William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell was an American country and honky-tonk singer-songwriter.
32 Facts About Lefty Frizzell
2.
Lefty Frizzell has been cited as influencing prominent country singers like George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson.
3.
Lefty Frizzell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982 as well as the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
4.
Lefty Frizzell went on to have more success, releasing many songs that charted in the Top 10 of the Hot Country Songs charts as an artist and songwriter.
5.
William Orville Lefty Frizzell was born the son of an oilman, the first of eight children, in Corsicana in Navarro County in North Texas, United States.
6.
Lefty Frizzell began listening to Rodgers' records as a boy.
7.
Lefty Frizzell began singing professionally before his teens, even earning a spot on the local radio-station KELD in El Dorado, Texas.
8.
Lefty Frizzell's teens were spent singing in nightclubs and radio and talent shows throughout the south.
9.
In 1946, they moved to Roswell, New Mexico, and Lefty Frizzell performed on radio station KGFL and with the house band at the Cactus Gardens dance hall.
10.
Lefty Frizzell began working with a core group of Dallas-based studio musicians, including pianist Madge Suttee.
11.
That contract conflicted with another contract Lefty Frizzell had signed, leading Starnes to file a major lawsuit against Lefty Frizzell, which was settled out of court a year later.
12.
Also in early 1951, Lefty Frizzell formed the Western Cherokees, led by Blackie Crawford, and soon they became his primary band for both live and recording sessions.
13.
Lefty Frizzell fired his manager and band, and joined the Grand Ole Opry; however, he quit very soon thereafter.
14.
Lefty Frizzell began to work with the Arkansas-born singer-songwriter Wayne Raney, but the sessions were considered a failure.
15.
Lefty Frizzell's Cadillac struck the Nash station wagon parked at the home of its owner, R Harmon Drew, Sr.
16.
Lefty Frizzell apologized, said that he hoped to visit Minden again under more favorable circumstances, posted bond, and took a taxicab back to Shreveport, from which he flew to his destination.
17.
Lefty Frizzell became frustrated that Columbia Records did not release what he thought to be his best material, so he stopped writing and recording songs.
18.
Lefty Frizzell moved to Nashville in 1960 after the Town Hall Party closed, and began touring and recording more and more, scoring some minor hits.
19.
Lefty Frizzell began a downward spiral after developing a debilitating alcohol problem.
20.
In early 1972, Lefty Frizzell left Columbia Records and signed with ABC Records.
21.
Lefty Frizzell had developed chronic hypertension, his appearance had changed drastically, and his voice had deteriorated.
22.
On July 19,1975, at age 47, Lefty Frizzell died of a massive stroke, and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.
23.
Lefty Frizzell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 1982.
24.
Lefty Frizzell's signature guitar was a 1949 Gibson J-200.
25.
Lefty Frizzell would hold on to each word until he finally decided to drop it and pick up the next one.
26.
Stoney Edwards recorded "Hank and Lefty Raised My Country Soul," a tribute to Hank Williams and Frizzell, written by Dallas Frazier.
27.
Lefty Frizzell was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
28.
Lefty Frizzell is in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame along with his son Crockett Frizzell.
29.
Lefty Frizzell ranked number 31 on CMT's 2003 40 Greatest Men of Country Music.
30.
Lefty Frizzell's younger brother, David Frizzell, is a country singer.
31.
The youngest brother, Allen Lefty Frizzell followed in his older brothers' footsteps in the country field.
32.
Lefty Frizzell was married to Shelly West, daughter of Dottie West.