Lee Rocker
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Lee Rocker | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Leon Drucker |
Born | Long Island, New York, U.S. | August 3, 1961
Genres | Pop, rock, blues, rockabilly |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Bass, upright bass |
Years active | 1979–present |
Labels | 33rd Street, AFM, Alligator |
Website | www |
Lee Rocker (born Leon Drucker, August 3, 1961)[1] is an American musician. He is a member of the rockabilly revival band Stray Cats.
He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker, the late former principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and Naomi Drucker.[2] As a child, he played the cello and later learned bass guitar.
Biography
Personal life
Lee Rocker was born Leon Drucker in
At age 12, Rocker picked up the
He married his wife Deborah in 1989.
Career
Drucker's school friends included James McDonnell and Brian Setzer.[11] The three of them played together regularly and widened their musical interests to include the blues and rockabilly. Drucker also learned to play the double bass to incorporate the sounds of blues and rockabilly on the acoustic instrument. The three of them formed the group Stray Cats in 1979.[6] McDonnell took on the stage name of "Slim Jim Phantom", and Drucker devised his own stage name to "Lee Rocker". Rocker evolved his own style of slap-bass playing with the group.[12]
Rocker and Stray Cats sold nearly 10 million albums and garnered twenty three
Accompanied by Slim Jim Phantom and guitarist Earl Slick, Rocker formed the band Phantom, Rocker & Slick and recorded two albums for EMI Records titled Phantom, Rocker & Slick and Cover Girl. The song "Men Without Shame" landing Rocker back on MTV and in the charts.[19] For Black Top Records, Rocker released the albums Big Blue (1994) and Atomic Boogie Hour (1995). He has also recorded for Alligator Records.[20]
He released the album, Bulletproof, in 2003. His other albums included Black Cat Bone, released in August 2007, which featured Brophy Dale on guitar and Jimmy Sage on drums.
Lee Rocker's latest band consists of Buzz Campbell (
).The Low Road (2018–2019)
Lee's latest album The Low Road was recorded live with his four-piece band at Daryl's House in
on August 9, 201940 & reunion tour with Stray Cats (2018–2019)
After a ten-year hiatus from Stray Cats, Rocker reunited on stage with Setzer and Phantom in 2018 at the Viva Las Vegas Festival and a 2019 summer world tour was announced.[24] The Stray Cats released their tenth studio album 40 in May 2019.[25]
"Dog House Shuffle" (2019)
On October 29, 2019, Billboard.com premiered Rocker's latest single and music video for "Dog House Shuffle". In an interview with the magazine, Rocker said about the song: "It's a tribute in a lot of ways...It's a song I wrote over the last couple of months. I was thinking about my career with 40 years of Stray Cats and all of that and thinking about the upright bass, which is what started this thing. It takes me back to the opening line of the song -- which is "Took me 'round the world and I changed my name/found a little fortune, found a little fame/Doin' the dog house shuffle"—which is right out of my story. Dog House is what they call the upright bass, so it's a tribute to the bass itself and a lot of the players that I came up listening to." On October 30, 2019, "Dog House Shuffle" was officially released on all digital platforms.[26]
Awards and honors
In 2013, Rocker received a Lifetime Achievement Award from
Discography
- Lee Rocker's Big Blue (1994)
- Atomic Boogie Hour (1995)
- No Cats (1998)
- Lee Rocker Live (1999)
- Blue Suede Nights (2001)
- Bulletproof (2003)
- Upright and Kickin' (2003)
- Burnin' Love: The Best of Lee Rocker (2004)
- The Curse of Rockabilly (2005)
- Racin' the Devil (2006)
- Black Cat Bone (2007)
- The Cover Sessions (2011)
- Night Train to Memphis (2012)
- The Low Road (2019)
- Gather Round (2021)
References
- AllMusic.com. Archivedfrom the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
- ^ Daniel J. Wakin (4 June 2009). "Ending a 60-Year Gig at the N.Y. Philharmonic". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
- ^ "This Cat Never Strayed". OC Weekly. Orange County, California. February 20, 2003. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
- ^ Wakin, Daniel J. (2009-06-04). "Stanley Drucker Ends a 60-Year Clarinet Gig". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker tells his story on for Bass Players Only". Forbassplayersonly.com. 2010-10-11. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "Lee Rocker to play at Helsinki Hudson". Poughkeepsie Journal. New York. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ Thomas Staudter (2006-04-09). "Set This Idea to Music: A Stray Cat Has 9 Lives". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
- ^ "Putting it all together". 2013-09-03.
- ^ "Drucker's Fall collection launch 'a dream come true'". 2013-09-24.
- ^ "Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker tells his story on for Bass Players Only". Forbassplayersonly.com. 2010-10-11. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "Stray Cats Reunite, Return to Rockabilly". Chicago Tribune. Illinois. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "Double-Bassist Lee Rocker Is Still Jamming and Touring". AXS. Archived from the original on 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ "Stray Cats' Debut Album & the Rockabilly Revival". BestClassicBands.com. 2018-08-26. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats Headed to Million Dollar Quartet | Broadway Buzz | Broadway.com". Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2018-10-15.
- ^ "Brian Setzer's Stray Cats to reunite for first show in 10 years". Consequence of Sound. 2018-01-04. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Stray Cats". Grammy.com. 2019-06-04. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Grammy Award Nominees 1982 - Grammy Award Winners 1982". AwardsAndShows.com. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Lee Rocker Talks About the Stray Cats and Rockabilly's History". The Los Angeles Beat. 2017-09-08. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- Emmis Communications. January 1986.)
{{cite magazine}}
: Cite magazine requires|magazine=
(help - ^ "Lee Rocker on Mountain Stage". NPR. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Lee Rocker Releases the Cover Sessions EP". NoTreble.com. 2011-03-22. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Lee Rocker's Rumble & Twang on KX 93.5". KXFM. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Million Dollar Quartet to Celebrate Lee Rocker With Stage Jam Session". Broadway World. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ Taylor Hamby (2018-08-17). "Stray Cats Strut Their Stuff For Two Reunion Shows in Costa Mesa". OC Weekly.
- ^ "The Stray Cats mark 40th anniversary with new album and tour". Consequence of Sound. 2019-03-07. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
- ^ Graff, Gary (2019-10-29). "The Stray Cats' Lee Rocker Pays Homage to His Influences on 'Dog House Shuffle': Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
External links
- Official website
- Lee Rocker at AllMusic
- Lee Rocker Interview at NAMM Oral History Collection (2014)