Frankie Lee
b. 29 April 1941, Mart, Texas, USA. Lee began singing as a child, encouraged by his grandmother and, after leaving school, he sang blues around the clubs in Houston, Texas, turning professional at the age of 22. He began recording in 1963 and had singles released on the Houston labels, Great Scott and Peacock. After settling in the San Francisco bay area in 1973, he made singles for Elka and California Gold. Lee had tracks on several anthologies but had to wait until 1984 for the first complete album under his own name, recorded for the Hightone label. Lee admits to varied influences, including Reverend Claude Jeter, Sam Cooke, Roy Acuff and the The Everly Brothers, though he has infused these elements into a strong southern soul/blues style.