Lee Hazlewood

Where were you when you first heard "Some Velvet Morning?" A late bloomer myself, my first time was in a class, a friend used it as the soundtrack to a video piece. I was instantly mesmerized. What was this music?!! This was not exactly your usual bubblegum pop, but certainly not the soundtrack of youth revolution, LSD, and freaking out. The "Now" sound was an artificial construction, much like grunge or other current travesties. Despite this context, the trickle-down psychedelia makes many gems of the saccharine underground worth revisiting.

As there are various sites that deal with Lee's complete discography, his role as producer, and detailed history (see links), my focus will be on Lee's best material in my opinion: his duets with Nancy Sinatra and his solo material. And in particular, the poetry of his lyrics. These other sites were invaluable in writing this article, as there's a dearth of information regarding this man. Finally, Lee's getting the recognition he deserves, and some of his recordings are being re-released. When I started writing this, I naively thought that he only had a couple solo records. Little did I know that he has about twenty records, many of them extremely rare. I cannot claim to have heard his entire discography, or claim to be an expert, but I am an ardent fan of the work he did between 1963-69. There are various songs I would kill to hear, such as his take on "Sugar Town," "Ode to Billy Joe" and others.

Barton Lee Hazlewood was born July 9th, 1929 in Mannford, Oklahoma. He grew up in Arkansas and Texas. He served in the Army during World War II. Once out, he married his high school sweetheart, Naomi Shackleford. During the Korean War, he served as an army disc jockey. He continued as a radio dj at a couple stations in Arizona. In 1955, he started his own Viv label. Over the years, he founded other labels, Gregmark (w/Lester Sill), Trey, East West and LHI. He produced "The Fool" by Sanford Clark, which became his first hit. Lee produced Duane Eddy (between '58-'62), including 14 hits. "With Sill's protegé Phil Spector watching, Hazlewood gave Eddy's guitar its stretched-out twang by recording it in a grain storage tank in Phoenix, overdubbing horns and voices in the echo chamber of LA's Goldstar Studios, then slowing the whole lot down. In 1961, Hazlewoood suggested that Sill And Spector form their own label - and before long Spector was being hailed, unjustly, as the inventor of the role of the record producer." (from the Rough Guide to Rock.© Rough Guides Ltd. First edition published Aug 96/Nov 96. Distributed by Penguin.)

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