The Nerves‘ frontman and writer of Blondie’s 1978 hit ‘Hanging on the Telephone’, Jack Lee, has died aged 71.
Lee’s passing was confirmed by his family and management in a statement shared with Pitchfork, saying he had been living with colon cancer for three years. “He never gave up on his music, to the very end. His guitar, right by his side,” Lee’s family wrote. “He lived his songs. One by one they told the story of his life. Some dreams die. His never will.”
Born in Alaska in 1952, Lee would go on to form The Nerves in 1974 while living in San Francisco. The band consisted of bassist Peter Case, drummer Paul Collins and Lee singing and playing guitar.
They released their four track self-titled EP in 1976 and headed down to Los Angeles where they would eventually break up a year later. ‘Hanging On The Telephone’, a song Lee wrote for The Nerves, would go on to become a massive hit for Blondie who recorded the track on their 1978 album ‘Parallel Lines’.
Lee recalled hearing about Debbie Harry’s interest in the song in a 2007 interview with Mojo, sharing: “I remember the day vividly. It was a Friday. They were going to cut off our electricity at six o’clock, the phone too.” He added that the song was so catchy, few could resist it. “Even people who hated me—and there were plenty—had to admit it was great,” he said.
Lee would go on to write songs such as ‘Come Back And Stay’ which became a hit for the English musician Paul Young in 1983, and ‘You Are My Lover’, which Suzi Quatro recorded in 1979.
Lee also released two solo albums after the breakup of The Nerves. 1981 saw his first LP titled ‘Jack Lee’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 1’ and 1985 saw the release of his self-titled album. Alive Records would go on to release ‘One Way Ticket’, a compilation of The Nerves’ debut EP along with other early singles.
According to Variety, Lee’s remains were cremated, and he will be remembered with a plaque in the Rose Garden at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The official obituary said a memorial celebrating his song catalog — including unreleased material as well as the known catalog — is being planned to take place at the Echoplex club in LA’s Echo Park.
Lee is survived by his children Wallie Autry, Grace Lee, Mary Lee, and Cynthia Jacqueline Lee Cook; grandchildren Jack Autry, Brenlee Autry, Adam Mejia, Alana Joy Nichols, Jackson Cook, and Hudson Cook; half siblings Robert Emiel Lee, Virginia E. Lee, and Katherine Lee; and wife Mieke Sofia Lee.