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Saturday, April 4, 2026

Lee Carzle on Erwin


Lee Carzle with Bobby Mizzel and the Le-Bow's - I'm askin' But I'm Not Gettin' (Erwin E-77), 1957 (or 1959)

Lee Carzle Hood was born on October 7, 1935, to Sim Andrew and Dollie L. Hood in Alabama. He grew up with five siblings. In the late 1940s, Hood served his country and spent time overseas in Saudi Arabia around 1949. Upon his return in 1950, he lived in Mississippi but eventually returned to Alabama. In November 1956, Hood married Shirley Oral Lane in Jefferson County, Alabama (which includes the state's capital Birmingham). The couple had two daughters.


Lee Carzle Hood, late 1950s
Hood was also a singer and musician. In the mid- to late 1950s, he linked up with local Birmingham musician, songwriter, and manager Leon Bowman, who in turn organized a deal with Marshall Ellis' Erwin record label from Memphis, Tennessee. As Lee Carzle, Hood recorded "I'm Askin' But I'm Not Gettin'" and "What's In Store for Me" and both Bowman originals. He was backed by local Birminham pianost Bobby Mizzell as well as the Le-Bow's, probably Bowman's own group. 

Terry Gordon of the excellent "Rockin' Country Style" discography project gives the release date as December 1957 (estimated) and it seems that most others, including Adam Komorowski in his liner notes for the Proper Records box set "Rocking Memphis", adapted this date. However, a Birmingham News article from September 13, 1959, mentions that "Lee Carzle has gone on record for Erwin [...] both sides of which were written by Leon Brown [!]." So this means the record either did not come into existence until 1959 or it indeed came out in late 1957 but did not get any recognition from the local press until two years later.

Come 1961, Hood had signed a deal with the Starday subsidiary Nashville Records and recorded two singles for the label. "Doorway to Your Heart" b/w "Two Eyes, Two Arms, Two Lips" was released that year on Nashville #5032. Again, both songs were composed by Leon Bowman. A second single followed three years later in 1964 with two songs Hood had penned with his sister Euell, "I'll Go to the Jumping Off Place with You" and "I've Never Made a Hit" (Nashville # 5193). It seems that this was his last release.

In the 1980s and in the 2000s, European rockabilly collections started featuring Carzle's "I'm Askin' But I'm Not Gettin'". Hood passed away on February 8, 2008, at the age of 72 years in Walker County, Alabama. He is buried in adjacent Marion County.

Sources

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