From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Tue Dec 24, 2002  6:17 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Lee Dorsey

LEE DORSEY (By Phil Davies)

Born Irving Lee Dorsey, 24 December 1926, New Orleans, Louisiana

Died 1 December 1986, New Orleans, Louisiana

Lee was born in NO but moved to Portland, Oregeon when he was around 10. He
served in the US Navy in WW2. Although very short, just over 5 feet tall, he
became a boxer. He moved back to NO and worked in a car-body shop. Local
producer Reynauld Richard discovered him and signed him to Rex records. He
recorded for several small local labels.

Lee penned both sides of his debut 45, Rock Pretty Baby/Lonely Evening, a small
local hit in 1958. His follow up, Lottie-Mo, got him onto American Bandstand.
ABC-Paramount got him under contract briefly. In 1960/1 he signed for Bobby
Robinson's Fire/Fury label. Together they penned Ya-Ya, accompanied on piano by
the great Allen Toussaint, this novelty got to number 1 r&b and 7 pop. Lee
toured with Joe Turner, Chuck Berry, Lowell Fulson and T-Bone Walker. Petula
Clark covered the song as Ya Ya Twist.

The follow up, Do-re-Mi, penned by Earl King also charted in pop and r&b. When
Fire/Fury folded in 63 Lee went back to the auto shop.

Toussaint returned from his 2 year army stint in 65 and quickly resumed his
relationship with Lee. Allen wrote and produced them, Lee sang the socks off
them, usually aided by the Meters rhythm section. The now classic Ride Your Pony
# 7 r&b in 65 on Amy and Lee became one of 1966's top artists with three r&b top
10 songs on Amy, Get Out Of My Life Woman, Working In The Coalmine and Holy Cow.
Working also reached 8 pop and Cow got to 23 pop.

Lee even had 4 top 40 hits in the UK on Stateside, spending 36 weeks in the UK
charts in 66, as well as the three hits mentioned earlier he charted here with
Confusion. Holy Cow was his biggest UK hit reaching a very respectable number 6.
Lee toured the UK, apparently playing a memorable gig with Jerry Lee, when a gun
was fired at the stage! He had a few more smaller US hits for Amy and one for
Polydor, but like his home city, his career was waning by the early 70s.
Meanwhile back at the car shop - - - - -

Artists like Robert Palmer, The Pointer Sisters and John Lennon covered his
songs in the 70s, he appeared on a Southside Johnny lp in 76 and got a new deal
with ABC, but little came of it. The Clash insisted he opened for them on an
early 80s US tour. Lee died of emphysema in his home town on December 1st, 1986.
The little pocket dynamo left behind some very memorable songs (and some finely
tuned automobiles!!).

Recommended Listening:

Lee Dorsey The Ep Collection - SFM

Great Googa Mooga - Charly 2-CD (probably deleted)

Working In A Coal Mine - Music Club

Recommended reading:

John Broven, Walking To New Orleans (1974)

Jeff Hannusch, I Hear You Knockin' (1985)