Katie Lee Cowboy Poetry Collection, 1970-1995
1 folder
Location: 0142, Box 1, Folder 12
Accession #: 2002.083
Introduction
Lee is a native a Tucson, Arizona, and is a western folksinger and author. This collection includes publicity materials and photographs.
Biography
Katie Lee was born in Tucson, Arizona, in 1919. Lee graduated from the University of Arizona with a BFA, then studied with two of the most successful folk singers of the 1940s, Burl Ives and Josh White. She found the market for folksingers very small, so she began working summer stock theater instead. Her luck with acting proved a little better, and she went on to work in radio on such shows as “The Halls of Ivy,” “The Railroad Hour,” and “The Great Gildersleeve.” She continued to develop her singing, though, and became one of the early regulars at clubs like the Hungry i and the Gates of Horn.
Katie Lee, a folksinger who appreciates her Western roots, created a sub-genre all her own–the Freudian folksong. And to that she contributed two albums: Life is Just a Bed of Neuroses, and Songs of Couch and Consultation. Katie Lee writes and performs her own songs about the Old West. She has appeared at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City and around the U.S.
Besides singing and playing the guitar, she is also an author. Katie Lee wrote two books titled, Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle and All My Rivers Are Gone. The second book documents through journal entries Katie Lee’s river trips through Glen Canyon, above the Grand Canyon, in the mid 1950s. In the early 1960s the Colorado River was dammed at Glen Canyon, forming Lake Powell, the second largest man-made lake in the United States, and thus put most of the canyon underwater.
Source:
The Cowboy Directory
Scope & Content Note
This collection consists of a two series, Publicity Materials and Photographs, both stored in one folder.
Series 1: Publicity Materials, 1970-1995
This series contains photocopied newspaper clippings and publicity papers for Lee’s book, Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle.
Series 2: Photographs, 1971-1975, n.d.
This series consists of eight 5×7 black-and-white photographs used for publicity. Most do not have a photographer, date, or place identified. These photos are not digitized yet.
Subject Terms
Personal Names:
Lee, Katie
Subject Headings:
Poet—Cowboy
Poetry—Cowboy
Processing Information
This collection was accessioned in 2002 and filed along with other small cowboy poetry collections. Archivist Laura Anne Heller created the current finding aid on July 14, 2009.
Copyright
The Katie Lee Cowboy Poetry Collection is the property of the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Literary right, including copyright, belongs to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, with the exception of copyrighted artwork images and published literary works, which are the property of the respective copyright holders. It is the responsibility of the researcher, and his/her publisher, to obtain publishing permission from individuals pictured, relevant copyright holders, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Copyright
The collection is open for research. It is advisable for researchers to discuss their proposed research with staff prior to visiting the Center.
Preferred Citation
Katie Lee Cowboy Poetry Collection, Box ##, Folder ##, Dickinson Research Center, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Container List
Series 1: Publicity Materials
1970-1995
| Item Title/Description |
| Lee. ”Katie Lee on the Maerican Cowboy and His Songs.” December 22, 1970. Sedona, Arizona. Photocopy. 2 pages. [1] |
| Katie Lee sings Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle featuring Travis Edmonson with Earl Edmonson & David Holt. Pamphlet. [3] |
| Rapaport, Diane. “A Real Cowboy Lady: Katie Lee: Authentic ‘Country Western.’” Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine, Vol. 37, No.2, August/September 1992. Page24-36. Photocopy. 4 pages. [1] |
| Lee. “Some of the Best Songs in the World.” Photocopy. Source unknown. 2 pages.[1] |
| Simpson, Claudette. “Katie Lee and Her Book: She’s a rare breed – as rare as the cowboys she writes about.” Westward, Friday, March 25, 1977. Page 3-4. Photocopy. 1 page.[1] |
| Maddox, Teri. “A Love Song for Endangered Planet.” Belleville News-Democrat, Lifestyle. Friday, April 20, 1990. Photocopy. 1 page. [1] |
| Fried, Paul. “Caught in the Act: Katie Lee.” Entertainment & Dining. September 11-17, 1995. Page 10. Photocopy. 1 page. [1] |
| ”Native Tucsonan Completes Book.” Photocopy. 1 page. [1] |
| ”Western Music Review: Colorado River Songs, Katie Lee.” Song of the West, Winter 1992. Photocopy. 1 page. [1] |
| Rigby, Elizabeth. “Folksinger-Guitarist Katie Lee Has New Album Just Released.” Red Rock News, Sedona, Arizona, Wednesday, Decemeber 10, 1975. Page 11.Photocopy. 1 page. [1] |
| Wilson, Maggie. “Jerome folksinger pens book on cowboys and songs.” The Arizona Republic, Women’s Forum, Monday, February 28, 1977. Page 16. Photocopy. 1 page.[1] |
| White, Carrie. “Stray slips through fences of conformity.” The Arizona Spirit, Vol. 3, No. 49. Wednesday, April 16, 1986. Photocopy. 1 page. [1] |
| ”Jerome’s Katie Lee named ‘Ageless Hero.’” Source unknown. Photocopy. 1 page. [1] |
| The Last Wagon. Photocopy of VHS sleeve. 1991.[1] |
| Hackett, Vernell. ”Legacy of the Land.” Source unknown. Color printout copy. 1 page. [1] |
Series 2: Photographs
| Item # | Item Title/Description |
| 1 | Katie Lee, laughing. Photograph, 5×7, b&w, horizontal. [1971] Photographer unknown. [1] |
| 2 | Katie Lee, looking down. Photograph, 5×7, b&w, vertical. “1971” written on reverse side. Photographer unknown. [1] |
| 3 | Katie Lee wearing a white dress with flowers and holding a guitar. Photograph, 5×7, b&w, vertical. “1975” written on reverse side. Jerome address on both front and back. Photographer unknown. Publisher Katydid Books & Music, Jerome, Arizona. [1] |
| 4 | Katie Lee standing with hat in hand. Photograph, 5×7, b&w, vertical. Date and photographer unknown. Publisher Katydid Books & Music, Jerome, Arizona. [1] |
| 5 | Katie Lee sitting with guitar in background. Photograph, 5×7, b&w, vertical. Date and photographer unknown. Publisher Katydid Books & Music, Jerome, Arizona. [1] |
| 6 | Katie Lee standing, tipping her hat. Photograph, 5×7, b&w, vertical. Date unknown. Photographer: M.L. Lincoln. [1] |
| 7 | Katie Lee sitting with desert background, hat beside her. Photograph, 5×7, b&w, vertical. Date unknown. Photographer: M.L. Lincoln. [1] |
| 8 | Katie Lee standing & playing guitar in front of sign, Pete Kitchen Hams Sold Here. Photograph, 5×7, b&w, vertical. Date and photographer unknown. [1] |
