Lefty Frizzell
b. William Orville Frizzell, 31 March 1928, Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas, USA, d. 19 July 1975, Nashville, Tenn., USA. The eldest of the eight children of an itinerant oil-field worker, he was raised mainly in El Dorado, Arkansas but also lived in sundry places in Texas and Oklahoma. Greatly influenced by his parents old 78s of Jimmie Rodgers he sang as a young boy and when aged 12, he had a regular spot on KELD El Dorado. Two years later he was performing at local dances at Greenville and further exposure on other radio stations followed as the family moved around. At the age of 16, he was playing the honky tonks and clubs in places such as Waco and Dallas and grew into a tough character himself as he performed the music of Jimmie Rodgers plus some of his own songs. 
Some accounts insist that it was then that he became known as Lefty, because of a left hook he landed in a Golden Gloves boxing match, but this appears to have been later publicity hype by Columbia. Both his father and his wife have steadfastly denied the story, stressing that Lefty never took part in any such competition and had actually got the nickname for flattening the school bully during his school days. It seems that, though he played the guitar right-handed, he adopted a southpaw stance for fighting and dropped the bully with a left hook. This story tends to be born out by the report that it was a school friend and guitarist called Gene Whitworth, who first called him Lefty. He was actually always known as Sonny to his family. Any pugilistic ability he had though was doubtless useful in some of the honky tonks that he played in his early days. In 1945, he was married and his wife, Alice, became the inspiration for several of his songs over the thirty years the marriage lasted. From time-to-time, drinking led him into trouble with the authorities and he actually got the idea for his famous song I Love You A Thousand Ways, while spending a night in a Texas country jail. He made his first recordings for Columbia in 1950 and had immediate success when If You've Got The Money, I've Got The Time and I Love You A Thousand Ways, both became US country number 1 hits. 
He became close friends with Hank Williams who suggested Lefty needed to join the Grand Ole Opry. Frizzell replied ‘Look I got the number-one song, the number-two song, the number-seven song, the number-eight song on the charts and you tell me I need to join the Opry’. Hank thought for a while and commented ‘Darned if you ain't got a hell of an argument’. The following year he had 7 Top 10 entries, which included three more number 1 hits, I Want To Be With You Always (which also made Top 30 status in the US pop charts), Always Late (With Your Kisses) and Give Me More More More (Of Your Kisses). Further Top 10s followed and as Merle Haggard later sang in his song ‘The Way It Was in 51, ‘Hank and Lefty crowded every jukebox’. In 1952, Lefty did join the Opry but left after a few months saying he did not like it. In 1953, Lefty moved from Beaumont, Texas to Los Angeles, where he became a regular on Town Hall Party. He had by now become accepted as a national entertainer and he recorded regularly, although the hits became fewer. Problems in his own life-style were perhaps to blame and certainly he and Hank had similar troubles. Charles Wolfe quotes Lefty once saying ‘All Hank thought about was writing. He did record a number he wrote because I was having trouble with my better half, called ‘I'm Sorry for You, My Friend’. Sometime later Hank became annoyed with his friend, because Lefty would not give him a song called What Am I Gonna Do With All This Love I Have For You, which Hank wished to record. Lefty formed the opinion that if it was that good he would record it himself but for some reason he never did. 
Lefty Frizzell became upset about material not being released by Columbia and in 1954, he broke up his band, stopped writing songs and tired of the way he had been exploited, he became unpredictable. He was joined in California by his brother David Frizzell and for a time they toured together. Eventually he charted again with his version of Marty Robbins Cigarettes And Coffee Blues and in 1959, he gained a number 6 US country hit with The Long Black Veil. The Town Hall Party had closed in 1960 and late in 1961, Lefty decided to move to Nashville. He played bookings where ever he could and made further recordings, gaining minor hits that included Don't Let Her See Me Cry. His career received a welcome boost in 1964 when Saginaw, Michigan became a country number 1 and also entered the US pop charts. This song must rate as one of country music's finest ballads and Frizzell's version has rightly become a standard and worthy of a place in any collection. Twelve more chart entries followed between 1964-72 but only She's Gone Gone Gone made the Top 20. 
In the late 60's, he became totally depressed that Columbia were not releasing his material. The label issued some albums but few singles that were likely chart hits. In 1968, he even recorded with June Stearns as Agnes And Orville but, bothered by the lack of promotion of his own material, his drinking worsened. In 1972, after 22 years with the label, he left Columbia and joined ABC. The change seemed to work wonders. He set about recording material for albums, resumed playing concerts all over the States and appeared on network television. He charted such songs as I Can't Get Over You To Change My Life, I Never Go Around Mirrors and Railroad Lady and his album releases proved very popular. His superb song That's The Way Love Goes (his own recording was only issued as a b-side) became a US country number 1 for Johnny Rodriguez in 1974 and Merle Haggard in 1984. 
He developed high blood pressure but refused to take medication for it since he thought the medicine would interfere with his alcohol consumption. In the depths of his drinking he was never nasty, just funny, which led writer Bob Oermann to later describe him as ‘a lovable, punch drunk, boozy, puddin’-headed, bear like kind of a guy who never really got along with Nashville or the Opry’. He spent a lot of time between concerts fishing at his home just outside Nashville and though he had recently parted from his wife, they kept in daily contact by telephone. He was 47, and looked older but the blood pressure apart, he seemed to be in reasonable health. It therefore came as a surprise to most when, on the morning of 19 July 1975, he suffered a massive stroke and though rushed to Nashville's Memorial Hospital, he died later that evening of the resulting haemorrhage. Ironically, at the time of his death, his current chart hit was called Falling. 
Lefty Frizzell was a great songwriter and one of the best stylists that the world of country music has ever seen. His singing was distinctive, with a style of pronunciation that made him unique and a laidback delivery and gentle vibrato that may have appeared lazy but which was really a carefully designed pattern that he alone mastered. The bending of words as emphasised in Alway-yayys Lay-yate (Always Late) and similar songs led to him being described as a genius for phrasing. John Pugh once described his singing as ‘a compelling, ethereal, transcendent vocal quality that has produced some of the most hauntingly beautiful sounds ever to emanate from a pair of human vocal chords’. His influence clearly shows on later performers such as Merle Haggard, John Anderson, Stoney Edwards, Randy Travis and George Strait, who, although not perhaps intentionally trying to imitate their mentor, are readily identifiable as Frizzell clones. Since his death many artists have recorded tribute songs, while some have even recorded complete albums including Willie Nelson (TO LEFTY FROM WILLIE) and brother David Frizzell (DAVID SINGS LEFTY). Lefty Frizzell was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Association International Hall Of Fame in 1972 and inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1982.