Jesse Lee Denson (August 25, 1932 – November 6, 2007) was an American

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 and songwriter. His songs have been recorded by

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 ...

, Billy Williams, and the Kuf-Linx.

Biography

Denson was born in Rienzi, Mississippi, but grew up in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, where his family relocated when he was a baby. His father, Jesse James Denson, later ran a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

mission church in Memphis. As a child, Denson became friends with

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly, females. Varian ...

and

Dorsey Burnette Dorsey William Burnett Jr. (December 28, 1932 – August 19, 1979) was an American early rockabilly singer. With his younger brother Johnny Burnette and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founder member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He is als ...

. After the Presley family moved to Memphis in 1948 and started attending the Pentecostal church on Poplar Street run by his father, he also became friendly with Elvis Presley, two years his junior, and reputedly taught him to play guitar. In 1953 Denson moved to Key West, Florida, where he worked as a

bellboy A bellhop (North America), or hotel porter (international), is a hotel employee who helps patrons with their luggage while checking in or out. Bellhops often wear a uniform (see bell-boy hat), like certain other page boys or doormen. This o ...

, Denson began singing in clubs in the style of

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

. After seeing his friends Johnny and Dorsey Burnette on television, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to develop a music career, eventually gaining a recording contract with the

Vik Vik (Old Norse: vík) means wick or bay in Norwegian and Swedish (''vig'' in Danish), and it may refer to the following: Places Iceland *Vík í Mýrdal, a village in southern Iceland Iran *Vik, Iran, a village in Zanjan Province, Iran Norway *V ...

label, a subsidiary of

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. His recordings included "Climb Love Mountain" (1957, Vik). The b-side of the single was "New Shoes", which featured guitar work by

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 ...

, who Denson had met while on tour in California.

The Kuf-Linx The Kuf-Linx were an American rock and roll vocal group, active in the 1950s. Other groups used similar names at the same time, and even recorded some of the same songs, causing some confusion. Band members included John Jennings (lead tenor), John ...

recorded a version of "Climb Love Mountain", re-titled as "Climb Love's Mountain". Another of Denson's songs, "The Pied Piper", was a No. 50 US hit for Billy Williams in 1957. Denson made several appearances on

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

's ''

Bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...

'', before moving to California where he made recordings for

Kent Records Kent Records was a Los Angeles-based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's singles, ...

in 1958, credited as Jesse James. These included "The South's Gonna Rise Again", recorded with top musicians including

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of a ...

at Gold Star Studios. Denson also recorded for the Merri label in 1960. Although most of his recordings were

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

, he retained an interest in gospel music, and wrote "Miracle of the Rosary", based on the hymn "

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...

", offering the song to Presley when the two met. Presley later recorded the composition, and it appeared on the 1972 album, ''

Elvis Now ''Elvis Now'' is the sixteenth studio album by American singer Elvis Presley, released on February 20, 1972. The only single from the album, "Until It's Time for You to Go" / "We Can Make the Morning" reached number 9 on the Easy Listening chart i ...

''. Despite his Pentecostal background, in 1964 Denson became a Roman Catholic, the faith of his wife Mary, which strongly influenced this composition. They both became active in the Catholic apostolate known as the

Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ob ...

, even leading some pilgrimages to the Portuguese Marian shrine. In 1964, Denson recorded for the Magic Lamp label set up by Dorsey Burnette and Joe Osborn;

the Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen's contr ...

made their first recordings as

backing singer A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

s on the records. He returned to Memphis in 1972, and signed a contract with

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

. He later wrote and recorded several albums of

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aroun ...

for his own Eternal Rainbow label, as well as recording

children's song A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...

s. A compilation album of Denson's work was released in April 2002 on Hydra Records. ''The South's Gonna Rise Again'' contained 23 tracks, the majority written by Denson. Denson died in Memphis, Tennessee, in November 2007 at the age of 75.

References

External links

Findagrave entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denson, Lee 1932 births 2007 deaths Songwriters from Mississippi American male pop singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American male songwriters