Julia Lee and her Boy Friends
Biography
One of the grand dames of midwestern jazz, Julia Lee ( 1902 - 1958) was queen of the Kansas City speakeasy' scene for many years. Known as "Kansas City's Sweetheart of Song,"she started her professional career in 1917, as an intermission pianist at a local theater and soon moved into work in the clubs lining 12th Street. She joined her brother George E. Lee's Orchestra during 1920-1934 and became a top local draw with her own act that incorporated her barrelhouse jazz piano playing with bawdy, bluesy melodious, yet double entendre laden lyrics. Her first solo recording under her own name was released in 1929. Her most well known recordings were those done for Capitol beginning in 1944 which included sidemen like Jay McShann, Red Norvo,Benny Carter, and many other hot but often lesser known KC players.
A buxom black woman with a penchant for ribald material, she had a good thing going in Kansas City, and was resistant to touring out of town, even after her 1947 record"Snatch and Grab It" for Capitol sold 500,000 copies. She was largely uninterested in getting ripped off by the record biz, and made plenty of money playing her ribald late night KC club gig at Milton's, entertaining her regular clientele that included law enforcement officials, judges, and prominent politicians.
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In 1949, at the invitation of President Harry S. Truman, Julia and drummer Baby Lovett played at the White House for the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents Association. Julia ended her association with Capitol and local KC club Milton's in 1950, and began a residency at the Cuban Room. She recorded less frequently but made a brief cameo appearance in the locally produced film, "The Delinquents," directed by a young Robert Altman in 1957 shortly before her death in 1958.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.