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Arthur Lee
Birth nameArthur Porter Taylor
Born(1945-03-07)March 7, 1945
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedAugust 3, 2006(2006-08-03) (aged 61)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresPsychedelic rock
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1963–2006
Labels
Websitewww.lovearthurlee.com

Arthur Taylor Lee (born Arthur Porter Taylor; March 7, 1945 – August 3, 2006) was an American singer and songwriter who rose to fame as the frontman of the Los Angeles rock band Love, widely recognized as one of the most influential groups of the 1960s.

Early years[edit]

Lee was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 7, 1945 in John Gaston Hospital, to Agnes (née Porter), a school teacher and Chester Taylor, a local jazz musician and cornet player.[1] As an only child, Lee was known by the nickname "Po", short for Porter, and was looked after by additional family members so his mother could proceed her teaching career.[2] With his father being his first connection with a musician, Lee was fascinated by music at young age.[3] He would sing and hum along to blues musicians such as Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters on the radio.[3] At the age of four, Lee made his debut on the stage at a Baptist church, reciting a small poem about a red telephone.[4]

In the early 1950s, his parents separated as his father "refused or neglected to provide for her", the divorce petition states.[5] Lee only remembered seeing his father three times during his entire life.[5] Subsequently, Lee and his mother packed their things and took a train to California, while his father was at work.[5] Lee and his mother resided in Los Angeles permanently in 1952.[6] In 1953, their divorce was granted and his mother married Clinton Lee, a successful construction worker, on April 23, 1955.[6] Lee was formally adopted by Clinton Lee on June 6, 1960, legally acquiring his surname, after filing for an adoption notice in 1958.[6] His mother was able to resume her teaching career, enabling the family to buy a new home in the West Adams area of South Central Los Angeles.[7] Attending the same schools as Lee, the neighbourhood was also home to Johnny Echols, who would later be the lead guitarist for Love.[8]

Lee attended Sixth Avenue Elementary School and excelled in athletics but was behind academically.[9] Being known as "the toughest kid in the neighborhood", Lee was pressured into succeeding in school by his great aunt, a former school principal, but showed interest in sports, music, reading and animals.[9] Lee later attended Mount Vernon Junior High, where his interest in music would soon outweigh his focus on sports.[10]

Lee’s first musical instrument was the accordion, which he took lessons from a teacher.[11] He adapted to reading music and developed a good ear and natural musical intelligence. While he was never formally taught about musical theory and composition, he was able to mimic musicians from records and compose his own songs.[12] Eventually, he persuaded his parents to buy him an organ and harmonica.[12] Graduating from Susan Miller Dorsey High School, Lee’s musical ambitions found opportunities between his local community and classmates.[13] As opposed to attending a college under a sports scholarship, he strived for a musical career.[14] His plan of forming a band was under the influence of Johnny Echols, after seeing him perform "Johnny B. Goode" with a five-piece band at a school assembly.[14]

First bands[edit]

Lee's first band included him on the organ, Johnny Echols on bass and guitar, Roland Davis on drums and Alan Goldman and Allan Talbert on saxophones. The group performed in front of an audience the first time, after rehearing at Lee's home, at a school assembly. They played "Last Night" by the Mar-Keys while "the crowd went wild", as described by Lee. As a result, Lee aimed to become a musician and celebrity, as he turned down a basketball scholarship to attend a college. Lee dropped out of school in his graduating year, often carrying out jokes and getting into trouble whenever he did attend school.

The group soon emerged as the short-lived rhythm and blues group Arthur Lee and the L.A.G.'s (Los Angeles Group), with their name being a spin on Booker T. & the M.G.'s (Memphis Group). They rehearsed and practised regularly in Lee's garage, with encouragement from their parents to pursue music as they had purchased expensive instruments and equipment. Their first professional performance was at a golf course and country club located in Pico Boulevard. With help from an agent in Hollywood, the group obtained gigs at social events, parties and small clubs in the vicinity of Los Angeles. Lee and Echols developed a strong musical partnership, which would be a key aspect towards the success of Love. In 1963, the L.A.G.'s recorded their debut single, "The Ninth Wave" backed with "Rumble-Still-Skins", for Capitol Records at Gold Star Studios. The single was unsuccessful as it failed to chart and received minimal promotion from Capitol.

Upon seeing the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show, Lee's perception on music changed, amazed by the English group's innovative style, appearance and music. Thereafter, Lee disbanded the L.A.G.'s and assembled the American Four, influenced by British invasion contemporaries. They were a multiracial four-piece rock and roll group, that featured Lee on lead vocals and organ, Johnny Echols on guitar, John Fleckenstein on bass and John Jacobson on drums. With their long wigs, they often played at black clubs due to their soul and R&B-orientated sound. The group also performed regularly at a bowling alley in Montebello for a year and a half. Fascinated by the guitar, Lee decided to learn the instrument, with help from his friend John Lucky, who taught him seven chords and began writing songs with it. Gaining attention from their gigs, the group were able to release a single in 1964, under the Selma record label, that sounded similar to the Beatles' "Twist and Shout". The single, "Luci Baines", was named after the then new American president Lyndon B. Johnson's teenage daughter Luci Baines Johnson.

After viewing the Byrds perform live in 1965, Lee redefined the style of the American Four by fusing the swagger of the Rolling Stones with the pioneering folk rock sound. Thereafter, they were known as the Grass Roots, with Bobby Beausoleil temporarily on rhythm guitar. In 1965, Bryan MacLean, then a roadie for the Byrds, joined the group, replacing Bobby Beausoleil as rhythm guitarist. With their growing following in the Sunset Strip, Lee had soon discovered that a group from San Francisco were using their name. As a result, the group decided to change their name to Love, which originates from a place where Lee previously worked at called Luv Brassieres.

Love[edit]

Lee said when he first heard The Byrds he felt vindicated since he'd already been writing music that had a similar folk rock sound. In 1965 the Grass Roots, his folk rock unit, changed their name to Love because there was already a signed act called The Grass Roots. Several other names were considered including Bryan MacLean's choice of Summer's Children as well as others, such as the Asylum Choir, Dr Strangelove, Poetic Justice and the Love. The name Love was chosen after a club audience voted it the best choice. According to Barney Hoskyns' 2001 book Arthur Lee: Alone Again Or, Manson Family member and sometime Grass Roots guitarist Bobby Beausoleil claimed that Arthur had named the band Love in honor of one of Beausoleil's nicknames, Cupid.

Lee's early appearances were at clubs in Hollywood, including the Brave New World, Hullabaloo, Bido Lito's and the Sea Witch. At Bido Lito's, a tiny hole-in-the-wall club located on a cul-de-sac known as Cosmo's Alley, Lee first showed he had superstar potential. The Bido Lito's audience was sometimes dotted with celebrities, including actor Sal Mineo, and rock stars Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, who would go on to collaborate with Lee on future recording projects. Lee then got the opportunity to play the larger Whisky a Go-Go on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip, after which Love received a recording contract by Elektra Records.

Love's music has been described as a mixture of folk-rock, psychedelic rock, baroque pop, Spanish-tinged pop, R&B, garage rock, and even protopunk. Lee has been regarded as "the first punk rocker" but wasn't flattered by the phrase as he thought the term punk meant "being somebody's bitch or something like that."[15] Though Lee's vocals have garnered some comparisons to Johnny Mathis, his lyrics often dwell on matters dark and vexing, but often with a wry humor. The group's cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David composition "My Little Red Book" (first recorded by Manfred Mann for the soundtrack of What's New, Pussycat?) received a thumbs-down from Bacharach: Love had altered the former Marlene Dietrich bandleader's chord changes. Nonetheless the record was a Southern California hit and won Lee and Love a spot on American Bandstand.

Love (1966) included their cover of "My Little Red Book". "Emotion", an instrumental track from the album, is used in the opening credits of the 1969 movie Medium Cool. Side two of Da Capo (1966) featured just one song, "Revelation". The first side contained six individual songs, including their only single to achieve any success in the Billboard Top 40 chart: "7 and 7 Is". Forever Changes (1967) followed, the album a centerpiece of the group's psychedelic-tinged sound, bolstered by David Angel's arrangements.

Love released three albums with core members Lee, Echols (lead guitar, vocals), Bryan MacLean (guitar, vocals) and Ken Forssi (bass). The drum chair revolved between Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer (Love, "7 and 7 Is") and Michael Stuart (all tracks on Da Capo except "7 and 7 Is", Forever Changes). Pfisterer reportedly found the demanding drum parts on "7 and 7 Is" so exhausting that he and Arthur Lee alternated takes. Da Capo also included Tjay Cantrelli, who was added on saxophone and flute while Pfisterer was moved to organ and harpsichord. Both were out of the group by the time Forever Changes was recorded.[citation needed]

Forever Changes is regarded by critics and fans alike as Love's finest recording, and one of the best rock records of not just the 1960s but of all time. Despite this acclaim, the LP sold moderately in its time (reaching #154 on the Top 200 albums, and stayed on the charts for 10 weeks, without the benefit of a hit single), although it reached the top 30 in the UK. Nonetheless, its cult status grew. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Forever Changes 40th in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[16]

The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. It was entered into the National Recording Registry in May 2012.[17]

After Forever Changes, the band managed to record one more non-album single ("Your Mind and We Belong Together" b/w "Laughing Stock") which was released in June 1968 and failed to chart. Love then dissolved due to drug and money issues, only to have Lee revive the group name shortly thereafter. The new Love featured a lineup consisting of Lee on vocals and guitar, Jay Donnellan on guitar, Frank Fayad on bass, and George Suranovich on drums despite a few tracks featuring The Crazy World of Arthur Brown drummer Drachen Theaker. Lee signed a record deal with Bob Krasnow's Blue Thumb label during this time, but without mentioning to Krasnow that he was technically still signed to Elektra Records. Lee had wanted out of his Elektra deal since 1966 (the year the self-titled debut was released).[citation needed]

Elektra founder Jac Holzman did not want to let Lee out of his contract as he admired his talents but he also did not want to keep an artist under contract who did not want to stay, so a deal was worked out that allowed Lee to record for Blue Thumb with Holzman getting his choice of ten of the resulting songs to fulfill the Elektra contract of a fourth album. That album would become Four Sail (1969), Lee's pun on his original title "For Sale". A mere three months after the release of Four Sail, Blue Thumb records released their Love album, Out Here, using remaining tracks from the sessions.[citation needed]

Out Here featured the same musicians as Four Sail except guitarist Jay Donnellan who was replaced with Gary Rowles. Lee felt that Donnellan was getting a little too egotistical for his tastes. The new lineup consisted of musicians who were not fans of Forever Changes, resulting in a harder-edged rock sound. During the initial Four Sail/Out Here sessions, Krasnow approached Lee about the possibility of rounding up the original members of Love. Krasnow felt there was some magic missing with the new line up. Lee obliged him, and started rehearsing and even recording some with original members Echols, Forssi, and Stuart (MacLean had turned him down).[citation needed]

Heroin proved to be too dominant in the lives of Echols and Forssi. Both men were constantly pawning off the rented equipment for drug money and were eventually let go yet again. Love also toured both Four Sail and Out Here for their first trip to Europe, where they were always more popular, and went on to do a nationally televised performance on Dutch television which also featured promotional videos for older songs from the Elektra years. Out Here managed to chart at #29 in the UK in May 1970.[citation needed]

The next album to appear from Love was False Start (1970) which continued on with the heavier sonic direction of acid rock, in addition to featuring elements of classic R&B. One new member was added to this incarnation of Love, a vocalist/guitarist named Nooney Rickett. The album's opening track, "The Everlasting First", features Jimi Hendrix on guitar.

Arthur ran into Jimi while in England, and they decided to record on Bob Krasnow's dime. For years there were rumors that Arthur and Jimi recorded an entire record together, but the truth surfaced in 2009 when an acetate from Blue Thumb made rounds and it was revealed that there was only a long jam session (titled "Jam" on the actual acetate, to accompany The Everlasting First and an early version of the Hendrix song "Ezy Rider"). According to legend, Arthur overheard Bob Krasnow telling someone that if the False Start album did not crack the top 10 he was going to release the band from its contract. Moreover, Arthur made Krasnow give him that in writing. The album did not even reach the top 200 on the Billboard charts.[citation needed]

In 1971, Lee was signed to Columbia Records and spent the better part of the summer recording; all of the songs were deemed unworthy of issue (the entire Columbia project, along with a handful of demos, was released for the first time in 2009 on Sundazed Records as "Love Lost").[citation needed]

Solo career[edit]

In July 1972, Lee released his first solo album, Vindicator, on A&M Records, featuring a new group of musicians also playing as the band Love. At one point in time they would use the name Bandaid, a name originally suggested by Jimi Hendrix for a briefly considered lineup of himself, Lee, and Steve Winwood. This album failed to chart. Lee recorded a second solo album in 1973 entitled Black Beauty for Buffalo Records, but the label folded before the album was released. Lee contributed the title track to the 1974 blaxploitation film Thomasine & Bushrod. Lee's next move was to credit the backing group for Black Beauty with the addition of guitarist John Sterling as a new Love for Reel to Real (1974). Once again, the album went nearly unnoticed.

A new Lee solo album, called just Arthur Lee, appeared on Rhino Records in 1981, featuring covers of The Bobbettes' "Mr Lee" and Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" and musicians Sterling on guitar, George Suranovich on drums and Kim Kesterson on bass as well as some of the members from "Reel to Real".

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, there were various attempts to reunite the original Love lineup. At the suggestion of guitarist John Sterling who first joined Arthur for Reel To Real, one such show from the Whisky in October 1978 was recorded by Sterling on cassette. It featuring Lee and Bryan MacLean with Sterling on guitar, George Suranovich on drums and Kim Kesterson on bass, and was released on Rhino as a live album picture disc entitled Love Live (1980) on Rhino Records. In 1982, MCA released Studio/Live, which was a collection of tracks from the early 1970s incarnation of Love coordinated by rock lawyer/journalist Stann Findelle, including never before heard tracks recorded from Bill Graham's Fillmore East.

Apart from the Studio/Live package on MCA, the 1980s were a mostly fallow period for Lee. According to him: "I was gone for a decade. I went back to my old neighborhood to take care of my father, who was dying of cancer. I was tired of signing autographs. I was tired of being BS'd out of my money...I just got tired." Alice Cooper did record a cover version of Lee's "7 and 7 Is" on a 1981 album, Special Forces.

Lee did not re-emerge until 1992, with a new album entitled Arthur Lee & Love -{Five String Serenade} on the French New Rose label. The title track, "Five String Serenade", was later recorded by Mazzy Star and Jack White of The White Stripes. The album also featured a new artist he discovered from San Francisco, Keith Farrish aka Demian X Diamond. He performed live around this time in Paris, London and Liverpool. In 1993 he played shows in New York and England. The following year he released a 45rpm single, "Girl on Fire" backed with "Midnight Sun", on Distortions Records. He began to tour regularly with a backup band comprising former members of Das Damen, and LA group Baby Lemonade. In 1995, Rhino Records released the compilation Love Story, a two-disc set with extensive liner notes which chronicled the period 1966–1972, and reignited interest in the band. In fact, the original Love planned to reform and tour in promotion of the compilation, but Arthur's legal troubles prevented this.

Prison[edit]

In late 1996, Lee was sentenced to 12 years for the negligent discharge of a firearm. California's three strikes law meant Lee was forced to serve a prison term, having previously been convicted on "a couple of assault and drug charges" in the 1980s.[citation needed]

In prison Lee refused visitors and interviews. Former bandmates Bryan MacLean and Ken Forssi both died while Lee was incarcerated, ending any speculation as to a full-fledged Love reunion.

Later years[edit]

One bright spot for Lee was the inclusion of two Love tracks, "My Little Red Book" (from Love) and "Always See Your Face" (from Four Sail), on the soundtrack of John Cusack's adaptation of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. Lee's songs have been heard in other films as well, notably "7 & 7 Is" in both 1990's Point Break and 1996's Bottle Rocket.

On December 12, 2001, Lee was released from prison, having served 5½ years of his original sentence. A federal appeals court in California reversed the charge of negligent discharge of a firearm, as it found that the prosecutor at Lee's trial was guilty of misconduct. After Lee was freed, he put together a new incarnation of Love and planned a Forever Changes 35th Anniversary Tour, to kick off at the Royal Festival Hall in London. The Make-Up released a song calling for Arthur Lee's release, called "Free Arthur Lee".

Final years[edit]

In 2002, Lee began touring in earnest under the name "Love with Arthur Lee". This new phase of his career met with great success, and he performed to enthusiastic audiences and critical acclaim throughout Europe, North America and Australia. This incarnation of Love was composed of the members of the band Baby Lemonade, who had first performed with Lee in May 1993 at Raji's. The band began performing the Forever Changes album in its entirety, often with a string and horn section. A live CD and DVD of this material was released in 2003.[citation needed]

Nils Lofgren performing at the Beacon Theatre Benefit For Arthur Lee, June 23, 2006

Johnny Echols joined the new group for a special Forever Changes 35th Anniversary Tour performance at Royce Hall, UCLA, in the spring of 2003. Lee and the band continued to tour throughout 2003 and 2004, including many concerts in and around hometown Los Angeles, notably a show at the outdoor Sunset Junction festival, the San Diego Street Scene, and a headlining date with The Zombies at the Ebell Theatre. Echols occasionally joined Lee and the group on the continuing and final tours of 2004 to 2005. They played a well received date at the Fillmore in San Francisco with the full string and horn section.[citation needed]

Due to Arthur Lee's illness (acute myeloid leukemia), the details of which were not known by the band at the time, he could not participate in the final tour in July 2005. Since no one knew of his illness, Arthur's decision to forgo the final tour was met with angry, confused reactions. The remaining members of the band, along with Echols, continued to perform at the venues of the last tour (July 2005) without Lee, under the name The Love Band. At the end of September 2005, Lee moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he planned to continue to make music using the name Love. Joining him was to be drummer Greg Roberson (Reigning Sound, Her Majesty's Buzz, Compulsive Gamblers) to put together a new lineup in Memphis, which was to include Adam Woodard, Alex Greene (The Reigning Sound, Big Ass Truck), Jack "Oblivian" Yarber, Alicja Trout, and Johnny Echols from the original Love line-up. Ultimately Arthur's ill health prevented this from happening.[citation needed]

In April 2006 it was publicly announced that Lee was being treated for acute myeloid leukemia. A tribute fund was set up shortly after the announcement, with a series of benefit concerts to be performed to help pay medical bills. The most notable of these concerts was produced by Steve Weitzman of SW Productions at New York's Beacon Theater on June 23, 2006, and featured Robert Plant, Ian Hunter, Ryan Adams, Nils Lofgren, Yo La Tengo, Garland Jeffreys, Johnny Echols (Love's original lead guitarist) and Flashy Python & The Body Snatchers (featuring Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah). Backed by Ian Hunter's band, Plant performed 12 songs, including five Led Zeppelin songs and five recorded by Love in the 60s ("7 and 7 Is", "A House Is Not A Motel", "Bummer in the Summer", "Old Man" and "Hey Joe").[18] A benefit concert was held in Dublin, Ireland.[19]

Death[edit]

Lee underwent several months of aggressive treatment, which included three bouts of chemotherapy, followed by a stem cell transplant on May 25, 2006 using stem cells from an umbilical cord blood donor; Lee was the first adult patient in Tennessee to receive this treatment. His condition worsened, however, and he died on August 3, 2006, at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, with his wife Diane at his side.[citation needed]

Legacy[edit]

Since Lee's death, a number of Arthur Lee websites have appeared. Moreover, Lee was memorialized by both fans and friends. The most notable of these memorials was written by Stuart Goldman,[20] who had known and written about Lee ever since his early days on the Sunset Strip.

Robyn Hitchcock's 1993 song "The Wreck of the Arthur Lee" was written as a tribute to the singer.[21]

Arthur Lee is mentioned in the song "Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken", by Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, as well as in the song "Mate of the Bloke", by Half Man Half Biscuit; Lee's name and mystique are contrasted humorously with English comic actor Arthur Lowe. His prison term is the subject of "The Prison's Going Down" by ex-Stranglers singer and guitarist Hugh Cornwell. Lee is the subject of the song "Byrds Turn to Stone" (originally titled "Mr Lee") by Liverpool band (and former Arthur Lee backing group) Shack.[citation needed]

Rival Schools and Quicksand frontman Walter Schreifels paid tribute to Arthur Lee on his 2010 solo album An Open Letter to the Scene with a track titled "Arthur Lee's Lullaby".[citation needed]

In June 2010 the biography Forever Changes: Arthur Lee and the Book of Love by John Einarson, with extracts from Lee's own memoirs, was released by Jawbone Press.[citation needed]

The 2009 Communion album by the Swedish band The Soundtrack of Our Lives features a song entitled "The Fan Who Wasn't There" which was based on a conversation singer Ebbot Lundberg had with Lee.[22]

Discography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Einarson 2010, p. 29. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  2. ^ Einarson 2010, p. 31. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  3. ^ a b Einarson 2010, p. 32. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  4. ^ Einarson 2010, p. 33. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  5. ^ a b c Einarson 2010, p. 34. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  6. ^ a b c Einarson 2010, p. 35. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  7. ^ Einarson 2010, p. 36. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  8. ^ Einarson 2010, p. 40. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  9. ^ a b Einarson 2010, p. 37. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  10. ^ Einarson 2010, p. 42. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  11. ^ Einarson 2010, p. 43. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  12. ^ a b Einarson 2010, p. 44. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  13. ^ Einarson 2010, p. 45. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  14. ^ a b Einarson 2010, p. 46. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFEinarson2010 (help)
  15. ^ Einarson, John (2010). Forever Changes: Arthur Lee and the Book of Love. Jawbone Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-1906002312.
  16. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone (Special Issue). Forever Changes – Love. November 2003. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
  17. ^ "Love, Dead in National Recording Registry". psychedelicsight.com. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  18. ^ "Arthur Lee (1945–2006)". burnettcreative.com. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  19. ^ "Other Arthur Benefit Concerts Throughout The Daily Planet-Dublin". burnettcreative.com. May 16, 2006. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  20. ^ "Requiem for a Heavyweight". Archived from the original on August 13, 2007.
  21. ^ "See post-song banter". Archive.org. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  22. ^ "The Soundtrack of Our Lives: All Time Is One Time". L.A. Record. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  23. ^ a b Hoskyns 2003, p. 143.
  24. ^ a b Hoskyns 2003, p. 144.

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

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