Barton Lee Hazlewood was born in Mannford, Oklahoma on July 9, 1929. The son of an oil worker father, Hazlewood spent most of his youth living between Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Louisiana. His paternal grandmother was Native American. He grew up listening to pop and bluegrass music. Lee spent his teenage years in Port Neches, Texas, where he was exposed to a rich Gulf Coast music tradition. He studied for a medical degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He served with the United States Army during the Korean War.
Hazlewood was initially known as a producer and songwriter, for artists including Duane Eddy, Dean Martin, and Dino, Desi & Billy. Following discharge from the military in 1953, Hazlewood worked as a disc jockey in Coolidge, Arizona and two years later, moved to KRUX radio in Phoenix. During that time, he was already writing songs and formed his own record label, Viv. His first hit single as a producer and songwriter was "The Fool", recorded by rockabilly artist Sanford Clark in 1956. He partnered with pioneering rock guitarist Duane Eddy, producing and co-writing a string of hit instrumental records. "Rebel Rouser", released in 1958 was a hit in the US and in the UK; Eddy would eventually have another 14 US hits, including "Peter Gunn", "Boss Guitar", "Forty Miles of Bad Road", "Shazam!" and "(Dance With The) Guitar Man".
Hazlewood is perhaps best known for having written and produced the 1966 Nancy Sinatra U.S./UK No. 1 hit, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and "Summer Wine", the latter first recorded with Suzi Jane Hokom in 1966. His collaboration with Nancy Sinatra began when Frank Sinatra asked Lee to help boost his daughter's career. When recording These Boots are Made for Walkin', Hazlewood is said to have made this suggestion to Nancy, "You can’t sing like Nancy Nice Lady any more. You have to sing for the truckers". She later described him as "part Henry Higgins and part Sigmund Freud".
Hazlewood also wrote "How Does That Grab Ya, Darlin'", "Friday's Child", "So Long, Babe, "Sugar Town" and many others for Sinatra. Among his most well-known vocal performances is "Some Velvet Morning", a 1967 duet with Nancy Sinatra. He performed that song along with "Jackson" on her 1967 television special Movin' With Nancy. Early in 1967, Lee also produced the number 1 hit song for Frank & Nancy Sinatra "Somethin' Stupid". The pair became the only father-daughter duo to top the Hot 100 with what DJs dubbed 'the incest song' because it performed as if sung by two lovers. The record earned a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year and remains the only father-daughter duet to hit No. 1 in the U.S. Jimmy Bowen was listed as co-producer on that record but wasn't there at the time. Hazlewood just gave him credit as per a previous agreement with Jimmy.
Hazlewood also wrote the theme song "The Last of the Secret Agents", the theme song of the 1966 spy-spoof film of the same title. Nancy Sinatra, who had a role in the film, recorded the song for the soundtrack. For Frank Sinatra's 1967 detective movie, Tony Rome, Hazlewood also wrote the theme song which was performed by Nancy. He wrote "Houston", a 1965 US hit recorded by Dean Martin. He also produced several singles for Martin's daughter, Deana Martin, including her country hit, "Girl of the Month Club," while Deana was still a teenager. Other tunes on that project were "When He Remembers Me," "Baby I See You" and "The Bottom of My Mind," all recorded during the 1960s. Hazlewood also wrote "This Town", a song that was recorded by Frank Sinatra that appeared on his 1968 album Greatest Hits and is the basis for Paul Shaffer's "Small Town News" segment theme on the Late Show with David Letterman.
In 1967, Hazlewood started his own record label, LHI Records (Lee Hazlewood Industries). Though it did not receive much attention at the time, the International Submarine Band, led by a then-unknown Gram Parsons, signed with LHI in 1967 and released their one and only album, Safe at Home. Shortly after the album was recorded, Parsons left the band to join The Byrds, contributing several songs to their 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The contract Parsons had signed with Hazlewood's LHI caused a great deal of trouble for himself and The Byrds, and in the court settlement most of Parsons' material on Sweetheart of the Rodeo had the vocals removed and re-recorded by Roger McGuinn. This situation led to Parsons' departure from the Byrds not long after the album's release. As LHI producer and Hazlewood's ex-girlfriend Suzi Jane Hokom later noted, Hazlewood was a performer and not a businessman, and his lack of business acumen figured greatly in the label's 1971 demise.
In the 1970s Hazlewood moved to Stockholm, Sweden, where he wrote and produced the one-hour television show Cowboy in Sweden together with friend and Director Torbjörn Axelman, which also later emerged as an album. During ten years in Sweden he made records and films with Axelman. According to a retrospective of his career, the move to Europe was motivated by his "tax problems", concern that his son might be drafted for the Vietnam war and the fact that his record label "LHI was dying anyway", so Sweden looked like the perfect escape route. Decades later, his friend Suzi Jane Hokom made this comment about the years in Europe. "I think he knew he'd burned his bridges in LA and here was a brand new world where he had a built-in fanclub ... He really needed a new start".
Lee was semi-retired from the music business from the late 1970s and all through the 1980s. However, his own output also achieved a cult status in the underground rock scene, with songs recorded by artists such as Rowland S. Howard, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists, Miles Kane, Vanilla Fudge, Spell, Lydia Lunch, Primal Scream, Entombed, Einstürzende Neubauten, Nick Cave, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Hooverphonic, KMFDM, Anita Lane, Megadeth, The Ukiah Drag, Beck, Baustelle, the Tubes, Thin White Rope, Yonatan Gat, Zeena Schreck/Radio Werewolf and Slowdive.
In 2006, Hazlewood sang on Bela B.'s first solo album, Bingo, on the song "Lee Hazlewood und das erste Lied des Tages" ("Lee Hazlewood and the first song of the day"). He said that he loved producing and writing albums.
In 2007, Reprise/Rhino Handmade Records posthumously released 'STRUNG OUT ON SOMETHING NEW: THE REPRISE RECORDINGS', a set of his work at Reprise from 1964-1968 (excluding the Nancy Sinatra recordings). The 2 CD collection, totaling 55 tracks, covers three of his solo albums as well as production work for other artists, such as Duane Eddy, Sanford Clark, Jack Nitzche and Dino, Desi & Billy.
Since 2012, the Light in the Attic record label reissued many Hazlewood albums, including 400 Miles From LA: 1955-1956, which became available in September 2019.
Hazlewood died of renal cancer in Henderson, Nevada, on August 4, 2007, survived by his wife Jeane, son Mark and daughters Debbie and Samantha.
If it's Monday Morning
Lee Hazlewood Lyrics
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And there were times when being apart was even more fun
And there was times when there was nothing but time
And that was no fun
Well, the man just let me out
And I think it's Monday morning
There's a taste here in my mouth
If I'm tasting my own mouth
And if it's Monday morning
Well I should be doin' fine
When I get you off my mind
And if it's Monday morning
My eyes are a little blurred
For a Monday morning
You're leaving town, I've heard
If it's Monday morning
So goodbye is another word
For a Monday morning
But I could be doin' fine
If I could get you off my mind
And if it's Monday morning
Won't someone help me quick?
I'm down and I'm feelin' sick
There's just too much of my head that's showin'
God, if you won't help me
Then help me, help me
Cause I'm not exactly sure where I'm goin'
Well, I know I should go home
If it's Monday morning
'Cause our room is all alone
If it's Monday morning
But I'll probably get stoned
If it's Monday morning
Then I'll think I'm doin' fine
But I'll bet you're on my mind
Come next Monday morning
Well, the man just let me out
And I think it's Monday morning
There's a taste here in my mouth
That tastes like Monday morning
Lee Hazlewood's song "If It's Monday Morning" is a reflective ballad that explores the emotions of a man who has recently been separated from his lover. The song begins with an acknowledgement that their relationship has had its ups and downs, with there being times when being together was fun and times when it was more fun to be apart. The lyrics then focus on the present, with the singer stating that he has just been let out of somewhere and it is Monday morning. He has a bad taste in his mouth and his eyes are blurred, both of which could be attributed to his recent breakup.
The man then muses about the fact that saying goodbye is another word for a Monday morning and wonders if he could feel better if he could just get his ex-lover off his mind. He seems to be in a state of confusion and asks for help, both from God and from someone else. The singer contemplates going home, but wonders if he will instead get stoned and think he's doing fine, when really he knows his ex will be on his mind come next Monday morning.
Overall, "If It's Monday Morning" portrays a sense of sadness and longing for a lost love, while also acknowledging the confusing and tumultuous nature of relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
There were times when being together was fun
Being together used to be enjoyable at times
And there were times when being apart was even more fun
Being apart from each other was even more enjoyable at times
And there was times when there was nothing but time
Occasionally, there were moments where time was abundant
And that was no fun
However, it was not always an enjoyable experience
Well, the man just let me out
I have just been released by someone
And I think it's Monday morning
I believe today is Monday
There's a taste here in my mouth
I experience a particular taste in my mouth
That tastes like Monday morning
The taste I experience is similar to that of Monday morning
If I'm tasting my own mouth
Assuming I'm familiar with the taste of my own mouth
And if it's Monday morning
And if today is actually Monday
Well I should be doin' fine
I should feel good or okay
When I get you off my mind
When I finally stop thinking about you
My eyes are a little blurred
My vision is slightly impaired
For a Monday morning
Particularly so, for a Monday
You're leaving town, I've heard
I heard that you're departing from town
If it's Monday morning
If it happens to be Monday
So goodbye is another word
In this context, 'goodbye' is equivalent to a Monday morning
For a Monday morning
This feeling of parting is typical for Mondays
But I could be doin' fine
I could feel better or okay
If I could get you off my mind
If I could move on from thinking about you
Won't someone help me quick?
Could someone assist me swiftly and urgently?
I'm down and I'm feelin' sick
I feel depressed and unwell
There's just too much of my head that's showin'
I'm not in control of my thoughts and emotions
God, if you won't help me
In the absence of divine intervention
Then help me, help me
Someone else, please assist me
Cause I'm not exactly sure where I'm goin'
I'm not completely certain what the future holds for me
Well, I know I should go home
I'm aware that I ought to return home
If it's Monday morning
Provided that it is Monday
'Cause our room is all alone
Our room is currently unoccupied
But I'll probably get stoned
However, I would most likely consume drugs
If it's Monday morning
Should it be, in fact, Monday
Then I'll think I'm doin' fine
I will then falsely believe that I'm feeling okay
But I'll bet you're on my mind
Nevertheless, I'm pretty sure that I'm still thinking about you
Come next Monday morning
When next Monday morning comes around
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LEE HAZLEWOOD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind