BIO

Most artists are still finding their voice on their debut album. But Michael Lee is already refining his, and he’s doing it through the sheer joy of love.

Known for his dazzling musicianship and a fiery blues growl that once earned him a stint fronting the late B.B. King’s touring ensemble, the Fort Worth-based singer/guitarist and his band The Wartime Limousine put a bold 21st-century spin on the funky, horn-fueled vibes of vintage ‘70s soul music. It’s a sound inspired by his steadfast love for classic R&B colliding with the arrival of new love in his life.

The foundation for the songs on the self-titled debut was cut live in the studio with Michael, keyboardists Chad Stockslager (Joshua Ray Walker) and Jordache Grant (Abraham Alexander), bassist Daniel Balis and drummer Matt Trimble (Bastards of Soul) all playing together and recording with vintage instruments and gear at Niles City Sound – a beautiful spot in the Near Southside section of Fort Worth that is most known for being the studio that launched Leon Bridges’ career over a decade ago.

The warm sound of the Hammond B-3; the unmistakable sonic beauty of the Wurlitzer piano; the bold, rich tone of baritone guitars and an early ‘70s Fender P-bass all recorded to tape through tube compressors and vintage microphones while running through an original Neve custom console create a magical sonic space for Michael’s songs that simultaneously feel both old and new.

The dynamic lead-off number “Starlight” and the gritty “Living High” embrace the swirling psychedelic soul sound pioneered by legendary producer Norman Whitfield, while the silky Al Green-influenced “Outta My Head” and confessional Stax-style ballad “Lesser Than a Better Man” ooze with the seductive passion that has defined the Memphis sound. “Drowning,” a deceptively bouncy ode to resilience in the face of adversity, could be a lost Motown track. And the closing “I Am Yours” finds Michael employing a fluttering falsetto so smooth and chill that it makes even the laidback genius of hometown hero Bridges sound like James Brown by comparison.

The delicate beauty in his voice on “I Am Yours” was easy for Michael to come by, as that song is a testament to a powerful new love in his life, his wife Melody. They met right at the onset of the pandemic after Michael had just left a tumultuous relationship(which inspired the darker “Living High”), and the instant chemistry and mutual passion between the two also inspired several other tunes on the album including “You and I,” “Caught It,” and “Outta My Head.”

“It should be easy, being in a relationship, at least that’s what the matriarchs of my family always told me,” says Michael. “I’ve never had that until now. From the lyrics to the musical choices on this album, there is an overall sense of ease that I’d say stems from the love I have with my wife.”

Throughout Michael Lee & The Wartime Limousine, the bandleader showcases his versatility and also displays a keen sense of restraint and vulnerability — attributes that were harder to tap into earlier in his career when he was learning to howl over loud blues bar crowds.

“I didn’t go into the studio with the mindset of making this a guitar record by any stretch,” he explains. “I really wanted this to be all about the songs — you're going to see what the song needs, and what moves you about the song, and that determines the way it needs to be approached. This is the first time I've ever done falsetto-type stuff on a record. I do it all the time whenever I’m practicing at home. Some of my favorite singers are Lenny Williams [of Tower of Power] and Prince. I love those guys.”

Michael credits co-producers Balis and Jeff “Skin” Wade, both currently part of Dallas funk-soul duo Silver Skylarks, for inspiring him to step out of his comfort zone. For example, the tasteful pedal steel guitar, contributed by frequent Khruangbin collaborator Will Van Horn, might seem out of place on a traditional soul music album, but Michael says it helps the record reflect his Texas roots. The offbeat sound of Michael’s lead guitar run through an auto-wah pedal lends a spacey, speech-like effect to the solo on“End of the Line.” And then there are the ambient guitar parts that kick off “Living High,” which he created by banging and shaking his amplifier.

“We just had fun with it,” Michael recalls. “I'm more of a traditionalist, and Skin’s a little bit out of the box. We were chasing a sound we liked without actually saying, ‘We need something that sounds like ‘Tired of Being Alone’ or whatever. It just naturally and organically happened that way. It didn’t seem like anyone was directing — we were just all on the same wavelength.”

That collaborative spirit gives Michael Lee & The Wartime Limousine the visceral clout of the soul and country records that his parents played around the family home in Michael’s birthplace of Bedford, Texas.

“I always gravitated to older music,” he says. “My very first concert was Buddy Guy and B.B. King, and I remember being pulled out of school to go. All my friends in high school would be listening to modern music at the time, like Nickelback or whatever it was. I was like, ‘But where are the goosebumps?’ Not to say that there's anything wrong with what they were listening to, but it just didn't speak to me.”

As a teenager, Michael would often sneak out of his house at night and drive to blues dive bars like Dallas’ Hole in the Wall, where he became engulfed in performances from local greats like Lucky Peterson, Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones and Bobby Patterson.

“I would put my car in neutral and push it out of the garage without starting it so my parents couldn’t hear me,” Michael remembers. “Then I would have to talk my way into the club almost every week. I wasn’t listening to the radio at all. I was so focused on like, ‘How do I do better at this? How do I write songs? How do I sing?’ It was a great education.”

Michael’s guitar fascination started at age 12 when his father bought him a Fender Squier Stratocaster. Armed with a book of Stevie Ray Vaughan tablatures, he taught himself how to play chords. The first song he perfected was ZZ Top’s “Pearl Necklace.”He cut his teeth playing in classic rock bands but later joined regional blues and soul groups playing six nights a week. Videos of his showmanship surfaced on YouTube, where producers of the NBC reality show The Voice noticed him. He was invited to audition for the competition in 2018.

Michael turned the chairs of three Voice coaches during the blind audition with King’s “The Thrill Is Gone” and became part of Blake Shelton’s team, where he sidestepped the country star’s Nashville wheelhouse and instead stuck to his blues roots by performing Delbert McClinton’s “Everytime I Roll the Dice” and The Allman Brothers’“Whippin’ Post.”

Among the millions of viewers cheering him on were trumpeter James “Boogaloo” Bolden and other members of The B.B. King Blues Band, who were working on a tribute album with guests like Taj Mahal and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. They invited Michael to record “The Thrill Is Gone” with them.

“It was crazy, and nerve-wracking,” Michael remembers about the recording session. “The 15 musicians in the band go in there and then say, ‘Michael, now it’s your turn,’ and they're all just sitting in the control room watching me. My monitor wasn't working in the headphones so I did it without being able to hear myself. And that’s what they put on the album. I think it’s the first take.”