Born in Texas, and raised in Arkansas, William Orville “Lefty” Frizzell took in the seminal influences of Jimmie Rodgers, Ernest Tubb and others, and forged an original vocal style that impacted an entire generation of singers. His next-generation disciples included […]
Three weeks ago — on April 6, 2016— Merle Haggard died. His unmistakable voice wound its way into our lives in drinkin’ songs (“I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink,” Barroom Buddies”), family songs (“Grandma Harp,” “Daddy Frank,” “Mama […]
As big a star as Lefty Frizzell was in his 1950s heyday, and as big a honky-tonk hero as he was to Merle Haggard, he was a little too mellow to cast as large a shadow on subsequent trailblazers as […]
Warmth, intimacy, easeful repose, resigned longing — it’s easy enough to describe the world imagined by Lefty Frizzell’s signature vocal style, but far more difficult to identify the source of its power. Though his physical gifts are readily apparent, Frizzell’s […]
Perhaps Lefty Frizzell knew he was getting ready to check out. By 1972, his emotional, financial and physical health was failing. He’d gone eight years without a top-10 hit, and Columbia, the label he had blessed with a flurry of […]
