He has been cited as influencing prominent country singers like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Roy Orbison, and Willie Nelson.

In his prime, Frizzell was the first artist to achieve four songs in the top ten on the Country Music Billboard charts at one time.

William Orville Frizzell was born the son of an oilman, the first of eight children, in Corsicana in Navarro County in North Texas, United States.

It was believed that he got the name "Lefty" because he had won a neighborhood fight; however, this tale was probably fabricated as part of a publicity stunt set up by his record label.

He began singing professionally before his teens, even earning a spot on the local radio-station KELD in El Dorado, Arkansas.

During his tour of Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, and Las Vegas, he began to develop a style of his own, shaped by artists like Rodgers, Ernest Tubb, and Ted Daffan.

In 1946, they moved to Roswell, New Mexico, and Frizzell performed on radio station KGFL and with the house band at the Cactus Gardens dance hall.

By 1950, he had landed a regular job at the Big Spring, Texas, nightclub "Ace of Clubs" where he developed a dedicated fan following.

"If You've Got the Money (I've Got the Time)" became a two-sided smash hit in 1950 upon its release; the b-side was the song Frizzell wrote to his grief-stricken wife Alice from jail, "I Love You A Thousand Ways.

[2] Also in early 1951, Frizzell formed the Western Cherokees, led by Blackie Crawford, and soon they became his primary band for both live and recording sessions.

[2] By 1952, he was a popular stage performer and in heavy demand, being included on The Grand Ole Opry and The Louisiana Hayride multiple times throughout the 1950s.

Frizell had an automobile accident in 1952, moved to Los Angeles in early 1953, and earned a spot as a regular cast member on the Town Hall Party television show on KTTV.

His Cadillac struck the Nash station wagon parked at the home of its owner, R. Harmon Drew, Sr., the former city judge and later a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.

Frizzell apologized, said that he hoped to visit Minden again under more favorable circumstances, posted bond, and took a taxicab back to Shreveport, from which he flew to his destination.

[1] He moved to Nashville in 1960 after the Town Hall Party closed, and began touring and recording more and more, scoring some minor hits.

Despite his history of infidelity, arrests for sex with underage fans, contractual legal troubles, and automobile accidents, Alice Harper remained his wife, and their marriage produced three children.

On July 19, 1975, at age 47, Frizzell died of a massive stroke,[1] and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.

In a 2003 interview Merle Haggard recalled, "When I was a teenager, Lefty got me onstage [at the Rainbow Garden in Bakersfield, California] and handed me that guitar.

In January 2005, it was returned to the Frizzell family and was later sold via auction by Retrofret,[6] with an asking price of $350,000; Haggard purchased the guitar and it remains a part of his estate.

[7] Frizzell's style of singing influenced a great many singers, particularly Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Keith Whitley, and Roy Orbison.

His biggest hits were 1982's "I'm Gonna Hire a Wino (To Decorate Our Home)" and "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma", a 1981 duet with Shelly West.

Daryle Singletary referenced Frizzell in his song "Ain't It The Truth" on an album by the same name, released by Giant Records in 1998.

In 2019, Frizzell's single "Long Black Veil" was selected by the U.S. Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".