Lee Hazlewood: Lesser-Known Legend of Surf & Twang Guitar

Even if only for his pioneering production work with one of my guitar heroes, Duane Eddy (e.g., using a gigantic grain tank as an echo chamber), let it be known that Lee Hazlewood, while himself not a hotshot guitarist, co-wrote some of Eddy’s best tunes (including half of his excellent 1965 album, Duane-a-Go-Go), as well as penned a fair number of surf classics for other artists:  “Baja“; “Movin’” and “Batman” for The Astronauts, plus all of Al Casey‘s best instrumentals – “Surfs You Right“; “The Hearse“; “Surfin’ Hootenanny“; and “Guitars, Guitars, Guitars.”

Is Hazlewood’s 1961 instrumental — five years before Neil Hefti‘s “Batman Theme” — the first musical tribute to the Caped Crusader?  Still trying to determine that the guitarist is using a 6-string bass (or baritone guitar) to carry out the melody line.

“Batman“

Lee Hazlewood (1964)

This unreleased track was one of twelve tracks recorded by ‘Lee Hazlewood’s Woodchucks’ on October 26, 1964 at United Recorders in Los Angeles. Light In The Attic, at last, would liberate this album in its entirety in 2018 on a CD collection entitled Crusin’ For Surf Bunnies.

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LINK to 45 Sides +/- Obscure Tracks