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.
Nothing But the Devil
Lazy Lester Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You ain't treating your daddy right.
Leave home in the morning,
Ain't back till late at night.
That's nothin' but the devil,
Make you treat me the way you do.
I'm gonna break out like the measles,
Went out early this morning baby,
You dressed up like a queen.
Saying you going to see your sister,
But your sister, you've never seen.
That's nothin' but the devil,
Make you treat me the way you do.
I'm gonna break out like the measles,
Gonna inject you with the Asian flu.
Well you know yourself little girl,
Doing your daddy wrong.
You go out in the evening,
You're never coming home.
It's nothin' but the devil,
Make you treat me the way you do.
Break out like the measles,
Inject you with the Asian flu.
Well you know yourself little girl,
Treating your daddy wrong.
Go in the mornin',
Come back alone.
Nothin' but the devil,
Make you treat me the way you do.
I'm gonna break out like the measles,
I'm gonna be all over you.
I'm gonna break out like the measles,
Gonna be all over you.
The lyrics to Lazy Lester's song "Nothing But the Devil" are a classic example of a blues tune featuring lyrics about a relationship gone wrong. The singer is addressing his lover, accusing her of mistreating him and straying outside of their relationship. The first verse sets up the situation, with the singer noting that his partner is never home and he feels neglected. He argues that "nothing but the devil" could be causing her to act this way.
In the second verse, the singer reveals that his lover has lied to him, claiming that she was going to see her sister when in reality, she was doing something else entirely. This reinforces the idea that the singer feels he cannot trust his partner and that she is being unfaithful. Despite all of this, the singer seems almost amused by the thought of getting revenge. He talks about infecting his lover with both the measles and the Asian flu, suggesting he wants to make her sick with regret for the way she has treated him.
Overall, the lyrics to "Nothing But the Devil" are a representation of the common blues themes of love and loss. The song is a classic example of the genre, with its simple but powerful message about relationships gone wrong.
Line by Line Meaning
Well you know yourself little girl,
You ain't treating your daddy right.
You're mistreating me, and you know it, despite being called 'daddy', you're not treating me well.
Leave home in the morning,
Ain't back till late at night.
You leave home in the morning and don't come back until late at night.
That's nothin' but the devil,
Make you treat me the way you do.
I'm gonna break out like the measles,
I'm gonna be all over you.
You're treating me poorly, and it's like the work of the devil to make you act this way. I'll explode and come after you like the measles.
Went out early this morning baby,
You dressed up like a queen.
Saying you going to see your sister,
But your sister, you've never seen.
You got dressed up early in the morning, claiming to visit your sister, but you've never seen your sister before.
I'm gonna break out like the measles,
Gonna inject you with the Asian flu.
I'm going to come after you intensely like the measles, and even cause you trouble, like injecting you with the Asian flu.
Well you know yourself little girl,
Doing your daddy wrong.
You go out in the evening,
You're never coming home.
You're doing me wrong, and despite being your 'daddy', you're never home when you go out in the evening.
Well you know yourself little girl,
Treating your daddy wrong.
Go in the mornin',
Come back alone.
You're mistreating me, despite me being called your 'daddy'. You go out in the morning and come back alone.
Contributed by Keira M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.