Lee Denson
Jesse Lee Denson (born August 25, 1932 in Rienzi , Mississippi , † November 6, 2007 in Memphis ) was an American rockabilly musician. Denson was friends with Elvis Presley in his youth and taught him the first chords on the guitar .
Life
Childhood and youth
Lee Denson was born in Mississippi but grew up with his brother Jimmy Denson in Memphis , Tennessee . Denson's father was a pastor and headed the Poplar Street Mission in Memphis. As a teenager, Denson caused many problems for his parents; he often ran away from home and had gone to a number of reform schools. His circle of friends, which in addition to his brother consisted of the brothers Johnny Burnette and Dorsey Burnette , Paul Burlison and Johnny Black , did the same. In 1947 the Presley family moved to town and the young, then very shy Elvis quickly became friends with Denson and his friends. Together they began making music in their spare time and Denson taught Presley the first chords on his new guitar.
Career
In 1953 Denson moved to Key West , Florida , where he got an engagement in the club "Sloppy Joe". In 1954, however, Denson lived in Memphis again. Meanwhile, Presley was signed to Sun Records and messed up the entire southern music world with his first single That's Alright Mama . In the summer of 1956, Denson was once again allowed to play together with his childhood friend at a benefit concert in Memphis - after that Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker isolated his protégé more and more from his old environment.
When in 1956 Johnny and Dorsey Burnette traveled to New York City with their guitarist Paul Burlison in the hope of a record deal , Denson and his brother Jimmy were also in the car. The quintet appeared together on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour Show , but only the Burnettes and Burlison got a recording deal with Coral Records , where they would record their legendary recordings as a rock'n'roll trio .
In early 1957 Denson made his first solo recordings for the New York Vik label. He played his own composition The Pied Piper and a song by Eddie Cochran , Heart of a Fool . The single sold well and gave Denson the opportunity to tour with Gene Vincent , Roy Orbison , Carl Perkins and Warren Smith , as well as appear in the American Bandstand .
In April 1957, Denson moved to the west coast of California . The Burnette brothers followed him and together they played in the “Hollywood on the Pike” club. The Burnettes quickly made contact with Ricky Nelson , Eddie Cochran and other West Coast greats. Cochran brought Denson to Ray Stanley shortly thereafter, who was producing his second single on Vik. New Shoes / Climb Love Mountain was recorded with Cochran (guitar) and Guybo Smith (bass), but could not repeat the success of his previous single. Today New Shoes is considered a rockabilly classic.
Denson moved back to Memphis that same year, where he recorded some demos for Meteor Records and then got a contract with Kent Records . His first record there was High School Hop / Devil Doll in 1958, followed by the wild Red Hot Rockin Blues / South's Gonna Rise Again , which was released under the name "Jesse James". But success did not come and so Denson left Kent again. In 1959 he wrote the song Miracle of a Rosery , which he played to Elvis Presley in 1961. It wasn't until 1971 that Presley was supposed to record the song for his album Elvis Now , which reached number 45 on the US charts in 1972.
However, Denson did not have such success. He made his last recordings in the early 1960s and died relatively unnoticed in 2007. In 2001, Hydra Records in Germany released a CD of Denson's collected works.
Discography
Singles
| year | title | Label # |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | The Pied Piper / Heart of a Fool | Vik 4X-0251 |
| 1957 | New Shoes / Climb Love Mountain | Vik 4X-0281 |
| 1958 | High School Hop / Devil Doll | Kent 45x306 |
| 1958 | South's Gonna Rise Again / Red Hot Rockin Blues | Kent 45x314 |
| 1960 | Twang / A Tree in the Meadow | Merri 202 |
| 1960 | Teen-Age World / Who Tickled the Sphinx | Merri 205 |
| Sixteen States / Mississippi Bridges | Magic Lamp 703 | |
| Unpublished titles | ||
| 1958 |
|
Kent |
|
||
|
Status unknown | |
Albums
- 2001: The South's Gonna Rise Again - Lee Denson AKA Jesse James
Web links
- Lee Denson at Allmusic (English)
- Discography with audio samples
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Denson, Lee |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Denson, Jesse Lee (real name); James, Jesse |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 25, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rienzi (Mississippi) |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 6, 2007 |
| Place of death | Memphis |