Amos Lee (born Ryan Anthony Massaro, June 20, 1977)
is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses
folk,
rock, and
soul. He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the
University of South Carolina with a degree in English. After working as a schoolteacher and bartender he began to pursue a career in music.
His manager Bill Eib, an artist manager and new artist development agent, submitted a demo recording to
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...
which resulted in a recording contract and association with singer
Norah Jones.
Since that time Lee has recorded five albums on Blue Note Records and has toured as an opening act for
Norah Jones,
Bob Dylan,
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
,
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
,
Merle Haggard,
Van Morrison,
John Prine,
Dave Matthews Band,
Adele, the
Zac Brown Band,
Jack Johnson,
The Avett Brothers, and
David Gray. His music has appeared on the soundtracks of numerous TV shows and movies. He has performed as a featured artist on the PBS series ''Bluegrass Underground'', on several late night TV shows, and at a voter registration rally for
Barack Obama. In 2011, his album ''
Mission Bell'' debuted at No. 1 on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart.
Early life and education
Lee was born Ryan Anthony Massaro in 1977 and was raised in
Kensington, Philadelphia.
[Hiltbrand, David (March 21, 2011]
Amos Lee: Philadelphia's anonymous hit-maker
''Inquirer/Philly News'' He moved to
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census. at age 11 and graduated from
Cherry Hill High School East.
Lee attended the
University of South Carolina and graduated with a degree in English and a minor in education.
During his college years, he developed an interest in music after being inspired by ''
Great Days: The John Prine Anthology''.
During this period, he began playing the guitar and bass as part of a band and listening to the music of
Donny Hathaway
Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...
,
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
,
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...
,
Bill Withers, and
Otis Redding.
[Lindquist, David (October 21, 2005) No bells or whistles; Amos Lee, on his first tour as a headliner, aims to serve the song above all, ''The Indianapolis Star'' page=34]
Career
After returning to Philadelphia, Lee worked as a second grade teacher at the Mary McLeod Bethune School and as a bartender at local music venues. He performed at open mic events in the area and, through his manager Bill Eib's contacts with promoters, was hired as an opening act for
Mose Allison and
B.B. King.
In 2003, Lee's manager Bill Eib sent a four-song demo CD to several record labels, and the representative at
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...
was "immediately struck by his
ee'svoice".
[Graham, Renee (February 27, 2005) "Former Teacher Gets a Lesson in the Big Time", ''The Boston Globe'' page N5] Afterwards,
Norah Jones heard Lee's music while visiting the record company and invited Lee to be the opening act for her 2004 tour.
The friendship between Lee's manager Bill Eib and
Bob Dylan's manager Jeff Kramer resulted in Lee touring with Dylan as his opening act in early 2005.
[PBS New Hour, Mission Bell Amos Lee enriches his songwriting with star power, April 28, 2011. Saskia De Melker, Retrieved July 2011] Later, Lee began touring on his own and recorded his self-titled and "widely praised" debut album of "subtle, folky soul" produced by
Norah Jones' bassist,
Lee Alexander which included vocals and instrumentation by Norah Jones and members of her band.
After it was released, the album peaked at No. 2 on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Top Heatseekers chart and Lee was named one of ''
Rolling Stones "Top 10 Artists to Watch."
One song from the album, called "Colors", appeared on the TV show ''
Grey's Anatomy'' and in the film ''
Just Like Heaven Just like Heaven may refer to:
* ''Just Like Heaven'' (film), a 2005 romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo
* ''Just Like Heaven'' (1930 film), a drama starring Anita Louise and David Newell
*'' Just Like Heaven'', a romance n ...
''.
Lee's music received additional media attention when he performed on late-night TV shows such as the ''
Late Show with David Letterman
The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
'' and ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''.
In 2006, Lee recorded his second album, ''
Supply and Demand
In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris paribus, holding all else equal, in a perfect competition, competitive market, the unit price for a ...
'', which was produced by a friend of manager Bill Eib, Philadelphia musician and producer Barrie Maguire. An
NPR Music
NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...
reviewer described it as having "more complicated instrumentation and production" than his prior work.
The song "Shout Out Loud" was released as a single and peaked at No. 76 on the
''Billboard'' 200, and another song, called "Sweet Pea", was used in an
AT&T ad campaign.
Lee's third studio album, ''
Last Days at the Lodge
''Last Days at the Lodge'' is the third studio album by singer-songwriter Amos Lee, released on June 24, 2008, through Blue Note. The first single from the album, "Listen," was made available as a digital download on the iTunes Store on April 2 ...
'' was released in 2008 and re-emphasized "his grounding in folk and soul". The album peaked at number 29 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and Lee performed at the Change Rocks
voter registration rally for
Barack Obama in
Philadelphia that summer opening for
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
.
In 2011, Lee released his fourth album on
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Or ...
, entitled ''
Mission Bell'' which was produced by
Joey Burns of
Calexico. The album debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, number one on the
Digital Albums chart, number two on the
Internet chart, and number one on the
Amazon Top-Selling Albums and
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
charts. The album's single, "Windows are Rolled Down", became a top 10 hit on ''
USA Today''s
adult-alternative chart.
However, the album also has the dubious distinction of being the lowest-selling, number one ''Billboard'' album as of 2011 selling only 40,000 copies.
Guest artists on the album included
Lucinda Williams,
Willie Nelson,
Priscilla Ahn,
Pieta Brown,
James Gadson, and
Sam Beam
Samuel "Sam" Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several extended play, EPs and Single (music), singles, as well as a few music downloa ...
.
Lee appeared at
Farm Aid 2013 and on the compilation album, ''
The Music Is You: A Tribute to John Denver''. He released his fifth studio album, ''
Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
'' in October 2013. Lee concludes his successful US tour in 2022 in New Orleans on Halloween night debuting selections from his "Dreamland" album including his biggest hit in over a decade, "Worry No More".
Lee’s longtime touring band consists of Jaron Olevksy (piano, keyboards), Zach Djanikian (guitar, mandolin, saxophone, background vocals), Jay White (bass, background vocals), Ryan Hommel (guitar, background vocals), David Streim (keyboards, trumpet) and James Williams (drums).
Reception
Lee's "folksy, bluesy sound" has been compared to that of
John Prine and
Norah Jones. His music is said to utilize the "supple funk of his vocals and arid strum of his guitar" while recalling "the low-volume, early-'70s acoustic soul of stars like
Bill Withers and
Minnie Ripperton".
A ''
New York Times'' music critic described Lee as having a "honeyed singing voice – light amber, mildly sweet, a touch of grain" which he features "squarely, without much fuss or undue strain" in his "1970s folk rock and rustic soul" musical song craft.
According to a music writer at
ABC News, Lee "has that folksy, bluesy vibe, with a bit of country twang" and a voice that is "ever soulful".
Simultaneously Lee has been both lauded and dismissed as the "male Norah Jones" and
his lyrics are said to convey "the complexities of everyday emotions" without falling into flowery imagery.
Lee's songs have appeared on a number of TV shows including ''
House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
'' and ''
Parenthood''.
Personal life
Amos Lee describes himself as being of
mixed heritage
Mixed race people are people of more than one race (human categorization), race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyeth ...
; he admits he is not fully aware of his background. He maintains a residence in
West Philadelphia.
He took the stage name "Amos Lee" because he got sick of people mispronouncing his real name.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Extended plays
Singles
Other charted songs
*
ADid not enter the Hot 100 but charted on
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.
DVDs
*''Live From Austin, Texas'' – (2008) New West
*''Amos Lee: Live from the Artists Den'' – (2013)
References
External links
Amos Lee's official websiteAmos Lee at NPR Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Amos
1978 births
21st-century American singers
American folk guitarists
American folk singers
American male singer-songwriters
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
American soul guitarists
American male guitarists
Blue Note Records artists
Dualtone Records artists
Living people
Cherry Hill High School East alumni
People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Republic Records artists
Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania
21st-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from New Jersey
Guitarists from Philadelphia
Guitarists from New Jersey
University of South Carolina alumni
21st-century American male singers