Alis Lesley (born Alice Lesley or Alice Leslie; April 20, 1938) is an American former

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

singer, once billed as "the female

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Early life

Lesley was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, United States. Her family later moved to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

, where she attended

Phoenix Junior College Phoenix College (PC) is a public community college in Encanto, Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1920, it is one of the oldest community colleges in the country. History The college was originally a part of the Phoenix Union High School and Junio ...

. She majored in television and radio, and began singing rockabilly while a student. She was discovered by Kathryn Godfrey, a popular Phoenix television personality and the sister of

Arthur Godfrey Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...

. With Kathryn Godfrey's help, Lesley became a local favorite following her appearances on television station KTVK and in local night clubs.

Career

Lesley achieved brief national celebrity with the 1957 release of her Era single, "He Will Come Back to Me" backed with "Heartbreak Harry" (Era Records 45-1034). Lesley's stage persona as "The Female Elvis Presley" included a guitar slung around her neck, greased-back hair, and combed-down sideburns. She toured Australia in October 1957 with Little Richard,

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as " Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desir ...

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...

, and local rocker

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe rel ...

. The tour was cut short when Richard underwent a "religious experience" and he retired from rock and roll for several years.

Legacy

A picture of Lesley between Little Richard and

appears on the cover of ''

The Philosophy of Modern Song ''The Philosophy of Modern Song'' is a book by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, published on November 1, 2022, by Simon & Schuster. The book contains Dylan's commentary on 66 songs by other artists. It is the first book Dylan has published ...

'' written by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

References

External links

* * 1938 births 20th-century American women musicians American rockabilly musicians American women rock singers Living people Musicians from Phoenix, Arizona Singers from Chicago {{US-singer-stub