Lefty Frizzell

Overview

Lefty Frizzell was born on March 31, 1928 in Corsicana, Texas, USA. He was married to Alice Harper. He died on July 19, 1975 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Often wore flashy rhinestone suits and elaborately detailed boots and accessories.
Gibson SJ-200 with modified Bigsby neck with his name on a custom pickguard
Ability to "curl" and enunciate every word, often adding syllables to the words of in his songs.
Stretched vowels in words and circled up and down from the melody

Was the first ever to wear a rhinestone studded suit on stage and was influenced to do so by none other than the famous radio tailor Nudie.
"Always Late" was the No. 1 country song of 1951.
His younger brother, David Frizzell, had a string of major country hits in the early 1980s (including several duet singles with Shelly West.
Had some of the biggest country hits of the early 1950s -- including the Billboard magazine No. 1 hits "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time" (1950); and "Always Late With Your Kisses" and "I Love You a Thousand Ways" (both 1951). He returned to No. 1 in 1964 with "Saginaw, Michigan." His other memorable hits were "The Long, Black Veil" (1959), "She's Gone, Gone, Gone" (1965) and "I Never Go Around Mirrors" (1974).
Older brother of David Frizzell and Allen Frizzell.

Some people can't talk and express themselves; with me, expression comes in the form of a song, and it makes me very happy. So I'd lose my blues, hang on to what little I had, and it became a style
You know, you can copyright the words of a song, and the music to the song, but you can't copyright your voice.
"I'm not really a lazy guy, but I got tired of holding high notes for a long time. Instead of straining, I just let it roll down and it felt good to me." - commenting about his singing style.
When I sing, to me every word had a feeling about it. I had to linger, had to hold it. I didn't want to let go of it. I want to hold one word through a whole line of melody, to linger with it all the way down. I didn't want to let go of that no more than I wanted to let go of the woman I loved. I didn't want to lose it.