Frankie Lee

Frankie Lee

Frankie Lee is the name used by more than one artist. One is Frankie Lee Jones, a soul singer from Mart, Texas, who begins singing in church as a child and later performs in the choir. As a teenager he sings secular blues, rhythm and blues and soul, often working with Sonny Rhodes in clubs in Austin. Ike Turner hears him in the early 1960s and brings him into his show, giving him regular exposure to the music of Ike and Tina Turner. He then records singles for Peacock Records that gain regional popularity, plays clubs around Houston, and later works with Albert Collins until the end of the decade. In the early 1970s he moves to California, where he works with Johnny “Guitar” Watson, his cousin, and records more singles.

The other Frankie Lee is an American alternative country singer-songwriter from Minnesota. He plays acoustic guitar and harmonica, either alone or with a band. Born on the banks of the Mississippi River in 1982, he later moves with his family to Minneapolis and becomes part of the city’s music scene at a young age, singing from the age of 13 and writing songs from 15. He also appears onstage with Curtiss A and Slim Dunlap. After leaving college in 2002, he uses his soccer scholarship money to buy a car and travel through Nashville, Memphis and Texas. He settles in Austin for seven years, then lives in Los Angeles, before returning to Minnesota in 2010. There he records the EP Middle West, and later releases the album American Dreamer on Loose.