Pervis Lee (November 8, 1933 – July 4, 2015) – You Don’t Care (1967)

This funky, driving jam was written by the unsung singer/songwriter from North Carolina who could have been another Bill Withers.

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Pervis Lee was an unsung North Carolina soul and folk singer/songwriter and guitarist who released two albums in the late 1960s and early 70s, both of them highly sought after today.

Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina during the segregation era, Pervis Terrell “Pappy” Lee Sr. started playing music professionally in the early sixties, performing at private parties and area country clubs. He played covers, but also wrote and performed his own songs which mixed folk and soul.

For his solo debut album Leeway (1967), released on the Gastonia, NC-based label Kincaid Records, he covered Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963). He also wrote nearly half the LP’s tracks, most of which are not available on streaming services. One exception is the upbeat opening cut “Sweet Way Of Loving.”

The album featured Lee’s son Pervis Lee Jr. on bass, who at the time was fourteen years old. It included Lee’s best-known song, the funky, driving masterpiece “You Don’t Care.”

This track and “Sweet Way Of Loving” were subsequently re-issued three years later on his second LP Himself (1970), self-released by Lee. Original copies of both Lee’s albums today sell for hundreds of dollars on Discogs.

Lee had natural talent as a singer/songwriter, and if he had relocated to a bigger city with a more established music scene, might have had a career blending soul and folk in the mold of Bill Withers (who coincidentally was born on July 4, 1938). Instead, he kept performing at local venues and private events around Charlotte, and eventually took a day job as a chauffeur, driving for three CEO’s of North Carolina National Bank which eventually became Bank of America. He retired from driving in 1994 and continued playing live music until at least 2001.

Rest in Power, Pervis Lee.

Further info:

“Pervis Lee was popular Charlotte singer and driver for CEO's,” obituary, Charlotte Observer, July 9, 2015.

#soul #folk #NorthCarolina #PervisLee