On this day (July 9) in 1929, Lee Hazlewood was born in Mannford, Oklahoma. After a relatively brief career in radio, he started his own label and began producing and writing songs full-time. Hazlewood was instrumental in the formation of the Phoenix, Arizona, music scene. Additionally, he worked closely with guitar luminary Duane Eddy. Later in his career, he helped launch Nancy Sinatra to stardom. His songs have also been recorded by Beck, Nick Cave, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and many others.
Hazlewood spent most of his childhood bouncing between towns in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. Finally, his family settled in the Lone Star State long enough for him to finish high school. After graduating from high school, he began attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas. However, his academic career was cut short when he was drafted into the Korean War.
Lee Hazlewood’s Short Radio Career
According to his official biography, Hazlewood didn’t return to SMU after his military service ended. Instead, he relocated to California, where he attended broadcasting school. After graduation, he took a job as a DJ at KCKY in Coolidge, Arizona. His on-air performances earned him a local following. One of his biggest fans was a teenage guitar player named Duane Eddy, who would come to the station to hang with Hazlewood. Before long, they were friends and collaborators. They worked together to flesh out songs Hazlewood had penned and recorded them in a local studio.
In 1955, Hazlewood relocated to Phoenix, where he became the city’s first DJ to play an Elvis Presley record. While there, he started the Viv record label on which to release his recordings. Eddy and another guitarist named Al Casey were among the label’s session musicians. Casey also helped Hazlewood get his first hit as a songwriter. He passed “The Fool” to his high school friend Sanford Clark. It was a top 10 hit and launched the young singer’s career. Clark’s success helped establish the music scene in Phoenix.
Two years after arriving in Phoenix, he went back to California to take a position as a staff producer at Dot Records in Los Angeles. During his time there, he suggested that Eddy start playing the melodic riffs he wrote on the lower strings of his guitar. The result was Eddy’s trademark “twang” that influenced a generation of greats, including the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
These Boots…
Nancy Sinatra released her debut single, “Cuff Links and a Tie Clip,” in 1961. It failed to chart. She released 11 more singles over the next few years that suffered the same fate. She was dangerously close to losing her record deal with Reprise. Then, in 1965, her father, Frank Sinatra, reached out to Lee Hazlewood and asked him to help her.
Hazlewood helped shape her sound, directing her to sing in a lower register. He also overhauled her image. Moreover, he reportedly told her, “You can’t sing like Nancy Nice Lady anymore. You have to sing for the truckers.”
Hazlewood coupled this advice with his songwriting prowess. The result was a string of hits starting in 1965 with the international No. 1 single “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.”
From Duane Eddy’s ever-rippling influence to Sinatra’s hit singles, the music world would not be the same without Lee Hazlewood’s contributions.
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The post Born 97 Years Ago in Oklahoma, the Songwriter Who Guided Nancy Sinatra to Stardom and Worked With Guitar Legend Duane Eddy appeared first on American Songwriter.
Author: Clayton Edwards
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