Lefty Frizzell

William Orville Frizzell was born the son of an oilman, the first of eight children, in Corsicana in Navarro County in North Texas, United States.[1] During his childhood, his family moved to El Dorado in Union County in south Arkansas.[1]

As a child he was called "Sonny," but later took the name "Lefty." It was believed they called him "Lefty" because he had won a neighborhood fight; however, it turned out that this tale was a part of a fake publicity stunt set up by his label.[1]

Frizzell's largest influences included the blue yodeler Jimmie Rodgers.[1] He began listening to Rodgers' records as a boy. He began singing professionally before his teens, even earning a spot on the local radio-station KELD El Dorado.[1] Frizzell's teens were spent singing in nightclubs and radio and talent shows throughout the south. During his tour of Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, and Las Vegas, he began to develop a style of his own, shaped by artists like Rodgers, Ernest Tubb, and Ted Daffan.

In 1947, the 19-year-old Frizzell was arrested for having sex with an underage fan. He had been married only a year, and filled with guilt, he wrote poems to his wife from his cell; one of them would become his first big record.

After his release in late 1949, he was led away from music, and back to the oil fields with his father. However, soon he was performing in nightclubs again. By 1950, he had landed a regular job at the Big Spring, Texas, nightclub "Ace of Clubs" where he developed a dedicated fan following. During a show there, Jim Beck, owner of a Dallas recording studio, was starting to take notice of Frizzell. Beck had deals with several major record producing labels and maintained connections with the many publishers. Impressed with Frizzell's performance, he invited him to make a free demo at the studio. In April 1950, he cut several demos of Frizzell singing his own songs, including "If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)," which Beck took to Nashville where he pitched it to Little Jimmy Dickens, who disliked the song. However, Columbia Records producer Don Law heard the cut and liked it. After hearing Lefty in concert, he signed the singer and recorded him for the first time.

"If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)" became a two-sided smash hit in 1950 upon its release; the b-side was the song Frizzell wrote to his grief-stricken wife from jail, "I Love You A Thousand Ways."[1] The songs launched him into stardom and within two years, he had gone to register 13 Top 10 Country hits.[1]

By 1951, he had perfected his vocal style and refined his guitar skills. He began working with a core group of Dallas-based studio musicians, including pianist Madge Suttee. At the beginning of 1951, he formed the Western Cherokees, led by Blackie Crawford, and soon they became his primary band for both live and recording sessions. During his early career, Lefty was in the studio extensively, recording singles. His third "I Want to Be With You Always" was No. 1 for 11 weeks.

By mid-1951, Frizzell had become one of the only people that could be considered to match the popularity of Hank Williams; he had even toured with Williams. "There is enough stories in that tour to fill a book..." Frizzell once said, although he never told those stories. He had three more Top 10 hits in 1951; "Mom and Dad's Waltz, "Travelin' Blues," and the #1 hit "Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses)." By 1952, he was a popular stage performer and in heavy demand, being included on The Grand Ole Opry and The Louisiana Hayride multiple times throughout the 1950s. The hits continued throughout 1952, with "How Long Will It Take (To Stop Loving You)," "Don't Stay Away ('Till Love Grows Cold)", "Forever (And Always)", and "I'm An Old, Old Man (Try'n'a Live While I Can)".

Despite his massive success, things began to get worse for Frizzell. He fired his manager and band, and joined the Grand Ole Opry; however, he quit very soon thereafter.[1] Even though he was earning a lot of money, he was spending almost all of it. He began to work with Wayne Raney, but the sessions were considered a failure. He had an automobile accident in 1952, moved to Los Angeles in early 1953, and earned a spot on the Town Hall Party.[1] His songs began to chart worse, only having one song enter the Top 10 that year, and in early 1954, he reached the Top 10 for the last time in five years.

In 1954, Frizzell had another automobile accident near E.S. Richardson Elementary School in Minden in Webster Parish, Louisiana, through which he passed after leaving the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport en route to a concert in Mississippi. His Cadillac struck the Nash station wagon parked at the home of its owner, R. Harmon Drew, Sr., the former city judge and later a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Frizzell apologized, said that he hoped to visit Minden again under more favorable circumstances, posted bond, and took a taxicab back to Shreveport, from which he flew to his destination.[2]

Having had few hits in the middle-late 1950s, he felt burnt out and had little energy for his career. He became frustrated that Columbia Records did not release what he thought to be his best material, so he stopped writing and recording songs.[1] He toured extensively, however. Deciding on change, he began to work at Nashville's Cedarwood Publishing Company in 1959 with Jim Denny.

Frizzell's first Top 10 hit in years came with "The Long Black Veil" in mid-1959.[1] He moved to Nashville in 1960 after the Town Hall Party closed, and began touring and recording more and more, scoring some minor hits. Lefty's last big hit came in 1964 with the No. 1 hit "Saginaw, Michigan" and earned him a Grammy nomination.[1] The next year, "She's Gone, Gone, Gone" was his last Top 20 hit.

Frizzell began a downward spiral after developing a debilitating alcohol problem. He recorded many songs, but Columbia released very few.[1]

Because of his declining record sales, he began to perform less. In 1968, he recorded with June Stearns as Agnes and Orville.[1] In early 1972, he left Columbia Records and signed with ABC Records.[1] He eventually developed high blood pressure. His appearance changed drastically and his voice had deteriorated. In 1972, Frizzell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and his song "If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)" earned him the Grammy Hall of Fame Award. On July 19, 1975, at age 47, Frizzell died of a massive stroke,[1] and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Frizzell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 1982.

Frizzell's custom guitar

Frizzell's signature guitar was a 1949 Gibson J-200 (Model SJ-200). Originally built by the Gibson Guitar Corporation, it was retrofitted in early 1951 with a custom neck and pickguard by guitar maker and innovator Paul Bigsby. 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. That is the first guitar I played on a professional stage." For many years it had been on loan to and displayed at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. In January 2005 it was returned to the Frizzell family. It was later sold at auction by Retrofret,[3] with an asking price of $350,000. Merle Haggard purchased the guitar and it remains a part of his estate.[4]

1. "If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)" (1950)
2. "I Love You a Thousand Ways" (1950)
3. "I Want to Be with You Always" (1951)
4. "Always Late (With Your Kisses)" (1951)
5. "Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses)" (1952)
6. "Saginaw, Michigan" (1964)