Lee Hazlewood

Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s and 1970s. His collaborations with Sinatra as well as his solo output in the late 1960s and early 1970s have been praised as an essential contribution to a sound often described as "cowboy psychedelia" or "saccharine underground". Rolling Stone ranked Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra No. 9 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time.

Barton Lee Hazlewood was born in Mannford, Oklahoma, on July 9, 1929. Hazlewood's father was an oil worker and had a sideline as a dance promoter; Hazlewood spent most of his youth living in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Louisiana. His mother was half Creek. Lee grew up listening to pop and bluegrass music. He spent his teenage years in Port Neches, Texas, where he was exposed to a rich Gulf Coast music tradition. He studied for a medical degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He served with the United States Army during the Korean War.

Following discharge from the military in 1953, Hazlewood did not return to his studies. He worked as a disc jockey in Coolidge, Arizona and two years later, moved to KRUX radio in Phoenix. During that time, he was already writing songs and formed his own record label, Viv.

Hazlewood was initially known as a producer and songwriter. His first hit single as a producer and songwriter was "The Fool", recorded by rockabilly artist Sanford Clark in 1955.

He partnered with pioneering rock guitarist Duane Eddy, producing and co-writing a string of hit instrumental records. "Rebel Rouser", released in 1958 was a hit in the US and in the UK.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.