George E. Lee

George Ewing Lee (April 28, 1896 – October 2, 1958) was an American jazz bandleader.

For other people with the same name, see George Lee.

Born in Boonville, Missouri, Lee was the older brother of pianist/singer Julia Lee. He played in a band while serving in the Army in 1917; following this he sang in a vocal quartet, and in 1920 he formed an ensemble of his own. With his sister as one of the group's members, he was a regular player at Lyric Hall in Kansas City through much of the 1920s. In 1927 they recorded as an octet, with Jesse Stone on piano, for Merritt Records; among the tunes was "Down Home Syncopated Blues," the earliest recording of Julia Lee's voice. They recorded six tunes for Brunswick in 1929.[1]


In 1933, Lee's group was absorbed into the Bennie Moten Orchestra. In 1935 he struck out on his own again; he moved to Jackson, Michigan in 1940, retired from music in 1941, and began managing a nightclub in Detroit in 1942. Later in the 1940s, he moved to San Diego, where he died on October 2, 1958.[2]

See also

References
  1. "George E. Lee and his Novelty Singing Orchestra". Red Hot Jazz Archive. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  2. "George E. Lee". The Pendergast Years. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  1. "George Lee, Famed Band Leader, Dies in Los Angeles, California".
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