Lazy Lester (Leslie Carswell Johnson, Torras, Louisiana, U.S., June 20, 1… Read Full Bio ↴Lazy Lester (Leslie Carswell Johnson, Torras, Louisiana, U.S., June 20, 1933 - August 22, 2018) was an American blues singer, harmonica player, guitarist and songwriter. His career has spanned the 1950s to 2018.

Best known for regional hits recorded with Ernie Young's Nashville-based Excello Records, Lester also contributed to songs recorded by other Excello artists, including Slim Harpo, Lightnin' Slim, and Katie Webster. Cover versions of his songs have been recorded by (among others) the Kinks, the Flamin' Groovies, Freddy Fender, Dwight Yoakam, Dave Edmunds, Raful Neal, Anson Funderburgh, and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. In the comeback stage of his career (since the late 1980s) he has recorded new albums backed by Mike Buck, Sue Foley, Gene Taylor, Kenny Neal, Lucky Peterson, and Jimmie Vaughan.

In the mid-1950s, Lester was on the margins of the Louisiana blues scene. According to Rolling Stone (February 23, 2006), Buddy Guy, before moving to Chicago, had played in Louisiana "with some of the old masters: Lightnin' Hopkins, Lazy Lester, Slim Harpo." When Guy left for Chicago, in 1957, Lester replaced him, on guitar, in a local band—even though Lester, at the time, did not own one.

Lester's career took off when he found a seat next to Lightnin' Slim on a bus transporting Slim to an Excello recording session. At the studio, the scheduled harmonica player did not appear. Slim and Lester spent the afternoon unsuccessfully trying to find him, when Lester volunteered that he could play the harmonica. Lester's work on that first Lightnin' Slim session led the producer, Jay Miller, to record Lester as solo artist and also to use him as a multi-instrumentalist on percussion, guitar, bass, and harmonica in sessions headlined by other artists whose recorings were produced by Miller, including, notably, Slim Harpo. "Percussion" on these sessions went beyond the traditional drum kit and included a rolled-up newspaper striking a cardboard box.

Miller dubbed Lester "Lazy Lester" because of his laconic, laid-back style.

More than his vocal delivery, Lester is best remembered for songs that were later covered by a wide range of rock, country, blues, and Tex-Mex stars, chiefly, "I'm a Lover Not a Fighter," "I Hear You Knockin'," and "Sugar Coated Love."

Lester stated that he wrote these songs, but almost all are credited to Miller or to Lester and Miller. Lester also stated he received few royalties, which embittered him and made him skeptical of the music industry. By the late 1960s, he had given up on the music industry, working manual labor and pursuing his favorite hobby—fishing. Lester moved to Pontiac, Michigan, living with Slim Harpo's sister.

In 1971, Fred Reif set up a Lightnin' Slim concert at the University of Chicago Folk Festival, and Lester was brought up from Louisiana to accompany him. A few weeks after that performance, Lester was back in Louisiana. Years later Reif and Lester were both in Michigan, from where Reif orchestrated a comeback. Lester recorded and played around the United States and abroad, backed by blues bands, including, frequently, Loaded Dice.

Lester's recordings in this period are on blues labels Alligator and Telarc, alongside releases in Europe.

If disenchanted, Lester retained his harmonica, guitar, and vocal talents (the songwriting that had been muse to the Kinks and Dwight Yoakam having dried up long before). In September 2002, he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Boston Blues Society.

In 2003, Martin Scorsese included Lester in his blues tribute concert at Radio City Music Hall, a record of which was released as the film and album Lightning in a Bottle. The group photograph inside the album depicted Lester grinning, dead-center among peers and musical progeny including B.B. King, Solomon Burke, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Buddy Guy, Levon Helm, Chuck D, the Neville Brothers, Dr. John, John Fogerty, and Aerosmith.

In 2012, Lester teamed up with British Blues Woman Dani Wilde to play a special double headline concert as part of Gloucester Rhythm and Blues Festival.

Lester appeared and performed in a television commercial aired nationally for Geico Insurance in 2018.

He appears in the 2015 documentary film I Am the Blues.

Lester lived in Paradise, California, with his girlfriend. He died in August, 2018.

I Hear You Knockin'
Lazy Lester Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You went away and left me long time ago
And now you're knockin' on my door

I hear you knocking but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
I begged you not to go, but you said goodbye
And now you tell me all your lies
I hear you knocking, but you can't come in

I hear you knocking, go back where you've been

You better get back to your use to be
'Cause your kind of love ain't good for me

I hear you knocking, but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
I told you way back in Fifty Two
That I would never go with you

I hear you knocking, but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been

Overall Meaning

Lazy Lester's song "I Hear You Knockin'" is a classic blues tune that explores themes of lost love and the hurtful actions of an unfaithful partner. The first verse sets the scene by describing how the singer's lover left them a long time ago, only to return and knock on their door.

In the chorus, the singer acknowledges that they can hear their ex-lover knocking, but makes it clear that they cannot come in. The repetition of this line emphasizes the singer's sense of power and control in the situation. They are not willing to let their partner back into their life, despite their pleas.

The second verse sees the singer telling their ex to return to their old life, as their kind of love is no longer good for the singer. They are standing up for themselves and refusing to be hurt again. The third and final verse is particularly poignant, as the singer reminds their ex that they had already rejected them back in Fifty Two. This reminds the listener that the hurt caused by the ex's actions is not new, and further strengthens the singer's resolve to stay true to themself.

Overall, the song is a powerful and relatable exploration of themes of love, loss, and standing up for oneself. It resonates with anyone who has ever been hurt by an unfaithful partner or struggled to move on from a past relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

You went away and left me long time ago
You left me a while back

And now you're knockin' on my door
Now you're trying to come back into my life

I hear you knocking but you can't come in
I know you're there but I won't let you back in

I hear you knocking, go back where you've been
You need to leave and go back to where you came from

I begged you not to go, but you said goodbye
I pleaded with you to stay but you still left

And now you tell me all your lies
Now you're trying to come back with false promises

You better get back to your use to be
It's best if you go back to your old life

'Cause your kind of love ain't good for me
Your love is not healthy for me

I told you way back in Fifty Two
I warned you a long time ago

That I would never go with you
That I would never be with you

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Pearl King, Dave Bartholomew

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind