Biography of Curtis Lee

Curtis Lee had it all, and many took a shot at making him a star. He had the good looks of pop stars like Fabian, Frankie Avalon, and Bobby Vee and a sound similar to Bobby Rydell's; plus he could write a song or two. Lee was born in Yuma, AZ on October 28, 1941. The aspiring vocalist picked vegetables during the day and sang in clubs at night. He was discovered by singer Ray Peterson after wowing an audience in a Yuma nightclub. Lee had already failed on three different labels: Warrior, Sabrina, and Hot Records. This didn't sway Peterson's manager, Stan Shulman, from taking a stab at Lee; it resulted in three quickly forgotten flops ("Special Love," "Pledge of Love," and "D in Love"). "Pledge" was a cover of Ken Copeland's release. Shulman was steered to up-and-coming producer Phil Spector as a possible producer for Lee, and a deal was soon struck. Lee had been writing songs with Tommy Boyce, later to become famous as half of the Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart songwriting team, and showed some of the compositions to Spector. Spector saw the possibilities in the tunes and arranged to record "Pretty Little Angel Eyes," among others, in a New York studio. Spector added the Halos to the tracks for some New York doo wop flavoring. "Angel Eyes" was written by Lee and Boyce, and is a landmark rock & roll tune: the Dunes Records release soared to number 7. Lee and Boyce wrote the follow-up, "Under the Moon of Love," which stalled at number 46 (Britishers Showaddywaddy took "Moon" all the way to number one in the U.K. in 1977). The hits stopped coming when Spector and Dunes Records had a falling out, leaving Lee without the aid of his crack producer. Despite fine tunes by Otis Blackwell (he wrote a slew of hits for Elvis Presley) and the team of Gary Geld and Peter Udall, Lee never scored another hit. Even their attempts at country were fruitless. Lee still resides in Yuma, where he's involved in the construction business. Everlasting fame was not in the cards for the talented singer/songwriter whose reign as a teen idol fell way short of expectations. ~ Andrew Hamilton