Mr. Lee

Posted byStevePosted inSongsTags:, , , , ,

On Saturday, I was listening to a set of music on NYtheSpirit.com and in between discussions with others listening online, I caught up on a few favourite blogs. Mostly Music Covers published a post about Doo-Wop songs, offering some excellent history of that form and providing numerous examples through YouTube audio-only posts. I bookmarked those to go back and listen later, and I did that this morning, tapping my toes throughout.

One song in particular that captured my attention was the short and spritely “Mr. Lee,” by the American rhythm and blues ‘girl group’ the Bobbettes. I consulted SongFacts, which told me today’s selection “made them the first girl group to have a #1 R&B hit and a Top 10 American Pop hit.” The site adds, “Written by the Bobbettes themselves, this song was inspired by a schoolteacher that the girls strongly despised. It was originally written as an insult to Mr. Lee, but their record company, Atlantic Records, told them to revise it into a loving tribute to him.”

“One, two, three, look at Mr. Lee
Three, four, five, look at him jive
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee oh, Mr. Lee
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee oh, Mr. Lee
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee oh, Mr. Lee Mr. Lee

I met my sweetie, his name is Mr. Lee (Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee)
I met my sweetie, his name is Mr. Lee (Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee)
Oh, he’s the handsomest sweetie that you ever did see (Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee)

My heart is achin’ for you Mr. Lee (Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee)
My heart is achin’ for you Mr. Lee (Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee)
‘Cause I love you so and I’ll never let you go (Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee)

Oh, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee oh, Mr. Lee
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee oh, Mr. Lee
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee oh, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee

Here comes Mr. Lee, he’s coming for me
Here comes Mr. Lee, he’s coming for me
He’s my lover boy, let’s jump for joy

Come on Mr. Lee and do your stuff
Come on Mr. Lee and do your stuff
‘Cause you’re gonna be mine till the end of time

One, two, three, hey, look at Mr. Lee
Three, four, five, hey, look at him jive

One, two, three, hey, look at Mr. Lee
Three, four, five, hey, look at him jive

Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, oh, Mr. Lee
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, oh, Mr. Lee
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee, oh, Mr. Lee Mr. Lee
Ah, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee oh, Mr. Lee”

“Mr. Lee,” by Emma Pought, Helen Gathers, Jannie Pought, Laura Webb and Reather Dixon. Lyrics retrieved from SongFacts.

SongFacts goes on to tell that the Bobbettes later recorded a song about how they really felt about their teacher, “I Shot Mr. Lee.” On principle, Atlantic Records wouldn’t release it… until after the Bobbettes left Atlantic and made it a hit on a minor label.

In another angle on today’s song, author Cullen Dorn (The Hierophant of 100th Street), also taught by Lee, said this: “He’s a lookalike of the old TV series Superman’s Clark Kent. I remember him being uptight, too conservative, nervous eyes, and up to the time when he wept hearing his song reach number one on the charts, emotionally constipated.

“The Bobbettes were my classmates who lived across the street from the school on 99th Street. They were the average girls in those days, bubbly, excitable, and talented. I happened to live on 100th Street, the most infamous block in New York City’s criminal history. It was a wonder, a curse, a privilege to have lived during those times.”

Wikipedia tells that the Bobbettes formed in East Harlem, New York, USA in 1955, including Emma Pought (born 1942), Helen Gathers (1942–2011), Jannie Pought (1945–1980), Laura Webb (1941–2001) and Reather Dixon (1944–2014).

“Mr. Lee” was the Bobbettes’ first hit song, released in 1957. Their original recording of the song appears on the soundtrack for the American actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner’s (b. 1947) highly popular coming-of-age film Stand by Me (1986), which was based on the novella The Body (1982) American author Stephen King (b. 1947).

Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thank you for joining me here.

Please enjoy the audio on YouTube’s the Bobbettes topic channel:

Warmly,

Steve

Something else I listened to today:

If you’re viewing this post on my website or in WordPress Reader, the algorithm serves up songs it thinks are related, below each post. To that, today, I’m adding “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention. Guy Garvey from Elbow played this song on a recent installment of BBC 6 Music’s Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour (March 24, 2024).

21 thoughts on “Mr. Lee”

  1. Great song, Steve. My grandmother used to play this record, I think that’s where I may have heard it way back when. It’s a fun song. Thanks for choosing this one. It was a nice connection to memories of my g-ma.

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    1. Oh, I’m so glad to have helped bring up a memory of your grandmother. She clearly had good taste in music, and passed that along.

      Yes, kind of a fun song… and definitely more so than what they originally wanted to issue!

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  7. I guess you already know I love this song. I very much appreciate the mention and link. One of my favorite music movies is American Hotwax, in the film the Bobbettes were depicted as The Delights. here is a clip of their appearance in the film.

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  8. Always grateful for your musical exploration and reflections! I would be interested in learning about your process of deciding about what to blog, as time permits, my friend

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    1. Thanks very much for your comment and query, Richard. I’m not sure there’s a firm process, per se… I listen to several programs online including the two sites I mentioned in the post, plus I listen passively to Apple Music a lot. I have a document in which I take note of songs that I really enjoy, and sometimes something about what was happening at the time. And, following a few music blogs, sometimes I’ll “borrow” one of their singles and write some thoughts about it, like today. Sometimes the write-ups are more about the band and their history I’ve researched, sometimes a song evokes a powerful memory, and sometimes it’s just something I really enjoy and want to share. So, each post feels a little different in its genesis and where it goes. In November, I started doing a “postscript” to highlight a previous blog, as the bulk of my active followers joined in the last year or two.

      Thanks for asking, my friend!

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