Julia Lee (October 31, 1902 – December 8, 1958)Death Certificate
at

Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative {{use mdy dates, date=October 2021 The Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative is a collaborative effort that expands the amount of information available online about Missouri's past. In 2007, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan proposed this landmark in ...

. was an American blues and

dirty blues Dirty blues encompasses forms of blues music that deal with socially taboo and obscene subjects, often referring to sexual acts and drug use. Due to the sometimes graphic subject matter, such music was often banned from radio and only available on ...

musician.

Biography

Born in Boonville, Missouri, Lee was raised in Kansas City, and began her musical career around 1920, singing and playing piano in her brother George Lee's band, which for a time also included

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. She first recorded on the Merritt record label in 1927 with Jesse Stone as pianist and arranger, and launched a solo career in 1935. In 1944 she secured a recording contract with Capitol Records, and a string of R&B hits followed, including "Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got" (No. 3 R&B, 1946), " Snatch and Grab It" (No. 1 R&B for 12 weeks, 1947, selling over 500,000 copies), " King Size Papa" (No. 1 R&B for 9 weeks, 1948), "I Didn't Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song)" (No. 4 R&B, 1949), and "My Man Stands Out". As these titles suggest, she became best known for her trademark

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

songs, or, as she once said, "the songs my mother taught me not to sing". The records were credited to 'Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends', her session musicians including

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and B ...

Vic Dickenson Victor Dickenson (August 6, 1906 – November 16, 1984) was an American jazz trombonist. His career began in the 1920s and continued through musical partnerships with Count Basie (1940–41), Sidney Bechet (1941), and Earl Hines. Life and car ...

Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...

Red Norvo Red Norvo (born Kenneth Norville; March 31, 1908 – April 6, 1999) was an American musician, one of jazz's early vibraphonists, known as "Mr. Swing". He helped establish the xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone as jazz instruments. His reco ...

Nappy Lamare Joseph Hilton "Nappy" Lamare (June 14, 1905 – May 8, 1988) was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and vocalist. Music career Lamare was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He got his nickname from his friend, Eddie Miller, becau ...

Red Nichols Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader. Biography Early life and career Nichols was born in Ogden, Utah, United States. His father was a college music profes ...

and

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

. She was married to Frank Duncan, a star catcher and manager of the Negro National League's

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 19 ...

. He, like Julia, was a native of Kansas City. Although her hits dried up after 1949, she continued as one of the most popular performers in Kansas City until her death in Kansas City, at the age of 56, from a heart attack.

References

External links

* *
African American Registry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Julia 1902 births 1958 deaths People from Boonville, Missouri African-American pianists American blues singers American blues pianists Dirty blues musicians Jump blues musicians Singers from Missouri Capitol Records artists Classic female blues singers 20th-century American pianists 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century women pianists