Lee Hazlewood

Infobox musical artist
Name = Lee Hazlewood


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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Barton Lee Hazlewoodcite web | title = Obituary: Lee Hazlewood | publisher = BBC | date = 6 August, 2007 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6496567.stm | accessdate = 2007-08-11]
Alias =
Born = birth date|1929|7|9 Mannford, Oklahoma
Died = death date|2007|8|4 (aged 78) Henderson, Nevada
Origin = Port Neches, Texas
Instrument =
Genre = Country
Occupation = Singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer
Years_active = 1958 - 2006
Label =
Associated_acts = Duane Eddy and Nancy Sinatra
URL =
Notable_instruments = Guitar

Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late fifties and singer Nancy Sinatra in the sixties.cite web | title = Singer songwriter Hazlewood dies | publisher = BBC | date = August 6, 2007 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6933162.stm | accessdate = 2007-08-11]

Hazlewood had a distinctive baritone voice that added an ominous resonance to his music. Hazlewood's collaborations with Nancy Sinatra as well as his solo 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". [cite web | last = Michel | first = Sia | title = Pop svengali hangs up his boots | publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald | date = February 1, 2007 | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/music/pop-svengali-hangs-up-his-boots/2007/01/31/1169919399551.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2 | accessdate = 2007-08-11]

Career

The son of an oil man, Hazlewood was born in Mannford, Oklahoma and spent most of youth living between Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Louisiana. Hazlewood spent his teenage years in Port Neches, Texas where he was exposed to a rich Gulf Coast music tradition. Hazlewood studied for a medical degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He served with the United States Army during the Korean War.

Following discharge from the military, Hazlewood worked as a disc jockey while honing his songwriting skills. His first hit as a producer and songwriter was "The Fool", recorded by rockabilly artist Sanford Clark in 1956. Hazlewood partnered with pioneering rock guitarist Duane Eddy., producing and cowriting an unprecedented string of hit instrumental records, including "Peter Gunn", "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 U.S./U.K. #1 hit, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'". He also wrote "How Does That Grab Ya, Darlin'" and "Sugar Town" for Sinatra. He also wrote "Houston", a 1965 U.S. hit recorded by Dean Martin.

In the 1970s Hazlewood moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where he wrote and produced the one-hour television show "Cowboy in Sweden", which also later emerged as an album. [cite web | first = Spencer | last = Leigh | title = Lee Hazlewood Obituary | publisher = The Independent | date = August 6, 2007 | url = http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2838621.ece | accessdate = 2007-08-11]

Hazlewood was semi-retired from the music business during the 1970s and '80s. However, his own output also achieved a cult status in the underground rock scene, with songs covered by artists such as Vanilla Fudge, Lydia Lunch, Primal Scream, Entombed, Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave, Hooverphonic, Anita Lane, Megadeth, Beck, Boyd Rice,Thin White Rope and Slowdive.

In 2006, Hazlewood sang on Bela B.'s first solo album, "Bingo", on the song "Lee Hazlewood und das erste Lied des Tages" ("Lee Hazlewood and the first song of the day").

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's single "Hilli (At The Top Of The World)". [cite web | title = Lee Hazlewood With Amiina: "Hilli (At The Top Of The World)" | date = October 18, 2007 | url = http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/46475-lee-hazlewood-with-amiina-hilli-at-the-top-of-the-world-stream | publisher = Pitchfork Media | accessdate = 2007-11-16]

Hazlewood died of renal cancer [cite web | first = Garth | last = Cartwright | title = Lee Hazlewood Obituary | publisher = The Guardian | date = August 6, 2007 | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2142293,00.html | accessdate = 2007-08-11] in Henderson, Nevada on August 4, 2007, survived by his wife Jeane, son Mark and daughters Debbie and Samantha.

Discography

1960s-1970s

*1963 — "Trouble Is a Lonesome Town"
*1964 — "N.S.V.I.P."
*1965 — "Friday's Child"
*1966 — "The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood"
*1967 — "Lee Hazlewoodism Its Cause and Cure"
*1968 — "Nancy and Lee" — a collaboration with Nancy Sinatra
*1968 — "Something Special"
*1968 — "Love and Other Crimes"
*1969 — "The Cowboy and the Lady" — a collaboration with Ann Margret.
*1969 — "Forty"
*1970 — "Cowboy in Sweden" — recorded in Sweden
*1971 — "Requiem for an Almost Lady"
*1972 — "Nancy and Lee Again" — a collaboration with Nancy Sinatra
*1972 — "13"
*1973 — "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (Written by Bob Dylan)
*1973 — "Poet, Fool or Bum"
*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 — "Bootleg Dreams & Counterfeit Demos"
*2003 — "Lycanthrope Tour/Europe 2002"
*2004 — "Nancy & Lee 3" — a collaboration with Nancy Sinatra
*2006 — "Lee Hazlewood & das erste Lied des Tages" ("Lee Hazlewood & the first song of the day") with Bela B.
*2006 — "Cake or Death"

References

External links

* [http://www.somevelvetmorning.net/ The Worldwide Fansite of Lee Hazlewood]
* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/requiem-for-pop-hit-master/2007/01/28/1169919209139.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 theage.com.au - 'Requiem for a pop hit master']
* [http://www.newyorknighttrain.com/2007/08/05/lee-hazelwood-rip-requim-for-an-almost/ NewYorkNightTrain.com Lee Hazlewood obituary and record guide]
* [http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/famousperson/hazlewood/2613750 Obituary and Tribute]
* [http://lavachequilit.typepad.com/la_vache_qui_lit/2007/08/lee-hazlewood-a.html Unedited Lee Hazlewood Audio 2006]
* [http://presbytere.typepad.com/presbytre_production/2006/07/happy_birthday_.html Unedited Lee Hazlewood Video 2006]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/06/db0601.xml "The Daily Telegraph" Obituary]
* [http://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2007/08/lee-hazlewood-radioman.html "Arcane Radio trivia" Radio Biography]

Persondata
NAME= Hazlewood, Lee
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Hazlewood, Barton Lee
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Singer, songwriter, record producer
DATE OF BIRTH= July 9, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH=Mannford, Oklahoma, United States
DATE OF DEATH= August 4, 2007
PLACE OF DEATH= Henderson, Nevada, United States