ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Lefty Frizzell

(Mar. 31, 1928 - Jul. 19, 1975)

Career Highlights

Barn Dance Affiliate: Big D Jamboree, Louisiana Hayride

• No. 1 Singles: 6
• Top-10 Singles: 17
• Crossover Singles: 0
• Charted Singles: 39
• Years Active: 1950 - 1975

Awards

Country Music Association

• Country Music Hall of Fame (1982)

Billboard Chart Singles

• If You've Got The Money I've Got...* -1950
• I Love You A Thousand Ways*
• Look What Thoughts Will Do -1951
• I Want to Be With You Always*
• Shine, Shave, Shower (It's Saturday)
• I Want To Be With You Always*
• Always Late (With Your Kisses)*1
• Mom And Dad's Waltz
• Travellin' Blues
• Give Me More, More, More*
• How Long Will It Take -1952
• Forever (And Always)
• I'm An Old Man
• Honey, Baby, Hurry -1953
• Run Ém Off -1954
• The Long Black Veil -1959
• Saginaw, Michigan* -1964

*No. 1 Single

1Biggest Single

Lefty Frizzell was a honky-tonk singer, who set the style for generations of vocalists that followed him. Frizzell smoothed out the rough edges of honky-tonk, giving it a contemporary sound. Lefty began singing professionally as a teenager, landing a spot on KELD in El Dorado, Arkansas. He spent his teenage years singing on radio programs, in nightclubs, for dances, and in talent contests. By 1950, he had landed a gig at the Texas club Ace of Clubs. Lefty came to the attention of Jim Beck, the owner of a recording studio, making landmark recordings in Dallas.

Beck had many connections within the publishing industry. Jim built all of his equipment from scratch and was leading the way for the recording industry at the time. Impressed with Frizzell's performance, he arranged a demo session for Lefty (4/1950). Frizzell cut several original songs, including, "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time," which Beck took to Nashville and tried to pitch the song to Little Jimmy Dickens, but Dickens declined it.

Columbia record producer Don Law heard Lefty perform on stage and signed him to a Columbia contract (1950). Lefty's debut single, "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time" shot to the top of the chart and Lefty followed-up with "I Love You a Thousand Ways. Frizzell was working with a core group of Dallas-based studio musicians.

In early-1951, he formed the Western Cherokees, led by Blackie Crawford, which was his primary band for both live and recording sessions. 1951 was a banner year for Frizzell, who placed seven singles into the top-ten, a milestone that has not been repeated. His third single, "I Want to Be With You Always" was No. 1 for 11 weeks and its follow-up, "Always Late," spent 12 weeks at No. 1.

By then Frizzell had gained widespread popularity, appearing on the Louisiana Hayride and the Grand Ole Opry. He had one more massive hit that year, "Mom and Dad's Waltz, which locked in at No. 2 for eight weeks. Under different circumstances, this song would have topped out at No. 1. Locking in at No. 2 for 8 weeks speaks volumes for the song, but it was simply Frizzell's own success with the two aforementioned singles that impeded this song.

Country music was a rough endeavor during the 1950s. Sales were dismally low and about to be further eroded by the onslaught of rock 'n' roll. The country music singer's life was an endless grind of beer halls, long stretches across country roads between shows and occasionally an Opry appearance. That was certainly the case with Lefty. Even though he was at the peak of his popularity, things began to unravel behind the scenes.

Lefty fired both his manager and his band. He joined the Opry, but became disgruntled and left almost immediately. In early 1953, he moved to Los Angeles, where he landed a job on the Town Hall Party. In 1953 and 1954, he had only two top-ten hits, his last for five years. By the 1960s his career had stalled and he was slipping into depression, booze, and drugs. Lefty continued to record, with little chart success until "Saginaw Michigan" came along.

The song locked into the top chart spot and earned him a Grammy award nomination. In 1972, Frizzell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and he was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982. Lefty died on July 19, 1975, after a massive stroke. After his death, a new generation of artists hailed him as an influence and an idol.

Written and compiled by: Richard Bell, Country Music Historian, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Roots of Country Music, April 2009.

Lefty Frizzell

Lefty Frizzell Guitar Bigsby/Gibson Custom SJ-200 Flat Top Acoustic (1949)

Made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, natural top, sunburst back and sides finish, maple back, sides and neck, spruce top.

The signature instrument of one of country music's most legendary stars, this custom SJ-200 is perhaps the most striking and distinctive flat tops in American guitar history.

Built by Gibson in late 1949, it was acquired by rising music star William Orville Lefty Frizzell in early 1951. Lefty soon had it customized and rebuilt by innovator Paul Bigsby. Today, many consider this guitar to be the Holy Grail of honky tonk music