A Guide to the Skipper Lee Frazier Papers, 1967-1993

Biographical Note

Skipper Lee Frazier, a long-time resident of Houston, is best known for his popular radio show. Frazier played a distinctive sign-on at the beginning of each show and its most memorable line, that he was implored by voices to “steal away and carry a mountain of soul to Houston,” is still associated with him. After retiring as a disk jockey at KCOH-AM, Frazier became a partial owner of the station. But Frazier’s career was not limited to the radio industry. He hosted a television variety show named “The Skipper Lee Show,” ran an advertising business, and operated several budget motels. Frazier also had a long career in the music industry in tandem with his duties as a disk jockey. He served as a manager and producer for several local acts, including The Masters of Soul, Bo Williams, and The TSU Tornadoes. Frazier achieved his greatest success with Archie Bell and the Drells, who had a #1 hit in 1968 with the song “Tighten Up.” The intersection of his radio and music careers led him to become involved with the KOOL Jazz Festival, serving as a producer, promoter, booker, and master of ceremonies. At present, Frazier operates the Skipper Lee & Son Eternal Rest Funeral Home in Houston with his son, James.

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Scope and Contents

The Skipper Lee Frazier Papers (1967-1993) primarily document Frazier’s business ventures in radio, entertainment, and motels. The collection is divided into four series: Business Papers, Personal Papers, Photographs, and Audio-Visual Materials.

The Business series is comprised of: record contracts, royalty statements for groups that Frazier managed (mostly Archie Bell & the Drells), biographies and papers relating to Houston-area recording artists with whom Frazier worked (TSU Tornadoes, Archie Bell & the Drells, Masters of Soul, and Big Joe Nettles), advertisements for concerts and events, papers relating to the motels that Frazier managed, blank forms, Frazier's companies Frazier & McKay Productions, L. J. F. Productions, and S.L.F. Supply, a calendar with scheduled performance dates for Archie Bell & the Drells, papers relating to Frazier's membership in the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), correspondence, publications relating to the entertainment industry, transcripts of radio commercials broadcast on KCOH-AM, lists of ad sales on KCOH-AM, general information about KCOH-AM and its employees, ledgers and receipts that document Frazier's business expenditures, sheet music and lyrics, tax records, documents from the Bureau of Land Management, papers related to the Skipper Lee & Son Eternal Rest Funeral Home, and publicity and correspondence relating to the KOOL Jazz Festival (sometimes known as the Astrodome KOOL Jazz Festival.)

The Personal Papers series is comprised of: documents about events that occurred at Windsor Village United Methodist Church (Frazier's home church), a telephone directory from Windsor Village United Methodist Church, a proof copy of Tighten Up: The Autobiography of Skipper Lee, ephemera, correspondence and documents relating to the 1988 West Gulf Coast Engineers, Inc. lawsuit to which Frazier was a party, awards and certificates that Frazier received from various community organizations, invitations and advertisements for events in the community that Frazier assisted with, papers relating to Frazier’s unsuccessful bid for Harris County Commissioner, brochures and programs for community events, papers relating to the Muhammad Ali Testimonial dinner, papers relating to Ben Barnes’ race for governor, speeches given by Frazier, various magazines that Frazier collected, papers from the 1992 Republican convention site selection committee, Skipper Lee Frazier biographical information, correspondence, personal legal documents, and a 1993 wall calendar.

Photographic subjects include: snapshots of events, people and places in Houston, professional headshots of Frazier, live performances, Archie Bell & the Drells, Juneteenth Music Festival, promotional photographs collected by Frazier, Windsor Valley United Methodist Church, Skipper Lee & Son Eternal Rest Funeral Home, Jessie Jackson, Muhammad Ali, and “The Skipper Lee Show.”

A cubic foot of audio-visual material collected by Frazier is present in the collection. This series is comprised of LPs, 45s, audiocassettes, and reel-to-reel tapes of musical groups (many from the Houston area), a recording of the 1965 National Association of Recording Artists convention, and demo tapes. VHS tapes with coverage of Houston-area events and musicians are also included in this series. A highlight of the VHS materials is a copy of A Mountain of Soul: Skipper Lee Frazier, which is a biographical feature on Frazier and covers the “roasts and toasts” that have been held in his honor.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Use of audio material by appointment only; please contact sound archivist.

Use of photographic slides by appointment only; please contact photo archivist.

Access to portions of this collection are restricted. Contact repository for further information.

Use Restrictions

This collection is stored remotely. Advance notice required for retrieval. Contact repository for retrieval.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Skipper Lee Frazier, 1967-1993, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

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Detailed Description of the Papers

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