Lee Chester “L.C… Read Full Bio ↴Blues vocalist & guitarist, Ellisville, Piney Woods
Lee Chester “L.C.” Ulmer is a native of south Mississippi who for 50 years played music all over the U.S.—“like horse manure, everywhere!”—before returning home to the Ellisville area in 2001. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, keyboards, drums, fiddle, banjo mandolin, kazoo, and harmonica, and performed for many years as a “twelve piece” one-man band. Today he plays mostly just guitar at live performances, and performs mostly original compositions in a distinctive style with a propulsive boogie beat.
Ulmer was born in 1928 in Stringer, Mississippi, and later moved with his parents Luther and Mattie, six brothers, and seven sisters to a plantation near Moss Hill. His father played guitar, harmonica, and “jew’s harp.” Most of Ulmer’s siblings played music, and his mother’s cousin (Charlie Lindsey) was a bluesman. Many musicians visited the house to play and drink whiskey, the most famous being Meridian’s Jimmie Rodgers.
The plantation owner’s son ran a whiskey still, and Ulmer’s brother James hosted picnics, attracting many workers from the nearby log camp (Camp Allen) run by the E.L. Bruce lumber company. Music was also played at “fish fries” and “breakdowns” held at various homes most Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Ulmer began playing guitar when he was nine years old and was soon playing with family and other local musicians on the family’s porch. He played by himself for tips, and often played together with white musicians, and remembers old square dance numbers he used to perform. He recalls with delight listening at home to 78rpm recordings by artists including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Boy Fuller, Tampa Red, and Peetie Wheatstraw,
One of Ulmer’s biggest influences was the guitarist and street musician Blind Roosevelt Graves, who Ulmer would see when he visited Laurel to visit his sister. Graves made numerous recordings in both gospel and blues in the late ‘20s and early ‘30s, and Ulmer closely studied his slide guitar technique. Ulmer later built his own slide out of stainless steel.
From age 14 to 16 Ulmer built railway trestles across Lake Pontchartrain, and for the following five years or so worked out of a camp in Heidelberg, Mississippi, building railways spurs to oil wells. During this time he played regularly at a juke joint in nearby Paulding.
In 1949 Ulmer traveled to Kansas City, Kansas, to visit his sister, and stayed there on and off for two years. He played guitar for various gospel quartets, and his blues jobs included backing Chicago-based J.B. Lenoir at a local club. From 1951-55 Ulmer was based mostly in Laurel, where he played as a one-man band at local clubs including the Top Hat, Cotton Bowl, Wagon Wheel, and Twenty Grand. He also performed in juke joints in Meridian.
Ulmer continued to travel regionally, and while working in Florida he was hired to serenade a boat captain on a trip to Cuba. In 1955 he traveled to Holbrook, Arizona, where he found work at the Motoaurant, a 24-hour establishment on Route 66 that featured a truck stop, museum, restaurant, and nightclub, “The Cock’n’Bull.” Ulmer recorded advertisement songs for the Motaurant, and met and/or played with many famous musicians there including Elvis Presley, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Brook Benton, Nat King Cole, Fats Domino, and Louis Armstrong. He also performed regularly at a lumber camp in McNair, Arizona, and at a local Mormon church.
In 1957 Ulmer moved to San Bernardino and then Hollywood, California, where he made a living playing on the streets and joined the musicians union—he still carries his original card in his wallet. He continued to travel regularly back and forth to Arizona “every three or four weeks,” traveled up through Canada up to Alaska.
Ulmer made regular returns to Mississippi to visit his parents during the ‘50s, and in 1962 moved back to Laurel, where he worked various jobs and put together a band, the Bel Air Clowns, that played local clubs. In 1964 and 1965 he lived in Picayune and Pascagoula, where he worked at a missile plant, and following a brief stay in Laurel moved to Joliet, Illinois, where he lived for the next 37 years. In Joliet Ulmer worked construction, ran his own automotive shop, operated a tow truck, and performed regularly as a one-man-band and served as “host” at clubs including Club 99, Black Diamond, Big Ten, “Cindy Edwards juke,” the Hillcrest, and “Joe Howard’s.” He refused to play at the “South orea, so named because “when you went there you had to fight--if you didn’t you’d get walked on.”
In Joliet he performed on shows with Chicago-based blues artists including Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Hound Dog Taylor, Jimmy Reed, Sonny Thompson, and many others. Another local blues musician in Joliet was his cousin Shorty Howorth from Bay Springs, Mississippi. Ulmer experimented with various sorts of instruments, including an early synthesizer and a Gretsch White Falcon, which required two amplifiers and cost $1,800 when Ulmer purchased it new in 1965.
Since returning to Mississippi in 2001 Ulmer has performed locally as well as at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, The Shed Blues Festival in Ocean Springs, and at the Blues Today Symposium in Oxford. In June 2007 he performed at the Roots and Blues Festival in Parma, Italy. In June 2008, he performed at the Chicago Blues Festival for the first time. Ulmer often performs together with his student Chase Holifield (b. 1991), who lives near Ulmer’s home, which is located between Laurel and Ellisville.
-Scott Barretta
All by Myself
L.C. Ulmer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gotta be by myself this time
In the backseat screaming out loud (ho)
In the backseat screaming out (ho)
Ash is young, attractive
Handsome bachelor, awesome rapper
Got a knack for, vernacular
I'll have any girl that I want
I'm a take the girl in the front
Boobs bounce when I tell the crowd jump
Honey come backstage I just wanna have fun, but
I'm too young to be locked down, not now
Need a new car, drive around with the top down
New broad with a bra the top down
Chilling in the backseat screaming out loud
She wants to be my lady
But I don't see her
She wants to be my lady
But I'm a free bird
I gotta be by myself, gotta be by myself this time
I gotta fly by myself, go get high myself this time
The cycle is Shawn Michaels (heartbreak),
And yeah I like you but not enough to wife you
You say I'm nice, true, and you think I'm the right dude
But there's another girl just like you (like who?)
And on the road, 'nother night, 'nother show
New e-vent in a new time zone
And the live show is so mind-blowin
And it's my show so you know I'm blown (you know)
No text's gonna give me head
Long distance just ain't my thing
Young single don't need no ring
I'm a free man now I don't need no strings, sing
She wants to be my lady
But I don't see her
She wants to be my lady
But I'm a free bird
I gotta be by myself, gotta be by myself this time
I gotta fly by myself, Go get high myself this time
If you're cool with nights at the pool
Jacuzzi's and groupies, boobies and booze
And no rules, I'm only 22
I need to watch football and hang with a crew
But if you don't get mad when I get fat
Cause all I do is eat drink smoke weed and rap
And play Madden, then dag
You're pretty rad and I take it all back, come on
She wants to be my lady
But I don't see her
She wants to be my lady
But I'm a free bird
I gotta be by myself, gotta be by myself this time
I gotta fly by myself, Go get high myself this time
Just keep clapping the hands, it feels good
Feels nice and warm in here right now
I'm feeling free
If you feel free clap your hands
Come on
The first two lines of the song All By Myself by L.C. Ulmer reveal the central theme of the song: the need to be alone. The singer is declaring that he needs to be alone, with himself, this time. Throughout the rest of the verses, he talks about his experiences with women and how he values his freedom too much to be tied down to any one woman. He speaks of how he performs at concerts, how girls are attracted to him, and how he enjoys being on the road. He is a young, single man who doesn't need any strings attached to him, and he seems to be relishing in his freedom.
Even though there are several references to women, what the singer seems to be talking about more than anything else is the need for personal freedom. He enjoys being able to do what he wants when he wants, without having to answer to anyone. He is not ready to settle down yet, and this song gives voice to his desire for independence.
Overall, the lyrics to this song explore the universal theme of the need for personal space and freedom. While relationships can be wonderful, sometimes we all just need time to ourselves to reflect, recharge and explore the world on our own terms.
Line by Line Meaning
I gotta be by myself
I need to be alone right now
Gotta be by myself this time
I need to be alone this time
In the backseat screaming out loud (ho)
Riding in the backseat, shouting loudly
Ash is young, attractive
Ash is a good-looking, young man
Handsome bachelor, awesome rapper
A handsome, unmarried man who is a great rapper
Got a knack for, vernacular
I have a talent for using language
When I perform, spectacular
I am an amazing performer
I'll have any girl that I want
I can have any girl I desire
I'm a take the girl in the front
I'll take the girl in the front row
Boobs bounce when I tell the crowd jump
Girls' breasts move when I tell the crowd to jump
Honey come backstage I just wanna have fun, but
Come backstage, I want to have fun with you
I'm too young to be locked down, not now
I'm too young to be tied down
Need a new car, drive around with the top down
I need a new car with a convertible top to drive around in
New broad with a bra the top down
A new woman with her top down
Chilling in the backseat screaming out loud
Relaxing in the backseat shouting loudly
She wants to be my lady
She wants to be my girlfriend
But I don't see her
But I don't want a relationship with her
But I'm a free bird
I am a free man who does not want to be tied down
I gotta fly by myself
I need to fly alone
Go get high myself this time
I'll get high on my own this time
The cycle is Shawn Michaels (heartbreak),
The pattern is like heartbreak explained by Shawn Michaels
And yeah I like you but not enough to wife you
I like you, but not enough to marry you
You say I'm nice, true, and you think I'm the right dude
You think I'm a good person and the right guy for you
But there's another girl just like you (like who?)
But there's another girl who's just like you
And on the road, 'nother night, 'nother show
On tour, just another night, another show
New e-vent in a new time zone
A new event in a different time zone
And the live show is so mind-blowin
My live show is incredible
And it's my show so you know I'm blown (you know)
And I'm blown away because it's my show
No text's gonna give me head
A text message won't give me oral sex
Long distance just ain't my thing
Long-distance relationships don't work for me
Young single don't need no ring
I'm young and single, I don't need to be married
I'm a free man now I don't need no strings, sing
I'm single and free and I don't need any commitments
If you're cool with nights at the pool
If you're okay with pool nights
Jacuzzi's and groupies, boobies and booze
Jacuzzis and groupies, with alcohol and breasts involved
And no rules, I'm only 22
No restrictions, I'm only 22 years old
I need to watch football and hang with a crew
I want to watch football and chill with my friends
But if you don't get mad when I get fat
But if you don't get upset when I gain weight
Cause all I do is eat drink smoke weed and rap
because I only eat, drink, smoke weed and rap
And play Madden, then dag
And play video games, then good
She wants to be my lady
She wants to be my girlfriend
But I don't see her
But I'm not interested in a relationship with her
But I'm a free bird
But I'm a free man who doesn't want to be tied down
Just keep clapping the hands, it feels good
Keep clapping your hands, it feels great
Feels nice and warm in here right now
It feels warm and comfortable in here
I'm feeling free
I feel free
If you feel free clap your hands
If you feel free, clap your hands
Come on
Let's do it
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Oren Yoel Kleinman, Asher Paul Roth
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind