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.
Summer Wine
Lee Hazlewood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My summer wine is really made from all these things
I walked in town on silver spurs that jingled to
A song that I had only sang to just a few
She saw my silver spurs and said let's pass some time
And I will give to you summer wine
Oh, oh summer wine
Strawberries, cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Oh, oh summer wine
My eyes grew heavy and my lips they could not speak
I tried to get up but I couldn't find my feet
She reassured me with an unfamiliar line
And then she gave to me more summer wine
Oh, oh summer wine
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine
When I woke up the sun was shining in my eyes
My silver spurs were gone, my head felt twice its size
She took my silver spurs, a dollar and a dime
And left me cravin' for more summer wine
Oh, oh summer wine
Strawberries, cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you my summer wine
The song Summer Wine by Lee Hazlewood is filled with imagery and metaphors, creating a dreamy and romantic atmosphere. The opening lines, "Strawberries, cherries and an angel's kiss in spring, my summer wine is really made from all these things" sets the tone for the song's nostalgic and whimsical mood. The reference to the fruits and an angel's kiss symbolize the sweetness and purity of youth and love, which is echoed throughout the song.
As the song progresses, the story paints a picture of a chance encounter between two people, one wearing "silver spurs that jingled" and the other, a woman, who takes an interest in him. They spend time together, drinking summer wine and enjoying each other's company. The lyrics "Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time, and I will give to you summer wine" evoke a sense of sensuality and intimacy between the two characters.
Towards the end, the lyrics get slightly darker, as the singer wakes up with his silver spurs gone and feeling slightly disorientated. Despite this, he is still left longing for more summer wine. The symbol of the silver spurs could represent his freedom and sense of adventure, which he loses after meeting this mysterious woman. The song's overall mood is bittersweet, as it captures the fleeting nature of youth and love.
Line by Line Meaning
Strawberries, cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
The singer begins by describing the sweetness and purity of spring with the imagery of strawberries, cherries, and an angel's kiss.
My summer wine is really made from all these things
The singer's summer wine is a metaphor for the joys of life that can be found in innocent pleasures like strawberries, cherries, and the beauty of nature.
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
The singer asks their companion to relax and share in the simple pleasures of life, instead of being caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life symbolized by the silver spurs.
And I will give to you summer wine
The artist promises to share the happiness and joy of life with their companion.
Oh, oh summer wine
The repetition of 'summer wine' serves as a refrain, emphasizing the artist's enjoyment in the simple joys of life.
My eyes grew heavy and my lips they could not speak
The singer has become lost in the moment, unable to articulate their feelings as they fully enjoy the pleasures of life.
She reassured me with an unfamiliar line
The companion uses an expression that is new and refreshing to the singer, further symbolizing the joy of discovering new experiences.
And then she gave to me more summer wine
The companion continues to share in the simple pleasures of life with the artist, deepening their connection and enjoyment.
When I woke up the sun was shining in my eyes
The artist has been lost in the moment for an extended period of time, waking up to a new day feeling refreshed and rejuvenated by the simple pleasures of life.
My silver spurs were gone, my head felt twice its size
The artist has fully embraced the simple, joyful experiences of life, leaving behind the trappings of status and material possessions (symbolized by the silver spurs) which used to weigh heavily on them.
She took my silver spurs, a dollar and a dime
The companion has helped the singer let go of their attachment to material possessions and embrace the simple, joyful experiences of life, symbolized by her taking the singer's silver spurs, a dollar, and a dime.
And left me cravin' for more summer wine
Having fully embraced the joys of life, the artist is left with an insatiable desire for more of these simple pleasures.
Mmm-mm summer wine
This repetition of 'summer wine' emphasizes the enduring appeal and joy found in life's simple pleasures.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lee Hazlewood
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jan Pakistan
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
I walked in town on silver spurs that jingled to
A song that I had only sang to just a few
She saw my silver spurs and said lets pass some time
And I will give to you summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Ohhh-oh summer wine
My eyes grew heavy and my lips they could not speak
I tried to get up but I couldn't find my feet
She reassured me with an unfamiliar line
And then she gave to me more summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine
When I woke up the sun was shining in my eyes
My silver spurs were gone my head felt twice its size
She took my silver spurs a dollar and a dime
And left me cravin' for more summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine
Chandima Ratnayake
1 year ago
Summer Wine
tamina mirza
2018.. still so beautiful to listen to it..
zmov1
What a pretty name. Blessings to you. :)
tamina mirza
@zmov1 thank u 😊
zmov1
tamina mirza :)
tamina mirza
@zmov1 its so refreshing how a simple sweet comment can cheer us up..
zmov1
tamina mirza So true, sending you love.
Matin
I'm 94 years old and back in the late 60s I remember I would listen to this masterpiece
Snow Track
My dad is 94, too! I heard this for the first time a few years back. Hope you are doing well, Matin Persian!
Stephanie Stanley
I listened to this as a ten year old. It is a remarkable song. Wishing you continued happiness and health.
zmov1
And blessings to you Stephanie. :-) I just turned 76 last month.