Bonnie Lee

Bonnie Lee
Birth name	Jessie Lee Frealls
Also known as	Bonnie Lee Murray Bonnie "Bombshell" Lane "Sweetheart of the Blues"
Born	(1931-06-11)June 11, 1931 Bunkie, Louisiana,U.S.
Died	September 7, 2006(2006-09-07)(aged 75) Chicago,Illinois,U.S.
Genres	Chicago blues,soul-blues
Occupation	Singer
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	Late 1950s–2006
Labels	Various

Bonnie Lee(June 11, 1931 – September 7, 2006)was an AmericanChicago bluessingerknown as "The Sweetheart of the Blues". She is best remembered for her lengthy working relationships withSunnyland SlimandWillie Kent.David Whiteis, who interviewed Lee in researching his bookChicago Blues: Portraits and Stories,stated, "she was one of the last of her genre, the big-voiced woman blues singer fronting a Chicago band."

Biography

She was bornJessie Lee FreallsinBunkie, Louisiana,and raised inBeaumont,Texas.

She learned to play the piano as a child. Her mother refused to let her join thegospelsingerLillian Glinnon tour. She later toured with the Famous Georgia Minstrels, meetingClarence "Gatemouth" BrownandBig Mama Thornton.

In 1958 she moved toChicagoand chose thestage nameBonnie Lee, working as both adancerand singer. Two years later she signed arecording contractwithJ. Mayo Williams's Ebony Records. Williams insisted on billing her as Bonnie "Bombshell" Lane on her firstsingle,"Sad and Evil Woman". She disliked the name. After the single failed to sell, she returned to Chicagojazzand bluesnightclubs.She was later billed as Bonnie Lee Murray, using the surname of her husband at the time.

In 1967 Lee first appeared on a bill with thepianistSunnyland Slim,and their working arrangement included residencies at several Chicago clubs. At the end of the 1970s, she recorded further singles, released by AIrway Records (owned by Slim Records).She suffered from poor health at that time but then enjoyed a long professional partnership withWillie Kent.Backed by Willie Kent and the Gents, she became a regular performer at B.L.U.E.S., a noted Chicago blues club, for many years. There she sang her most famous numbers, "I’m Good" and "Need Your Love So Bad."

In 1982, performing withZora YoungandBig Time Sarahas Blues with the Girls, she touredEurope,and they recorded an album inParis.In 1992 Lee performed onMagic Slim's album44 Blues,withJohn Primer.Her albumSweetheart of the Blueswas released under her own name byDelmark Recordsin 1995, and three years later another collection,I'm Good,was issued.

Lee died on September 7, 2006, at the age of 75, after years of poor health.

Partial discography

Year	Title	Label
1995	Sweetheart of the Blues	Delmark
1998	I'm Good: Chicago Blues Session, Volume 7	Wolf Records

See also

• List of Chicago blues musicians

External links

• Illustrated discography at Hubcap.clemson.edu
• David Whiteis, "'I Need Someone's Hand' – Bonnie Lee's Life in the Blues",Chicago Readerarticle and interview, February 4, 1993