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Lefty Frizzell

Personal Profile

Lefty Frizzell
  • Birth Name:
    William Orville Frizzell
  • Date of Birth:
    March 31, 1928
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Aries
  • Place of Birth:
    Corsicana, Texas, USA
  • Place of Death:
    Nashville, Tennessee, USA
  • Date of Death:
    July 19, 1975
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Nationality:
    American

Family

Lefty Frizzell
  • Spouse:
    Alice Harper (12 March 1945 - 19 July

Career

Lefty Frizzell

Trivia

Lefty Frizzell
  • In 2006, J.D. Crowe and The New South released the album Lefty's Old Guitar. The song "Lefty's Old Guitar" was written about his custom Gibson J-200.
  • His biggest hits were 1982's "I'm Gonna Hire a Wino (To Decorate Our Home)" and "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma," a 1981 duet with Shelly West.
  • His younger brother, David Frizzell, is also a country singer.
  • Fellow Texan Roy Orbison was a devout fan of Frizzell's sound, and in 1988, as a part of the Traveling Wilburys, he chose the name "Lefty Wilbury" to honor his musical hero
  • He is also in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Frizzell ranked number 31 on CMT's 2003 40 Greatest Men of Country Music.
  • Frizzell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  • George Strait recorded a Sanger D. Shafer song called "Lefty's Gone" on the album Something Special.
  • Frizzell's style of singing influenced a great many singers, particularly Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Keith Whitley, and Dwight Yoakam.
  • In a 2003 interview Merle Haggard recalled, "When I was a teenager, Lefty got me onstage [at the Rainbow Garden in Bakersfield, California] and handed me that guitar.
  • Frizzell's signature guitar was a Paul Bigsby customized 1949 Gibson J-200 (Model SJ-200). Originally built by the Gibson Guitar Company, it was retrofitted in early 1951 with a custom neck and pickguard by guitar maker and innovator Paul Bigsby.

Quotes

Lefty Frizzell
  • "Some people can't talk and express themselves; with me, expression comes in the form of a song, and it makes me very happy. So I'd lose my blues, hang on to what little I had, and it became a style"
  • "When I sing, to me every word had a feeling about it. I had to linger, had to hold it. I didn't want to let go of it. I want to hold one word through a whole line of melody, to linger with it all the way down. I didn't want to let go of that no more than I wanted to let go of the woman I loved. I didn't want to lose it."
  • "I'm not really a lazy guy, but I got tired of holding high notes for a long time. Instead of straining, I just let it roll down and it felt good to me." - commenting about his singing style.
  • "You know, you can copyright the words of a song, and the music to the song, but you can't copyright your voice."
View all Quotes: Lefty Frizzell

Biography

Lefty Frizzell
Last Updated: Thursday, August 20, 2009

leftyCountry singer, songwriter. Born William Orville Frizzell, on March 31, 1928, in Corsicana, Texas, he is widely recognized as one of the most influential country singers in history. George Jones, Roy Orbison, George Strait, Willie Nelson, and Randy Travis have all counted him among their influences.

During his childhood, Frizzell's family adopted an itinerant lifestyle, moving from Texas to Oklahoma to Arkansas. Emulating the sound of country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, the 12-year-old Frizzell decided that he wanted to follow in his idol's footsteps; by the age of 14, he was performing on local Texas and New Mexico radio stations.

In 1950, Frizzell began a long-term engagement at the Ace of Clubs in Big Spring, Texas. Later that year, he signed with Columbia Records after his song, "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time," caught the attention of recording engineer Jim Beck. Frizzell's 1951 releases, including "Money," "I Love You," and "Always Late (With Your Kisses)," all secured places in the Top 10. The following year, he scored three big hits with "Don't Stay Away ('Till Loves Grows Cold)," "Forever (and Always)," and "I'm an Old Old Man (Tryin' to Live While I Can)."

Even after a streak of 13 Top 10 hits ended in 1953, Frizzell, who was a heavy drinker and was notorious for poor career choices, remained a popular touring artist and was a regular on television's Town Hall Party. His last hit, "Saginaw, Michigan," was released in 1964, although he continued to enjoy success as a songwriter into the 1970s.

On July 19, 1975, Frizzell died of a massive stroke; he was 47 years old. He was honored with election into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982. Among the many posthumous honors that Frizzell received was the 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Award.

Filmography

Lefty Frizzell

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