Jeffrey Lee Pierce | Artist

Jeffrey Lee Pierce was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and author born 1958 in Montebello, California. He was one of the founding members of the band The Gun Club, and released material as a solo artist. Pierce's early musical interests were towards glam and prog rock, particularly bands such as Sparks, Genesis and Roxy Music. He also developed a love of reggae after attending a Bob Marley concert. His love of reggae overlapped with the emergence of punk rock and Pierce became a fixture on the Hollywood scene as a contributor to Slash fanzine, writing about the punk scene and about 1930s blues, 1950s rockabilly and a reggae section under the name 'Ranking Jeffrey Lea', securing an interview with Bob Marley himself. In 1980 Pierce formed The Gun Club with guitarist friend Brian Tristan, aka Kid Congo Powers. They were notable for being one of the first punk bands to incorporate blues, rockabilly and country music influences, a style later termed "psychobilly" or "cowpunk". The Gun Club released seven studio albums between 1981-1993, all of consistently excellent standard. As a soloist Lee's recorded output is patchy, with his excellent 1985 debut album Wildweedbeinghis most coherent solo work. Other recommended albums include I knew Buffalo Bill (1987) a collaboration with Jeremy Gluck, Nikki Sudden and Rowland S. Howard, and Ramblin' Jeffrey Lee & Cyprus Grove With Willie Love (1992). The archival release Six String Sermon (2010) is also recommended. In 2010 The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project launched We Are Only Riders, the first of a series of albums featuring Pierce's unreleased works. The album features interpretations of his work by old friends and collaborators, such as Debbie Harry, Nick Cave, Lydia Lunch, Mick Harvey and Kid Congo Powers. Pierce, who increasingly suffered from drug and alcohol problems in his later life, died March 31, 1996 aged 37. As a point of interest, Pierce was infatuated with Debbie Harry, becoming President of the Blondie fan club and bleaching his hair like hers. His Gun Club companion Brian Tristan also happened to be head of the Ramones fan club.

Artist Website: jeffreyleepierce.com/Site/home.html

Featured Albums: Jeffrey Lee Pierce

Related Artists: The Gun Club, Nick Cave, Deborah Harry

Video Clips: Hey Juana, Alabama Blues, Mother of Earth