Background
Frankie Lee Jones was born in Mart, Texas.
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Frankie Lee
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Career
His style has been compared to Otis Redding. The Daily News wrote that Lee"s was "one of the most energetic blues voices of any time or place". His early involvement in music began by singing gospel music in church, before signing to Peacock Records in 1963.
Billed as Little Frankie Lee, he released three singles which included "Taxi Blues", a regional hit and his best known song.
Lee later said of that time, "I"ll never forget lieutenant I dug the music and the way they performed.
Tina in particular just knocked me out. lieutenant was amazing how she would go out and grab an audience - that"s what I wanted to do.
So I would just sit back and take notes.
I learned a lot." Lee then settled in Houston and worked with other musicians including Big Mama Thornton, Ted Taylor, Junior Parker and Joe Hinton. Lee befriended Albert Collins during this period and, in 1965, they both relocated to California, with Lee singing in Collins" band from that time until 1968. In the late 1970s, Lee"s own backing ensemble included a young Robert Cray.
His first album, The Ladies and the Babies, was released on HighTone in 1984.
Allmusic journalist, Thom Owens, noted, "as one of the first albums on HighTone Records, the album helped set the stage for the numerous records and artists that teetered between soul and blues."
Lee appeared at the Chicago Blues Festival with Sonny Rhodes, before relocating to New Jersey in 1986. He continued to perform live, gaining a growing reputation for the quality and energy of his live performances.
Flying Fish released Lee"s second album, Sooner or Later (1992), on which he was backed by Doug Newby and the Bluz Blasters, with a guest appearance by Lucky Peterson. Going Back Home (1994) appeared on the Blind Pig label.
Lee toured widely playing at American music festivals, in Europe and Japan.
In 2004, Lee performed with Dan Treanor on the album, African Wind. Lee"s final album, Standing at the Crossorads, was released in 2006 on Blues Express. The album was produced by Dennis Walker, who had produced The Ladies and the Babies more than twenty years earlier.
Lee was nominated for the Bay Area Blues Vocalist of the Year award.
Frankie Lee died on April 24, 2015, in Sacramento, California, aged 73.
