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.

Ya Ya
Lazy Lester Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh, well, I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
It may sound funny
But I don't believe she's comin'

Uh huh, uh huh

Baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh
Yeah, baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh
You know that I love you
Oh, how I love you
Uh huh, uh huh

I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
It may sound funny
But I don't believe she's comin'
Uh huh, uh huh

Baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh
Yeah, baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh
You know how I love you
Oh, how I love you
Uh huh, uh huh

I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
It may sound funny
But I don't believe she's comin'
Uh huh, uh huh

Baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh

Yeah, baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh

Overall Meaning

The Lazy Lester's song Ya Ya was originally written and performed by Lee Dorsey in 1961. However, it was Lazy Lester's version that became a hit in 1962. The song is about a man waiting for his lover to arrive, and he's getting nervous because she's not showing up. The repeated phrase "ya ya" seems to refer to his lover's name, which he sings with affection and longing. The song is a classic example of the mid-twentieth-century style of R&B, which combined blues, gospel, and pop music.

The repeated use of "uh huh, uh huh" conveys the singer's growing sense of anxiety and desperation. He wants his lover to hurry and doesn't want to be kept waiting any longer. The phrase "it may sound funny, but I don't believe she's coming" is a kind of ironic commentary on the situation. Even as he's expressing his doubt, he's still waiting and hoping for her to arrive. The song's overall effect is one of tenderness and vulnerability.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh, well, I'm sittin' here, la, la
I am sitting here doing nothing.

Waiting for my ya ya
I am waiting for someone special.

Uh huh, uh huh
I am in agreement with myself and hopeful.

It may sound funny
It may seem ridiculous to others.

But I don't believe she's comin'
But I have doubts about her arrival.

Baby hurry don't make me worry
My significant other, please arrive soon.

You know that I love you
I have a deep affection for you.

Oh, how I love you
I really, really love you.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Clarence L Lewis, Lee Dorsey, Morris Levy

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS