Julia Lee (1902-1958)

Kansas City jazz icon Julia Lee built a national reputation as one of the greatest blues singers, but she was best known locally, where she was a mainstay of Miltion's and other Kansas City establishments on 12th Street. Lee got her start playing piano and singing in her brother George E. Lee's Orchestra from 1920 to 1934. With a strong local following and a handful of hits, Lee produced a four-volume album with Capitol Records in 1944. While most musicians of the era traveled nationally, Julia Lee preferred to perform for local audiences in Kansas City where she earned a reputation not only for being a talented performer but for remembering the favorite songs of her regulars.

Born in Boonville, Missouri, Lee attended Lincoln High School where she met husband Frank Duncan, a catcher and manager of the Kansas City Monarchs. Duncan was Jackie Robinson's manager in 1945, Robinson's only year in the Negro Leagues. Lee began her musical career soon after, singing and playing piano in her brother George Lee's band, which featured saxophonist Charlie Parker at times. She first recorded on the Merritt record label in 1927 with Jesse Stone as pianist and arranger and launched a solo career in 1935.

She was known not only for her talent and husky voice, but for her ability to author mildly suggestive lyrics that utilized double entendres such as "Come On Over to My House" with Jay McShann's ‘Kansas City Stompers’ and other hits like "King Size Papa," and "Snatch and Grab It" The records were credited to 'Julia Lee and Her Boy Friends' and her session musicians included Vic Dickenson, Benny Carter, Red Norvo, Jay McShann, Nappy Lamare, Red Nichols and Jack Marshall.   

Lee was known for her husky, throaty voice and called by the local media the "Princess of the Boogie Woogie." In 1949, at the invitation of President Harry S Truman, the Princess, along with drummer Baby Lovett, played at the White House. While most Kansas City musicians found success by touring, Lee preferred to stay in the city she loved and became one of the most popular performers in Kansas City's history until her death in Kansas City, at the age of 56, from a heart attack. Their son, Frank Duncan, Jr., of Detroit, Michigan, was the only survivor and can be heard talking about his mother in the podcast by KCUR linked below.

Martin, Mackenzie. Julia Lee, Kansas City’s beloved blues queen, A People's History of Kansas City Podcast, KCUR. June 14th, 2022. Accessed October 9th, 2023. https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-06-14/julia-lee-kansas-citys-beloved-blues-queen-was-too-risque-for-1940s-radio.

Julia Lee, Highland Cemetery, Find A Grave. Accessed October 9th, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53375137/julia-lee.