Lee Mallory

Lee Mallory was a singer, songwriter and guitarist who was part of such projects as The Millennium and Sagittarius (music group). His most successful single was a cover of the Phil Ochs/Bob Gibson song "That's The Way It's Going To Be". The song, produced by Curt Boettcher, reached #86 on the charts and was a surprise hit in Seattle. A C.D. by the same name was released in 2002, with many songs and demos Mallory had recorded during the 60s. Lee Mallory helped start it all: the California Sound of the 1960s.

Lee Was born in Berkeley California on January 10, 1945. He was primarily raised by his grandmother Grace Mallory, originally of Guthrie Oklahoma. At fifteen, Lee received his first guitar. At sixteen, Lee ran away from home to become a musician and never looked back.

He started out in San Francisco's North Beach cafes, such as the Coffee Gallery and Coffee and Confusion. In 1963 he undertook a "self imposed" tour to New York and played in West Village folk clubs, including the Cafe Bizarre, the Night Owl, Cafe Wha? and the Four Winds. He later became a regular at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, where he was part of the experiment called The Men, some of whose members later formed The Association.

Lee's first recording session was as a background vocalist on Tommy Roe's "Hooray For Hazel", the "B" side of "Sweet Pea." He became a session guitar player on some of the Association's biggest hits and co-wrote two songs they recorded--"Better Times" and "Just About the Same"--both of which appear on "Just the Right Sound: the Association Anthology."

Lee's 1966 single, "That's The Way It's Gonna Be" by Phil Ochs and Bob Gibson reached #1 in Amsterdam and #2 in Seattle. It was recently re-released on the Rhino Records compilation, "Hallucinations." "Take My Hand," his second single is included in Rhino's compilation, "Come To The Sunshine." He recorded first with Valiant records, then Columbia. He published with Opryland, Acuff-/Rose and finally Sony/ATV before becoming an independent artist/songwriter.

Lee Mallory performed as lead guitarist and a member of the "Tribe" for the first road company of "Hair," the first rock musical. He is the only person known to have done both. The Hair Archives houses some photographs and journal entries from Lee. http://www.michaelbutler.com/hair/holding/Hair.html

He later toured with the bands Hollywood and Reign. In 1969, Doug Rowell carved the Lee Mallory Strat, which can be viewed at: http://www.carverdoug.com/guitars/lee_malloy.htm In the same year, Lee became the 21st person to be cast by groupie/artist Cynthia Plastercaster. http://www.cynthiaplastercaster.com/

Over time, Lee developed a distinctive and subtle 12-string guitar style. In 2000, Lee toured Japan with his long-time friend and co-writer from The Millennium, Joey Stec of Sonic Past Music. There they were awarded Master Musician sashes, an honor befitting his true status. http://www.sonicpastmusic.com

Lee worked as a bike messenger in San Francisco from 1984 to 1995, where he was known as "Prez." The oldest bike messenger, he was elected to serve as president of HANX, which he termed the "bike messengers' disorganization." Their Memorial Day bike ride from San Francisco to Russian River is an ongoing tradition. http://www.ahalenia.com/memorial/lmallory.htm

Lee charmed countless visitors to San Francisco, performing outdoors at the Cannery for many years, often dressed in a distinctive Greek fisherman's cap, many layers of clothing and fingerless (bicycle) gloves. For the last several years of his life, Lee was the most highly skilled and beloved musician in San Francisco's open mic scene. The San Francisco of Board of Supervisors proclaimed January 10th 2005 [(Lee Mallory Day)]. http://www.bryanharrison.net/baymusic/leemalloryday.html

On Friday, March 18th, 2005, Lee completed mixes for his final album, produced by Alex James Muscat at Last Stop Records. He was thrilled with this, his first studio album in many years, the first in which he had complete creative control after 40 years of recording and playing on approximately 35 albums. http://www.laststoprecords.com

Lee had recently become active in raising awareness of Hepatitis C. http://www.hepccoalition.com/ He had hoped to receive a liver transplant but ultimately succumbed to liver cancer. He passed away at UCSF Emergency Department on March 21, 2005 with his fiancee and manager, Nina Jo Smith by his side.

The music of this great California Troubadour performed Live at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco is available at http://www.cdbaby.com

Sources: "Notes For a Bio" by Lee Mallory; personal interviews and documents in the Lee Mallory Archives. For more information about Lee Mallory, contact ninajo@leemallory.com.