Lee Hazlewood -- Search and Destroy

nancy & lee is obviously classic. cowboy in sweden carries on this tradition.

"Trouble is a Lonesome Town" is a great storybook album similar to nilsson's "the point". in between all the songs is dialogue setting you up for the next song. the album tell a story about the people in the town of Trouble and they use such witty wordplay. there's a great song called "Ugly Brown" that describes Emery Zickafuce Brown, the ugliest boy for miles. it says that if he was the only one who entered one of those Mister America contests, the luckiest he could hope for was fourth place.

and then lee's album "13" is his soul/funk album. complete with heavy drums (breaks) and a horn arrangement that could easily be on a stax album.

Destroy: most of those reissues on Smells Like, including Trouble Is a Lonesome Town. Unwarranted hipster enthusiasm.

?: The MGM stuff is OK, from what I've heard of it. Nancy & Lee is spotty and not for all tastes, but the best stuff is pretty good.

Scroll down here for some stuff on the man himself.

So. If I were to dip a tentative toe into Lake Hazlewood, where would I start? I'm fascinated to hear the originals of "Won't You Come Home To Me", "SVM", "A Cheat" etc; is there a decent compilation or is Nancy & Lee a good jumping-off point?

Thoughts...

Yes, "Cowboy in Sweden" is very good, but "Love and other crimes" is even better. I don't think it's been reissued but it does turn up in second-hand shops and you should be able to get it cheapish. Mine was a tenner, I think.

Also got two Lee films when I was in Sockholm - Lee & Nancy in Las Vegas, which should be brilliant but doesn't quite live up to what it should be, mainly because Nacny is too nervous to give a good performance and the crowd are SHIT. But it's good for the backstage stuff alone, great to see the interaction between the two of them. Also got a weird swedish language film with loads of Lee stuff I've not heard before, but the sound quality is pretty dire and the film is plain odd, no real story to speak of, just Lee and friends out in the swedish wilderness.

Might be the tiem of the year to take out 13

i still think this dude is really hit or miss. i hate his voice (it's like a cartoon version of johnny cash) and the kitsch factor is sometimes a wee bit too high for me. he's a good songwriter and a damn fine producer, though.

Love & Other Crimes (Bugles In The Afternoon, After Six, For One Moment, etc)

-and-

The Many Sides Of Lee Hazlewood (Long Black Train, The Railroad, Whe A Fool Loves A Fool, and so many more)

Cowboy in Sweden [Smells Like, 1999]
Hazlewood is an "interesting" figure, always was. A natural hipster, in the biz but not of it, pop and rock and country and just plain weird--Duane Eddy, Nancy Sinatra, and Gram Parsons is quite a trifecta. Problem is he'snever been all that good. There's a nice best-of hiding in his collected works, including the new standards collection. But his vogue transcends crass track-by-track quality controls, combining the usual convolutional one-upsmanship, a visceral distaste for roots-rock's sonic canon, and a generation of aging slackers' discovery that doing bizness needn't deaden your mind or rot your soul. If slick blues licks make you sick, Hazlewood's studio hacks and string-section dreck will be some kind of change. If you like Nancy Sinatra almost as much as Karen Carpenter, thin-piped Nina Lizell will clean away enough Janis-and-Bonnie grit. If you doubt all shows of soul, the flaccid sentimentality of "Easy and Me" will be one more trope as far as you're concerned. But without opening a book I can recall half a dozen unreissued singer-songwriter albums that do more with their varied conventions than this Europe-only 1970 rarity--by Thomas Jefferson Kaye, Nolan Porter, Marc Benno, Hirth Martinez, Alice Stuart, Mississippi Charles Bevel. And I shudder to think of the unreasonable claims to be made when their time comes around again. B-

One Last Walk for the Man Behind ‘These Boots’
an excerpt:
By SIA MICHEL
Published: January 28, 2007
HENDERSON, Nev.

"LEE HAZLEWOOD is ready to die. Suffering excruciating pain from renal cancer, Mr. Hazlewood, the reclusive singer, songwriter and producer doesn’t have much time left, maybe a year if he’s lucky. So he has been preparing for what he calls his impending “dirt nap.”

He has decided he wants to be cremated, and to have his ashes strewn on a Swedish island where he composed some of his favorite songs. He has chosen his epitaph: “Didn’t he ramble,” referring to his loner-drifter nature. He has already given away most of his gold and platinum records, which he earned making hits for Duane Eddy, Dean Martin and Nancy Sinatra, including “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” one of the most famous pop songs of all time. He has released his swan song, the quirky album “Cake or Death,” which hit stores last week. And he married his longtime girlfriend, Jeane Kelley, in a drive-through ceremony in Las Vegas."

True, he is one of the more iconoclastic figures of 20th-century pop, a cantankerous, hard-living innovator who walked away from fame and fortune whenever he felt like it. One of the major hitmakers of the ’50s and ’60s, he helped Duane Eddy shape twang-rock, transformed Nancy Sinatra into a megastar and, on his LHI label, released what is widely considered the first country-rock record, by Gram Parsons’s International Submarine Band. And he made a series of beautifully oddball solo albums that were mostly unheard in America, until a member of Sonic Youth reissued them in the ’90s.

Today Mr. Hazlewood is sadly unsung, which is partly his own fault. He spent decades trying to disappear, flitting between Europe and the United States — particularly those states with no personal income tax. “I’m kind of a bum,” he said.

If you're a fan you absolutely have to hear the Einsturzende Neubauten cover of "Sand".

back to Lee: would that we all could display such casual bravado in the face of our own mortality...a true maverick...(Warren Zevon, too)..

"He had a knack for mainstream pop too. Dean Martin interpreted his jaunty wandering-man lark “Houston,” a huge hit in the mid-’60s. They bonded over a love of scotch: Mr. Martin was a J&B man, Mr. Hazlewood drank Chivas Regal. “Here’s Dean Martin drinking J&B and I’m drinking something which is twice as much money and twice as good,” he said, shaking his head with mild disgust. “I didn’t drink to get drunk. I drank as a reward, and I only drank the good stuff.”

Soon Frank Sinatra wanted him to fix the floundering career of his daughter Nancy. Despite a decade-plus age difference, Mr. Hazlewood and Ms. Sinatra hit it off; they remain close friends. He thought that she was too cutesy, that she needed to seem more like truck-driver-dating jailbait. “He was part Henry Higgins and part Sigmund Freud,” Ms. Sinatra said by telephone. “He was far from the country bumpkin people considered him at the time. I had a horrible crush on him, but he was married then.”

Romance rumors swirled, but they never had an affair, Mr. Hazlewood said, “and now we’re old enough to tell you if we did.”

wow did this guy ever make a bad record?

Sometimes it's difficult to remember the good times but I know there were some.

streaming the box now, man it sounds good. hope that it is under the xmas tree this year!

Yup. I like how "Dark End of the Street" threatens to turn into "River Deep, Mountain High."

I think I need to check what the 305 tracks are. Me too! But yeah, the Spotify version is what I have, and enough for now (maybe...) Best way to find it: put the main part of the title, There's A Dream I've Been Saving.

"Dark End": yeah, was thinking he and A-M were getting all turned on by the danger, and then he bleats, "Aw, let 'em find us"---the jaded cowpoke, mebbe fixing to mosey on, or just country-fatalistic about the available thrills and spills (reminds me of Lou Reed at times).

The CD version also includes the first legit DVD of his movie, Cowboy In Sweden; haven't seen that. LITA site doesn't seem to specify what the other tracks (incl 17 LPs and many 45s) are, on the deluxe ed.'s data discs. Oh well. They do provide a trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgQ1tdmn-Jo

How is the book? I already have most of the previous reissues, but the book is the one thing that could get me to plunge into the LITA box.

I can't pay $89 for a book no matter how awesome it looks. It's a sign of my mental illness that I'm like maybe I should pay double that for a DVD stuffed with songs basically plus a book lol. :-\

The book is beautiful and elegantly written but maybe not worth $89. THe boxset is the biggest one I own - it's a beast.

Afraid to see the video of Cowboy in Sweden, because I've already made such a video for it in my head. It's solidly in the the form of a corny variety show sketches, a la Sonny & Cher and Donnie & Marie, providing maximum contrast with the high craft of the songs.

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/29/lee-hazlewood-rocks-great-recluse-wyndham-wallace-meltdown?CMP=share_btn_tw

Thanks! Wonder if this show was recorded...?

Dying to know what some of those "Movie Facts" were.

And now Wyndham Wallace's book, rec by author of recent Robert Wyatt bio:

Marcus O'Dair
‏@marcusodair

.@WyndhamWallace is on @BBCGidCoeShow next week, talking about his brilliant Lee Hazlewood book, Lee, Myself and I. Recommended.

Rock's Backpages has a free Lee section at the moment (dunno for how long)

http://www.rocksbackpages.com/public/img/home/129-free.jpg

A COWBOY IN NEW YORK — Wyndham Wallace recalls his first encounter with the legendary Lee Hazlewood in 1999 and NME's Tony Stewart talks Nancy Sinatra and more with Lee in 1971. PLUS exclusive audio of "the ol' sonofabitch" talking about his early years in Oklahoma…
That last is an epic mp3 talk with/to/at Barney Hoskyns. You gotta go here and scroll down through this vast trove of freebies, also register, but it worked pretty well for me:
http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Free

Nad here's the Lee concert, with comments by facilitator Wyndham Wallace, whose dream come true:
(mp3s, get 'em while you can)
http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=2436

"movie facts" still such an incredible clothing slogan

Lee and Suzi Jane Hokom

http://41.media.tumblr.com/6bb756c6c9b2e70a8151dd9452dc3142/tumblr_nf1en7A1DK1soodkfo1_1280.jpg

New album of 1955-1956 material out today!
https://leehazlewood.bandcamp.com/album/400-miles-from-l-a-1955-56

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnAlNilp48E

Nice overview:

https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/lee-hazlewood-musician-texas/

Holy Shit at him going to high school with revisionist Western stalwart L.Q. Jones.

(... one for the 'the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually still alive' thread)

Really enjoyed that article. His push 'n' pull affection for the landscape of petroleum refineries and Methodists adds a bit of new understanding to his eccentricities.

this clip was new to me, nicely done

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbtKHrI-OAs

We are so very excited to announce the next release in our Lee Hazlewood archival series, The Sweet Ride: Lost Recordings 1965-68, a new compilation of demos, outtakes, and home recordings from Lee’s most prolific and successful era. https://t.co/276FrR2dIb pic.twitter.com/ITZwoh44g6

— Light In The Attic (@lightintheattic) July 29, 2022

For a long time I thought that the Belly song “Sweet Ride” was a Lee Hazlewood composition bc I’m absolutely certain I saw it erroneously credited as such somewhere. As is clear from this new comp, Lee’s “Sweet Ride” is an entirely different song. Funnily enough though, Belly’s song sounds very much like it could be a Hazlewood tune.

My pick for underrated Hazlewood composition is “In Our Time,” recorded by him and later, with bowdlerized lyrics, by Nancy Sinatra.

"For A Day Like Today" was my top Spotify song a couple of years ago.

You probably already knew this, but the Sweet Ride film had another perspective theme song written & recorded by Moby Grape which they mime to in the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glo-RJ4go-I

I did not already know this.

Nor I.

I do know that a very interesting upcoming book will feature a detailed analysis of the recording of “Omaha.”

Brane is breaking just looking at the ToC: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003093206/one-track-mind-asif-siddiqi

i know this was posted before by me and maybe others but don't see it, broken link perhaps
great song but prime wrecking crew footage is what makes it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54x78pcWIgc

INA youtube channel has some gems in there among the rote tv promotional stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFNDY9ocrhE

his best song, maybe. always puts me in a space.

TIL that Reprise thought they could make lightning strike twice by having Lee produce another Rat Pack daughter...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7DI__tn7fw

Streaming for one week on lecinemaclub.com, Cowboy in Sweden: https://www.lecinemaclub.com/now-showing/cowboy-in-sweden/

I found it on Vimeo proper, apparently from the same source, for anyone who comes by after the Le Cinema Club feature expires.

https://vimeo.com/374624228

Filed under “things I explicitly purchased a box set for and then never got around to it”

so disappointed lita didn't include the dvd as a bonus on the recent 2 lp reissue (still, sounds amazing!) as they did on one of the previous releases.

I’ve spent the last month listening to nothing but lee and related and have been preparing playlists on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube to share soon but will also be doing a write up. Basically 1955-1975. I keep discovering stuff and am just blown away.

There's going to be 3 playlists. a 7+ hour version for completists, a 2 hour version for purists and a 4-ish hour version, which tells the story I'm learning and I'm working the most on.

The youtube version of that playlist is here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-_DBT13UQzCXQOtKk7dZ01vgPtQ6iVcS&si=7ALFZKt0NDlluD3Z

Because youtube has random uploads from people, this version of the playlist has a handful of tracks not available on Apple Music or Spotify.

I think it's a good range, mostly chronological, stuff he wrote, produced, performed, some stuff he only performed. It's a mix of my personal preferences and a vague idea about what makes a Lee Hazlewood song.

There's a few stretches...I just really wanted to get a track from the Waylon Jennings album Lee produced but the only Lee song on that album is one that Lee had already recorded himself a few years before and that version is already there, but then I noticed Lee sings on Waylon's version of Utah Philips' Rock, Salt and Nails, so I was able to include that.

I'm not going to share these playlists until I write it all up in a way I see fit, but figure some people may find this interesting in the meantime.

I am looking forward to this!

Happy Birthday Lee Hazlewood! Coincidence?

Cowboy in Sweden streaming for a few more days?

https://www.lecinemaclub.com/now-showing/cowboy-in-sweden/?utm_source=pocket_shared

Playlist of Lee on youtube, including Requiem...

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-_DBT13UQzDVsiSQMFfLtX-z0Ja3D21S&si=DzizZq7pGBppn-I-

"The President is popping pills
And paying all the old folks' bills
And wearing a silver spoon around his neck"

Those were the days, also daze.

From my round-up of 2022's country and related reissues, prev. unreleases etc.:

"Give up, you won’t survive, you’ll never get out alive, this world won’t letcha I betcha, and if it did, what’s it gonna getcha, what counts is, how you feel inside—cause life’s a, sweeeeet riiiiiiide---"
Thus Dusty Springfield blissfully calls over the crest of The Sweet Ride. which wiki sez is a 1968 American drama film with a few surfer/biker exploitation film elements. It stars Tony Franciosa, Michael Sarrazin and Jacqueline Bisset in an early starring role. The film also features Bob Denver in the role of Choo-Choo, a Beatnik piano-playing draft dodger. Sarrazin and Bisset were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer, Male and Female respectively.
Seems promising, but right now I must focus on the contrast between Dusty and Lee (there’s a duo!)’s delivery of this key and opener to Lee Hazelwood's The Sweet Ride: Lost Recordings 1965-68, in which Light In The Attic does right by LH yet again, with a cohesive round-up of spare change, all about keeping your highest and lowest on point, on the fence of your sense, so for instance he here hunkers down and squeezes the end of the line over a rinky-tink piano. Just sit back and relax it, some day they’ve got to tax it—and when you can’t do that no more, nor shrug it off with a Roger Miller-worthy quirk over your acoustic guitar, just bug out toward Lou Reed Hazlewood cabin creak and even creekside tour guide to self-aware fantasy memories: whatever it takes to be taken etc. Relistenable beyond completism, with no need for signature layers of finished product atmospherics.

I'm still editing my Lee Hazlewood essay but his relationship to Roger Miller is fascinating. Miller lived in an apartment over Lee's garage, some of his handwritten lyrics were sold at auction by Lee's ex-wife. They were definitely sympatico. Miller's "One Dyin' and a Buryin'" sounds like a Lonesome Town outtake. Later Miller covered the Fool and sounds like he's paying more tribute to Lee than to Sanford Clark.

Finally WFMU's John Allen sent me the link to his interview with Lee during the Smells Like Records period where Lee offered a fascinating bit of trivia. The violin playing ape on the cover of Lee's The N.S.V.I.P.'s album? Roger Miller.

Intriguing, thanks! Speaking of Roger Miller (and 2022), here's a round-up I did of Roger's '22 digital debuts (albums), plus a revelatory collection of his early work---turns out he was a bit of a honky-tonkin' sport of the 50s:
https://mydeprodation.blogspot.com/2025/09/roger-miller-2022-digital-debuts-also.html

Thx for the tip to that WFMU interview. It's streaming here: https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/24163

the cover of Lee's The N.S.V.I.P.'s album

it's amazing how Lee's mustache seems to add around 70 pounds, he looks so tiny here

Happy Birthday Jack Nitzsche...performing Lee's Baja here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz_oJjQt7NQ

Nitzsche did a few sessions with me. I couldn't catch a hit with him at all. I introduced him to Phil Spector. They had hit after hit. I used to tease Phil…’you took my arranger.’ He said ‘you didn't do anything for him, I turned him into something.’ I said ‘you're right.'

-Lee