Jack Lee

• Name — Jack Lee • Birth Name — Jack Nathan Lee • Born — 25 March 1952 • Died — 26 May 2023 • Origin — Alaska, United States • Instrument — * Guitar • vocals • Occupation — * Musician • singer • songwriter • Label — * Maiden America • Lolita • Alive Naturalsound • Years Active — 1970s–2020s

Born in Alaska in 1952, Lee left home at age 15 for Santa Monica, California, before relocating to San Francisco at age 19. There, he busked in the Fisherman's Wharf neighborhood, where he met fellow street musician Peter Case.

Alongside Case and Paul Collins, Lee formed the seminal, yet short-lived power pop trio the Nerves in 1974. The band self-released one self-titled EP in 1976, which included "Hanging on the Telephone". After relocating to Los Angeles in 1977, the Nerves broke up in 1978. Lee only recorded two solo albums after the Nerves: 1981's Jack Lee's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1, through his own Maiden America label, and a self-titled album in 1985 on the French label Lolita Records. His songs have been recorded by artists such as Blondie, Paul Young, and Suzi Quatro. Subsequently, Lee more or less disappeared from the music scene, although he kept performing from time to time with his band Jack Lee Inferno. A proposed album never materialized, but in 2016, Lee's two out-of-print albums from the 1980s were reissued by Alive Naturalsound Records on the compilation Bigger Than Life. Lee continued to write songs and work on his music in private until his death from colon cancer in Santa Monica, California on May 26, 2023, at the age of 71.

• The Nerves (EP) (1976, Maiden America)

• Jack Lee's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (1981, Maiden America) • Jack Lee (1985, Lolita) • Bigger Than Life (2016, Alive Naturalsound) – compilation containing Lee's first two albums

• Artist — Song — Album — Year • Blondie — "Hanging on the Telephone" — Parallel Lines — 1978 • Blondie — "Will Anything Happen?" — Parallel Lines — 1978 • Suzi Quatro — "You Are My Lover" — Suzi... and Other Four Letter Words — 1979 • Rubber City Rebels — "Paper Dolls" — Rubber City Rebels — 1980 • Christie Allen — "City Lights" — Detour — 1980 • Paul Young — "Come Back and Stay" — No Parlez — 1983 • Paul Young — "Oh Women" — No Parlez — 1983 • Paul Young — "Sex" — No Parlez — 1983 • The Droogs — "Paper Dolls" — Mad Dog Dreams — 1989 • L7 — "Hanging on the Telephone" — The Jerky Boys (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) — 1995 • The Kickovers — "Hanging on the Telephone" — Osaka — 2002 • Peter Bjorn and John — "When You Find Out" — (I Just Wanna) See Through / Say Something Else (split EP) — 2003 • Def Leppard — "Hanging on the Telephone" — Yeah! — 2006 • Jimmy Somerville — "Hanging on the Telephone" — Suddenly Last Summer — 2009 • Chicane — "Come Back" — Giants — 2010 • Georg Wadenius — "Come Back and Stay" — Reconnection — 2010 • Kurt Baker — "Hanging on the Telephone" — Got It Covered — 2010 • The Murderburgers — "When You Find Out" — Old Bullshit, Rare Bullshit, Previously Unreleased Bullshit & Live Bullshit (2007-2013) — 2012 • Phil Seymour — "Stand Back and Take a Good Look" — Prince of Power Pop – His Very Best + 11 Unissued Tracks — 2017