Ramer Lyra "Dulcie" Pitt, who performed as Georgia Lee (19212010) was an Australian jazz and blues singer and actress from Cairns. She is credited with being the first

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

artist to record blues songs with her album, ''Georgia Lee Sings the Blues Down Under'' (1962).

Early life

Georgia Lee was born as Ramer Lyra "Dulcie" Pitt on 22 February 1921, her father, Douglas Pitt jnr ( 1877–1926) was of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n, Scottish and Loyalty Islander descent and her mother, Myra Kemple-Hopkin's heritage was Afghani,

Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait I ...

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often groupe ...

and Scottish. Her father, a fisherman, was a strong swimmer: he swam from a sinking

lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively ...

to shore during a cyclone off

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repai ...

in 1894. Lee grew up in a musical family, her sisters Sophie and Heather were also singers, while her brothers Arthur and Walter were musicians. She had no formal musical training, but "learns her songs by ear."

Career

With her sisters Sophie and Heather Pitt, she formed the Harmony Sisters, often joined by her brothers Arthur and Walter, and performed as part of the United States Service Office Show, touring Queensland to entertain US troops during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. One of these shows was described in October 1943, "Heather and Dulcie Pitt, sang two songs, accompanied by wo menon guitars, and one of the sisters did a fascinating hula dance... lsoin the second half hey sangtwo popular songs, and on both appearances they were most enthusiastically applauded." After the war she took the name Georgia Lee and moved south to work in the cities and later in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

.'' Courier Mail'
Northern stars
/ref> She performed and recorded with many artists and bands including

Graeme Bell Graeme Emerson Bell, AO, MBE (7 September 191413 June 2012) was an Australian Dixieland and classical jazz pianist, composer and band leader. According to ''The Age'', his "band's music was hailed for its distinctive Australian edge, which he ...

, Geraldo, Bruce Clarke, Port Jackson Jazz Band, George Trevare and the Max Williams Quintet. On Good Friday in 1947, as Dulcie Pitt, she sang "If I Had You" on radio programme ''Sports Parade'' and "in response to isteners'demand, she was given a repeat engagement." Thereafter she performed as Georgia Lee. Her delivery of "Blue Heaven" with Bell for a concert at the Century Theatre,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

in October 1948 was described as a highlight for which she "gained most favour." During that year Lee was heard on

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

(ABC)'s radio programmes, ''Show Business'' (Mondays) and ''The Hit Parade'' (Wednesdays) backed by Jim Gussey's ABC Dance Band. In late 1953 the singer relocated to London and was contracted to Geraldo's dance band by the following March. In December 1954 she declined a £2000 offer to renew her contract with Geraldo, preferring to sign with a new revue. In 1957 she toured with

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

on his Australian tour. In 1961, she acted in the television play ''

Burst of Summer ''Burst of Summer'' is a 1959 play by Oriel Gray. It won the 1959 J. C. Williamson's Little Theatre Guild Award, and was later adapted for radio and TV. It was Gray's last produced play. Plot In 1955, racial tensions erupt in a small t ...

'' for the ABC, adapted from Oriel Gray's stage play. She also performed on TV on

Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, as well as a personality and star of radio, theatre, television and film. He often performed in the style of vaudevilli ...

's ''

In Melbourne Tonight ''In Melbourne Tonight'', also known as ''IMT'', was a highly popular nightly Logie award-winning Australian variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970. Overview Graham Kennedy was the show's main host and ...

'' and ''Bandstand''.National Film and Sound Archiv
Sounds of Australia registry
Lee is credited with being the first

artist to record blues songs. Her 1962 album ''Georgia Lee Sings the Blues Down Under'' may have been only the second album to be released by an Australian woman and was the first Australian album recorded in stereo. Arranged by Brian Martin, the album features Raphael Melevende on trumpet, Jack Glenn on trombone, Alec Hutchison on clarinet and tenor sax, Ron Rosenberg on piano, John Frederick on bass, Horrie Weems on guitar and Alan Turnbull playing drums. In 2009 it was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's

Sounds of Australia The Sounds of Australia, formerly the National Registry of Recorded Sound, is the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of sound recordings which are deemed to have cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance for Australi ...

registry.

Death

Lee died on 23 April 2010, aged 89, in a Cairns nursing home.Jackson, Andra
Jazz singer Georgia Lee dies
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'', 27 April 2010. Her niece, Wilma Reading, is a singer in her own right.

Discography

Jazz Concert: Eps 1 and 5" (1949) *"Graeme Bell Jazz Concert: Eps 10 and 14" (1949) *"Graeme Bell Jazz Concert: Eps 19 and 23" (1949) * Bruce Clarke Quintones — "St Louis Blues" (1951) Jazzart *Bruce Clarke Quintones — "Blue Moon" (1951) Jazzart *" Johnny Angel (song)" sung by Georgia Lee (1960) *"It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow" (1961) Rex *''Georgia Lee Sings the Blues Down Under'' (1962) Crest

Filmography

(1961 Television Version) as Peggy Dinjerra

References

External links

* Listen to an excerpt of Georgia Lee singin
'Yarra River Blues'
o
australianscreen online
* 'Georgia Lee sings the Blues Down Under' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's

registry in 2009 * * Georgia Lee Exhibition o
Australian Jazz Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Georgia 1921 births 2010 deaths Indigenous Australian musicians Australian people of Indian descent Australian people of Jamaican descent Australian people of Scottish descent Australian women singers Australian jazz singers Australian blues singers People from Cairns