Hall of Fame Singer-Songwriter Dickey Lee’s January 17 concert at Moe’s Penny Bar was postponed due to inclement weather and has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 7, when it will be moved upstairs due to the considerable interest. The performance will begin at 6:30 pm.
Interview by Steve Vassallo
Dickey, your phenomenal success spans many decades. Is there one song or event that rests atop your resume which comes to mind first?
DL: Steve, “She Thinks I Still Care” is a song that I wrote in 1962 that George Jones took to Number 1 in 1963. It has been recorded by nearly one thousand artists. I wrote a good many hits but I feel like this one was the primary reason for my induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. George once told me that this was his favorite song and it was definitely mine also.
Often successful people reflect back on their careers and acknowledge an instance or single event when their career took off. Was there such a turning point for you?
When “Patches” reached No. 1 in 1961 (overlapping into 62), this launched my career nationally. We recorded the song in Beaumont, Texas. My manager kept bugging this one station to play it and they finally did; it exploded from there! There was a wall of resistance to “Patches” at first because of the story of the double suicide. Initially, we recorded the song in just one key, but subsequently, modulated the song which heightened the suspense. The melody was one of my favorites as well and “Patches” exceeded the three minute mark which was lengthy for a song at that time. I did not write “Patches”, however, my producer at the time, Jack Clement, was working with Chet Atkins at the RCA Studio in Nashville when he came across the song and thought it would work well for me.
You have interacted “up close” with some of the biggest and most well known names in American music. Could you single out a male vocalist or group and a female artist who inspired you the most?
Without a doubt, Elvis comes to mind immediately. There was also a group in the 1950’s (The Hilltoppers) who were comprised of Western Kentucky students that had a good many hits. As to the female artist, I would say Joanie James truly inspired me as she also had some great records.
Dickey, you have written so many top hits, is there a favorite aside from “She Thinks I Still Care” that is your fondest?
In A Different Light” is a song that I really enjoyed writing and with the arrangement that followed, I liked it even moreso.” (This will be one the great songs Dickey has selected to play at Moe’s here in Oxford on February 7.)
Describe your feelings when you learned that you were being inducted into The Songwriters Hall of Fame.
I knew I had been nominated, but I was not expecting to be chosen. At the Awards Banquet in 1995 which was held that year at Loew’s Vanderbilt in Nashville, I had not prepared any remarks ahead of time because I was not anticipating being selected. When my name was called, I could not believe it. Since that time, the event has been moved to the Music City Center.
You have a personal history with Ole Miss. Care to share some of these memories.
To start with, Ole Miss was always my favorite team behind Memphis State due to Johnny Vaughn’s decision to play Memphis when other major teams would not. And through the years, there have been some great games. My daughter, Danna, was a Kappa Delta at Ole Miss and loved going there. We were living in Nashville at that time. And on another note, fellow songwriter Jimmy Weatherly, became one of my closest friends. Ole Miss has always had a warm place in my heart and having performed previously at The Ford Center enhanced these feelings even more.
As we are now experiencing one of the coldest winters in midsouth history, many of us have been confined for a number of days which often leads to reflection. Looking back on your incredible career, is there one thing you would change and why?
I recorded a song on an album for RCA entitled “Catfish John”. RCA wanted me to release this as a single, but I opted not to. Later, Johnny Russell had a No. 1 hit song (on the Country Charts) with it when he did release “Catfish John” as a single. This occurred around the mid seventies.
