We are saddened to announce that our friend Jimmy Lee Fautheree died on Tuesday, June 29, in Dallas after an extended bout with cancer.
We backed him up on his last show, at the Rockabilly Rave in England back in March of this year. He was already in advanced stages of cancer, and after his condition worsened, he had to cancel appearances at Viva Las Vegas and the Ponderosa Stomp.
We are grateful that we had the opportunity to bring Jimmy out of retirement and record a new record with him last year. Critics all over the world raved about the album and Jimmy Lee was very pleased with his past-due acclaim. My biggest treasure is a letter Jimmy Lee wrote to me in April telling me that the reviews for this new album were the best reviews he had ever gotten, and how happy that made him.
Although Jimmy Lee was a little-known figure in the history of rockabilly and country music, everybody agrees that he was as talented, if not more talented, than some of the superstars he knew and played with on the Louisiana Hayride. Jimmy was friends with everybody, from Johnny Horton to Hank Williams to Elvis, and played behind such legends as Webb Pierce, Faron Young, and Lefty Frizzell. His guitar playing on his early Capitol recordings in 1951–52 surely were the blueprint for rockabilly guitar licks to come in later years. James Burton told me personally: “Oh man, Jimmy Lee was my favorite guitar player, when I was coming up on the Hayride I just idolized him.”
Jimmy’s biggest problem, self-admittedly, was that he was just too shy for the music business. Whereas most country stars of the day would do just about anything to hog the spotlight, Jimmy Lee would avoid it at all costs. Historians agree that if Jimmy Lee had been more extroverted, he would be as well known as many of the Louisiana Hayride stars he rubbed shoulders with. His obscurity was not deserved.
When I heard Jimmy Lee play a Telecaster guitar, I heard magic. He was the missing link between Merle Travis and Lightnin’ Hopkins. Nobody could play the guitar like he did. I felt honored to play beside him. With Jimmy Lee’s passing, a totally unique style of guitar playing died too.
I am glad that Jimmy Lee got to live long enough to see that he was loved by a new group of young rockabillies. I think he had no idea that a whole new generation of kids were listening to “Can’t Find the Doorknob,” “Sweet Love on My Mind,” “ If You Don’t Somebody Else Will,” “Love Me,” and others. I believe he was both shocked and overjoyed that fifty years later, his records were still being played all over the world. I’m glad he got to see this firsthand, with an autograph line two hours long after his show at the Rockabilly Rave.
We also want to extend our condolences to Jimmy’s wife, Nancy. They were married for more than fifty years, and I never once saw Jimmy without Nancy or vice versa. Nancy always cooked a giant home-cooked meal for us whenever we came through Dallas. I think she knew that a bunch of traveling musicians could use a nice home-cooked meal.
All the Ecco-Fonics and the other musicians who played on the new CD would like to say: We loved you, Jimmy, and you will be sorely missed.
He finally found the doorknob. Rest in peace, Jimmy Lee.
