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Lee Dorsey

 

Singer and boxer Irving Lee Dorsey was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 24, 1924 and was a childhood friend of Fats Domino. When he was 10 he moved to Portland, Oregon. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War 2. He did not have much success in the sport and returned to New Orleans in 1955, opening an auto repair business and singing in local clubs.

He first recorded in 1958 but his initial recordings were not successful. In 1960 he met Marshall Sehorn who introduced him to Allen Toussaint and signed him initially to the Fury label. One of their early attempts, “Ya Ya”, went to no. 7 on the Billboard pop chart, sold a million, and was covered (in Franglais) by Petula Clark under the title “Ya Ya Twist”. After Fury his records were issued on Constellation and other labels. The recordings he made backed by The Meters from 1965 on the Amy label were his most successful, including “Ride Your Pony”, “Work Work Work” , “Holy Cow” and “Working In The Coal Mine”. He also recorded duets with singer Betty Harris for the Sansu label.

Lee Dorsey toured extensively in the UK and Europe.

Lee Dorsey died from emphysema in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 2, 1986, aged only 61.

Some sites claim he boxed under the name "Kid Chocolate" but this name is usually associated with the Cuban boxer Eligio Sardiñas Montalvo.

Image: Lee Dorsey photographed in London, UK. Undated. Getty/Central Press

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