LEFTY FRIZZELL

Born William Orville Frizzell in 1928 in Texas, Lefty Frizzell got his nickname from a playground fistfight in which he revealed a mean left hook. His father, an itinerant oil field worker, moved Lefty and his seven siblings from town to town as a child. Early on Lefty learned to play guitar and sing, inspired by the late Jimmie Rodgers. He had his own kiddie radio show at 12, and by the time he was in his teens, Lefty was performing in the Southwest's most raucous roadhouses. His emotive croon helped garner a record deal, and in the early 1950s he scored several huge country hits, some of which he wrote himself, including "I Love You a Thousand Ways," "If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time" and "Mom and Dad's Waltz." His unique sound and laconic phrasing would greatly influence Merle Haggard in the 1960s and later artists like Randy Travis.

Courtesy of palmpictures.com

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