Lazy Lester
Encyclopedia
Lazy Lester is an American
blues
harmonica
player, whose career spans the 1950s to the 2000s.
Best known for regional hits recorded with Ernie Young's Nashville
, Tennessee
based Excello
label, Lester also contributed to songs recorded by Excello label-mates including Slim Harpo
, Lightnin' Slim
, and Katie Webster
. His songs have been covered by (among others) The Kinks
, Freddy Fender
, Dwight Yoakam
, Dave Edmunds
, Raful Neal
, Anson Funderburgh
, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds
. In the comeback stage of his career (since the late 1980s) he has recorded new albums backed by Mike Buck
, Sue Foley
, Gene Taylor
, Kenny Neal
, Lucky Peterson
, and Jimmie Vaughan
.
scene. According to Rolling Stone
(February 23, 2006), Buddy Guy
, before moving to Chicago, had played in Louisiana "with some of the old masters: Lightnin' Hopkins
, Lazy Lester, Slim Harpo
." When Guy left for Chicago, in 1957, Lester replaced him, on guitar, in a local band — even though Lester, at the time, did not own such a musical instrument.
Lester's career took off when he found a seat next to Lightnin' Slim
on a bus transporting Slim to an Excello recording session. At the studio, the scheduled harmonica player did not appear. Slim and Lester spent the afternoon unsuccessfully trying to find him, when Lester volunteered that he could play the harmonica. Lester's work on that first Lightnin' Slim session led the producer, Jay Miller to record Lester solo — and also to use Lester as a multi-instrumentalist on percussion, guitar, bass
, and harmonica on sessions headlined by other Miller produced artists
, including, notably, Slim Harpo.
"Percussion" on these sessions went beyond the traditional drum kit
, and including a rolled-up newspaper on a cardboard box.
Miller dubbed Lester "Lazy" because of his laconic, laid-back style.
More than his vocal delivery, Lester is best remembered for songs that were later covered by a wide range of rock
, country
, blues
, and Tex-Mex
stars, chiefly: "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter", "I Hear You Knockin'" and "Sugar Coated Love".
Lester stated he wrote these songs; but almost all are officially credited to Miller, or Lester and Miller. Lester also stated he received few royalties
, which embittered him and made him sceptical of the music industry. By the late 1960s, Lester had given up on the music industry, working manual labor and pursuing his favorite hobby — fishing. Lester moved to Pontiac, Michigan
, living with the sister of Slim Harpo.
In 1971, Fred Rei and Lester accompanied Slim. Years later found Reif and Lester both in Michigan, from where Reif orchestrated a comeback. Lester recorded and played around the United States and abroad, backed by blues bands including, frequently, Loaded Dice.
Lester's recordings in this period are on blues labels, Allgator
and Telarc, alongside releases in Europe.
If disenchanted, Lester retained not only his harmonica, guitar, and vocal talents (the songwriting that had been muse to The Kinks
and Dwight Yoakam
having dried up long before). In September 2002, a Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded by the Boston Blues Society.
In 2003 Martin Scorsese
included Lester in his blues tribute concert at Radio City Music Hall
, a record of which was released as the film and album Lightning in a Bottle. The group photograph inside the album depicted Lester grinning, dead-center among peers and musical progeny including B.B. King, Solomon Burke
, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Buddy Guy
, Levon Helm
, Chuck D
, The Neville Brothers
, Dr. John
, John Fogerty
, and Aerosmith
.
Lester currently lives in Paradise, California
with his partner.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player, whose career spans the 1950s to the 2000s.
Best known for regional hits recorded with Ernie Young's Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
based Excello
Excello Records
Excello Records was an American blues record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label...
label, Lester also contributed to songs recorded by Excello label-mates including Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo was an American blues musician. He was known as a master of the blues harmonica; the name "Slim Harpo" was derived from "harp," the popular nickname for the harmonica in blues circles.-Early life:...
, Lightnin' Slim
Lightnin' Slim
Lightnin' Slim was an African-American Louisiana blues musician, who recorded for Excello Records and played in a style similar to its other Louisiana artists.-Career:...
, and Katie Webster
Katie Webster
Katie Webster , born Kathryn Jewel Thorne, was an American boogie-woogie pianist.-Career:Webster was initially best known as a session musician behind Louisiana musicians on the Excello and Goldband record labels, such as Lightnin' Slim and Lonesome Sundown...
. His songs have been covered by (among others) The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Garza Huerta in San Benito, Texas, United States, was a Mexican-American Tejano, country and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados...
, Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
, Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
, Raful Neal
Raful Neal
Raful Neal was an American, Louisiana blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter.Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and reared by his aunt and uncle on a tenant farm in Chamberlin, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States, Neal took up the blues harp at age 14, tutored by a local player named...
, Anson Funderburgh
Anson Funderburgh
Anson Funderburgh is an American blues guitar player and bandleader of Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets since 1978...
, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
The Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...
. In the comeback stage of his career (since the late 1980s) he has recorded new albums backed by Mike Buck
Mike Buck
Mike Buck is an Austin, Texas based drummer who became influential by playing in a variety of bands in the roots music scene.-Career:...
, Sue Foley
Sue Foley
Sue Foley is a Canadian blues singer and guitarist.-Career:Foley has been writing and playing professionally since 1984. She has recorded ten albums, for both Antone's Records and Shanachie Records. She has spent over fourteen years on the road as a bandleader, lead vocalist, guitarist and...
, Gene Taylor
Gene Taylor
Gary Eugene "Gene" Taylor is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1989 until 2011. He was defeated for re-election in 2010 by State Rep. Steven Palazzo, who gained 52% of the vote compared to Taylor's 47%. He left office in January 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, Kenny Neal
Kenny Neal
Kenny Neal , son of Raful Neal, is an american blues guitar player, singer and band member. Neal comes from a musical family and has often performed with his brothers in his band.-Career:...
, Lucky Peterson
Lucky Peterson
Lucky Peterson is an American musician who plays contemporary blues, fusing soul, R&B, gospel and rock and roll. He plays guitar and keyboards...
, and Jimmie Vaughan
Jimmie Vaughan
James Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
.
Biography
In the mid 1950s, Lester was on the margins of the Louisiana bluesLouisiana blues
Louisiana blues is a genre of blues music that developed in the period after World War II in the state of Louisiana. It is generally divided into two major sub-genres, with the jazz-influenced New Orleans blues based around the city and the slower tempo swamp blues incorporating influences from...
scene. According to Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
(February 23, 2006), Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, before moving to Chicago, had played in Louisiana "with some of the old masters: Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
, Lazy Lester, Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo
Slim Harpo was an American blues musician. He was known as a master of the blues harmonica; the name "Slim Harpo" was derived from "harp," the popular nickname for the harmonica in blues circles.-Early life:...
." When Guy left for Chicago, in 1957, Lester replaced him, on guitar, in a local band — even though Lester, at the time, did not own such a musical instrument.
Lester's career took off when he found a seat next to Lightnin' Slim
Lightnin' Slim
Lightnin' Slim was an African-American Louisiana blues musician, who recorded for Excello Records and played in a style similar to its other Louisiana artists.-Career:...
on a bus transporting Slim to an Excello recording session. At the studio, the scheduled harmonica player did not appear. Slim and Lester spent the afternoon unsuccessfully trying to find him, when Lester volunteered that he could play the harmonica. Lester's work on that first Lightnin' Slim session led the producer, Jay Miller to record Lester solo — and also to use Lester as a multi-instrumentalist on percussion, guitar, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, and harmonica on sessions headlined by other Miller produced artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, including, notably, Slim Harpo.
"Percussion" on these sessions went beyond the traditional drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, and including a rolled-up newspaper on a cardboard box.
Miller dubbed Lester "Lazy" because of his laconic, laid-back style.
More than his vocal delivery, Lester is best remembered for songs that were later covered by a wide range of rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, and Tex-Mex
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
stars, chiefly: "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter", "I Hear You Knockin'" and "Sugar Coated Love".
Lester stated he wrote these songs; but almost all are officially credited to Miller, or Lester and Miller. Lester also stated he received few royalties
Royalties
Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for the right to ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property...
, which embittered him and made him sceptical of the music industry. By the late 1960s, Lester had given up on the music industry, working manual labor and pursuing his favorite hobby — fishing. Lester moved to Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
, living with the sister of Slim Harpo.
In 1971, Fred Rei and Lester accompanied Slim. Years later found Reif and Lester both in Michigan, from where Reif orchestrated a comeback. Lester recorded and played around the United States and abroad, backed by blues bands including, frequently, Loaded Dice.
Lester's recordings in this period are on blues labels, Allgator
Alligator Records
Alligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
and Telarc, alongside releases in Europe.
If disenchanted, Lester retained not only his harmonica, guitar, and vocal talents (the songwriting that had been muse to The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
and Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
having dried up long before). In September 2002, a Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded by the Boston Blues Society.
In 2003 Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
included Lester in his blues tribute concert at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, a record of which was released as the film and album Lightning in a Bottle. The group photograph inside the album depicted Lester grinning, dead-center among peers and musical progeny including B.B. King, Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke was an American singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the United House of Prayer For All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", and as the "Bishop of Soul", and described as "the Muhammad Ali of soul", and as "the most...
, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Levon Helm
Levon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
, Chuck D
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour , better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.- Early life :Ridenhour was born in Queens, New York...
, The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art , Charles , Aaron , and Cyril The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in...
, Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
, John Fogerty
John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
, and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
.
Lester currently lives in Paradise, California
Paradise, California
Paradise is an incorporated town in Butte County, in the northwest foothills of California's Central Valley, in the Sierra. The town is considered part of the Chico Metropolitan Area. The population was 26,218 at the 2010 census, down from 26,408 at the 2000 census...
with his partner.
Selected discography
- True Blues, circa 1966, Excello LP 8006 SO-1
- Rides Again, 1987, King Snake KS007 (recorded in the UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, May 25–28, 1987) - Harp & Soul, 1988, AlligatorAlligator RecordsAlligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
4768 (featuring Lucky Peterson and Kenny Neal) - Lazy Lester, 1989, Flyright (France) 007 (previously unreleased 1960s Excello session takes)
- I'm a Lover Not a Fighter 1994, Excello/Ace 518
- I Hear You Knockin, 1994, Excello/Avi 3003
- All Over You, 1998, Antones ANT 10042 (recorded 1997, featuring Derek O'Brien, Sue FoleySue FoleySue Foley is a Canadian blues singer and guitarist.-Career:Foley has been writing and playing professionally since 1984. She has recorded ten albums, for both Antone's Records and Shanachie Records. She has spent over fourteen years on the road as a bandleader, lead vocalist, guitarist and...
, Sarah Brown) - Lazy Lester (audiophile EP), APO 003 (recorded October 12–13, 2000 featuring Henry GrayHenry GrayHenry Gray was an English anatomist and surgeon most notable for publishing the book Gray's Anatomy. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society at the age of 25.-Biography:...
) - Superharps II, 2001, Telarc 83514 (co-billed with Carey BellCarey BellCarey Bell was an American blues musician, who played the harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass for other blues musicians during the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s before embarking on a solo career...
, Raful NealRaful NealRaful Neal was an American, Louisiana blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter.Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and reared by his aunt and uncle on a tenant farm in Chamberlin, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States, Neal took up the blues harp at age 14, tutored by a local player named...
, Snooky Pryor) - Blues Stop Knockin, 2001, Antones TMG-ANT 0051 (featuring Jimmie VaughanJimmie VaughanJames Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
) - Blues on my Radio, 2004, SWMAF 01 (featuring Louisiana RedLouisiana RedLouisiana Red is an African American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who has recorded more than 50 albums...
) - Family Meeting, 2008, Ruf, double albumDouble albumA double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
by Wentus Blues Band - You Better Listen, 2011, Bluestown records, recorded in Norway (Notodden).
See also
- The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of FameThe Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of FameThe Southern Legends Association along with its subsidiaries is a diversified non-profit entertainment company with operations in four business segments, Hall of Fame inductions, artist promotions, musical recordings and various entertainment operations. It was founded in 2005 by Widmarc Clark,...
- San Francisco Blues FestivalSan Francisco Blues FestivalDebuting in 1973, the San Francisco Blues Festival is the longest running blues festival in the United States. Tom Mazzolini, the event's producer, founded the blues festival to educate the public about the history and evolution of the blues...
- List of Swamp blues musicians
- List of Harmonica blues musicians
- List of harmonicists
- Music of LouisianaMusic of LouisianaThe music of Louisiana can be divided into four general regions. Southwest Louisiana, , Southern Louisiana, west of New Orleans the southeast, the region in and around Greater New Orleans has a unique musical heritage tied to Dixieland jazz, blues and Afro-Caribbean rhythms...
- Blues harpBlues harpThe Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica or blues harp , is the most widely known type of harmonica...
External links
- [ Lester biography] at Allmusic