About Lefty Frizzell
William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country and honky-tonk singer-songwriter. Frizzell is known as one of the most influential country music vocal stylists of all time. He has been cited as influencing prominent country singers such as George Jones, Merle Haggard, Roy Orbison, and Willie Nelson. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982, as well as the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In his prime, Frizzell was the first artist to achieve four songs in the top 10 on the Billboard Country Music charts at one time. Frizzell went on to have more success, releasing many songs that charted in the top 10 of the Hot Country Songs charts as an artist and songwriter. After dealing with alcoholism, he died of a stroke at age 47. He is believed to have gotten the name "Lefty" because he had won a neighborhood fight, but this tale was probably fabricated as part of a publicity stunt set up by his record label. Filled with guilt, he wrote poems to his wife from his cell; one of them became his first big record.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.