Phaedra calls one last time

"When you're born in Mannford, Oklahoma," Lee Hazlewood once sang, "there ain't no up in your cup; there's just down."

Hazlewood, who was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer a couple of years ago, died Saturday in Las Vegas at 78. Inevitably folks will mention his work with Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s, which produced some remarkable singles, most amazing of which was their duet on "Some Velvet Morning," among the least explainable records of the decade. But his solo work is legendary, and to borrow a line from WFMU's Brian Turner, "Few can say they've had their songs performed by both Dean Martin ('Houston') and Einsturzende Neubauten ('Sand')."

Barton Lee Hazlewood was indeed born in Mannford, Oklahoma, in 1929; he studied medicine at SMU, served in the Army during the Korean war, and surfaced in the middle 1950s as a DJ and songwriter, scoring big with Sanford Clark's version of "The Fool" in 1956. He made solo records in the Sixties, produced by Jimmy Bowen and Billy Strange, and it was likely the Bowen connection through Reprise Records that brought Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra together. (Bowen would later produce Frank Sinatra's "That's Life.") Hazlewood reshaped her voice, pushing her into a lower register, and provided lots of songs, including the infamous "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," which stomped its way to Number One in a hurry; the story goes that Hazlewood actually thought "Boots" was more suitable for a male singer, but gave it to her anyway.

To give the man a proper sendoff, here [was] "My Autumn's Done Come," a song from The Very Special World of Lee Hazlewood (1966) which might be better known in its 2003 remake by Hooverphonic.

(Note: MP3s expire after a time.)

Posted at 6:53 AM to Tongue and Groove