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Lee Dorsey

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Lee Dorsey
Background information
Birth nameIrving Lee Dorsey
Born(1924-12-24)December 24, 1924
New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S.
DiedDecember 1, 1986(1986-12-01)(aged 61)
New Orleans, Louisiana
GenresR&B,soul,funk
OccupationSinger
Years active1950s–1986
LabelsFury,Amy,Polydor,ABC

Irving Lee Dorsey(December 24, 1924[1]– December 1, 1986)[2]was an AmericanpopandR&Bsinger during the 1960s. His biggest hits were "Ya Ya"(1961) and"Working in the Coal Mine"(1966). Much of his work was produced byAllen Toussaint,withinstrumentalbacking provided bythe Meters.

Career

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Born inNew Orleans,Louisiana, Dorsey was a childhood friend ofFats Domino.He moved toPortland,Oregon when he was ten years old.[3]He served in theUnited States NavyinWorld War IIand began a career in prizefighting.Boxingas afeatherweightin Portland in the early 1950s, he fought under the nameKid Chocolateand was not successful, fighting only one time and being knocked out in the second round.[4]He returned to New Orleans in 1955, where he opened anauto repairbusiness as well as singing in clubs at night.[2]

His firstrecordingwas "Rock Pretty Baby/Lonely Evening" on Cosimo Mattasa's Rex label, in 1958. This was followed by "Lottie Mo/Lover of Love", for the small Valiant label in late 1960 (picked up by ABC Paramount in 1961).[5]These efforts were unsuccessful, but around 1960 he was discovered byA&RmanMarshall Sehorn,who secured him a contract withFury Records,owned byBobby Robinson.[6]After meeting songwriter and record producerAllen Toussaintat a party,[7]he recorded "Ya Ya",a song inspired by a group of children chantingnursery rhymes.[2]It went to number seven on theBillboardHot 100in 1961, sold over one million copies, and was awarded agold disc.[8]Although the follow-up "Do-Re-Mi" also made the charts, later releases on Fury were not successful. Dorsey returned to running his repair business,[2]but also released singles on the Smash and Constellation labels in 1963 and 1964.[5]

He was approached again by Toussaint, and recorded Toussaint's song "Ride Your Pony" for the Amy label, a subsidiary ofBell Records.The song reached No. 7 on theR&B chartin late 1965, and he followed it up with "Get Out of My Life, Woman","Working in the Coal Mine"– his biggest pop hit – and"Holy Cow",all of which made thepop chartsin both the US and theUK.Dorsey toured internationally, and also recorded an album with Toussaint,The New Lee Dorseyin 1966.[2]In 1970 Dorsey and Toussaint collaborated on the albumYes We Can;the title songwas Dorsey's last entry in the USsingleschart. It was later a hit for thePointer Sistersunder the title, "Yes We Can Can".With declining sales, Dorsey returned to his auto repair business.[6]

In 1976 Dorsey appeared on the albumI Don't Want to Go HomebySouthside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes,which led to more recordings on his own withABC Records,including the albumNight People.In 1980, he opened for EnglishpunkbandThe Clashon their USconcert tour,and also toured in support ofJames BrownandJerry Lee Lewis.[2][6]

Dorsey developedemphysemaand died on December 1, 1986, in New Orleans, at the age of 61.[2]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Year Album Peak chart positions
US
[9] 		US R&B
[9] 		UK
[10]
1962 Ya Ya — — —
1966 Ride Your Pony - Get Out of My Life Woman — — —
The New Lee Dorsey - Working in the Coalmine 129 13 27
1970 Yes We Can — — —
1978 Night People — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Compilation albums

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  • All Ways Funky(1982)
  • Holy Cow! The Best of Lee Dorsey(1985)
  • 20 Greatest Hits(1991)

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Chart positions Album
US Pop
[11] 		US R&B
[12] 		UK
[13]
1959 "Rock"
b/w "Lonely Evening" (Non-album track) 		— — — Non-album tracks
1961 "Lover of Love"
b/w "Lottie-Mo" 		— — —
"Ya Ya"
b/w "Give Me You" 		7 1 — Ya! Ya!
"Rock"
b/w "Lonely Evening" (Non-album track)
Second standard pressing 		— — — Non-album tracks
"Do-Re-Mi"
b/w "People Gonna Talk" 		27 22 — Ya! Ya!
1962 "Eenie-Meenie-Minee-Mo"
b/w "Behind the 8-Ball" 		— — —
"You Are My Sunshine"
b/w "Give Me Your Love" 		— — — Non-album tracks
1963 "Hoodlum Joe"
b/w "When I Met My Baby" 		— — —
"Hello Good Looking"
b/w "Someday" 		— — —
1964 "Organ Grinder Swing"
b/w "I Gotta Find a New Love" 		— — —
"You're Breaking Me Up"
b/w "Messed Around (and Fell in Love)" 		— — —
1965 "Ride Your Pony"
b/w "The Kitty Cat Song" 		28 7 — Ride Your Pony - Get Out of My Life Woman
"Work, Work, Work"
b/w "Can You Hear Me" 		121 — —
1966 "Get Out of My Life, Woman"
b/w "So Long" 		44 5 22
"Confusion"
b/w "Neighbor's Daughter" 		— — 38 The New Lee Dorsey
"Working in the Coal Mine"
b/w "Mexico" 		8 5 8
"Holy Cow"
b/w "Operation Heartache" (Non-album track) 		23 10 6
1967 "Rain Rain Go Away"
b/w "Gotta Find a Job" 		105 — — Non-album tracks
"My Old Car"
b/w "Why Wait Until Tomorrow" 		97 — —
"Vista, Vista"
b/w "I Can't Get Away" 		— — —
"Go-Go Girl"
b/w "I Can Hear You Callin'" 		62 31 —
"Love Lots of Lovin'"
b/w "Take Care of Our Love" (Non-album track)
Both sides with Betty Harris 		110 — — Holy Cow! The Best of Lee Dorsey
1968 "Cynthia"
b/w "I Can't Get Away" 		— — — Non-album tracks
"Wonder Woman"
b/w "A Little Dab a Do Ya" (fromThe New Lee Dorsey) 		— — —
"Four Corners" —Part 1
b/w Part 2 		— — —
"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write
Myself a Letter "
b/w "Little Ba-by" 		— — —
1969 "A Lover Was Born"
b/w "What Now My Love" 		— — —
"Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky(From Now On)"
b/w "There Should Be a Book" (Non-album track) 		95 33 — Holy Cow! The Best of Lee Dorsey
"Give It Up"
b/w "Candy Yam" 		— — — Non-album tracks
1970 "Yes We Can"—Part 1
b/w "O Me-O, My-O" 		— 46 — Yes We Can
"What You Want(Is What You Get)"
b/w "I Can Hear You Callin'" 		— — — Non-album tracks
1971 "Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley"
b/w "Tears, Tears and More Tears" 		— — — Yes We Can
"Tears, Tears and More Tears"
b/w "Occapella" 		— — —
1972 "Freedom for the Stallion"
b/w "If She Won't (Find Someone Who Will)" 		— — — Non-album tracks
"When Can I Come Home"
b/w "Gator Tail" (fromYes We Can) 		— — —
1973 "On Your Way Down"
b/w "Freedom for the Stallion" 		— — —
1978 "Night People"
b/w "Can I Be the One" 		— 93 — Night People
"Say It Again"
b/w "God Must Have Blessed America" 		— — —
1980 "Hey Babe"
b/w "Say It Again" 		— — —
1982 "Draining"
b/w "Soul Mine" 		— — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

References

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  1. ^Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013).Blues - A Regional Experience.Santa Barbara: Praeger Publishers. p. 175.ISBN978-0313344237.
  2. ^abcdefg"Lee Dorsey | Biography & History".AllMusic.RetrievedOctober 13,2019.
  3. ^Lichtenstein, Grace; Dankner, Laura (October 13, 1993).Musical Gumbo: The Music of New Orleans.New York City:W.W. Norton.ISBN9780393034684– via Google Books.
  4. ^"Lee Dorsey".Boxrec.com.RetrievedJuly 1,2021.
  5. ^ab"ldorsey".Soulfulkindamusic.net.RetrievedOctober 13,2019.
  6. ^abcBuckley, Peter (October 13, 2003).The Rough Guide to Rock.Rough Guides.ISBN9781843531050– via Google Books.
  7. ^"Lee Dorsey Page".Tsimon.com.RetrievedOctober 13,2019.
  8. ^Murrells, Joseph (1978).The Book of Golden Discs(2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.134.ISBN0-214-20512-6.
  9. ^ab"Lee Dorsey - Awards".AllMusic.Archived fromthe originalon October 31, 2013.RetrievedJanuary 29,2022.
  10. ^"LEE DORSEY - full Official Chart History".Official Charts Company.RetrievedJanuary 29,2022.
  11. ^Whitburn, Joel (2003).Top Pop Singles 1955–2002(1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.206.ISBN0-89820-155-1.
  12. ^Whitburn, Joel(1996).Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995.Record Research. p. 121.
  13. ^Betts, Graham (2004).Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004(1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 234.ISBN0-00-717931-6.
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