Notes =

ources and external links

* [http://www.katydoodit.com/ KatyDoodIt.com] The Official Katie Lee web site
* [http://www.spaceagepop.com/leekatie.htm Katie Lee] at Space Age Pop
* [http://www.environment.nau.edu/events/2003/2003LoveSongs.htm Tribute to Katie Lee]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1065200 NPR interview] , audio