Molly Bee

Molly Bee (born Mollie Gene Beachboard; August 18, 1939 – February 7, 2009), was an American country music singer and guitarist famous for her 1952 recording of the early perennial "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and as Pinky Lee's sidekick on The Pinky Lee Show.

Bee was also well known in the 1950s in Los Angeles as a regular on Hometown Jamboree, a local television program featuring Tennessee Ernie Ford. She also appeared several times on The Ford Show during its run from 1956 to 1961.

Biography Bee, who was part Native American, was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on August 18, 1939, and raised in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, until her family and she moved to Tucson, Arizona, sometime in the 1940s. In Arizona, she was discovered by "singing cowboy" Rex Allen, a disc jockey in Tucson, when he heard her singing. a KTLA-TV program produced at the Legion Stadium in El Monte, California. It later was moved to the then-famous Harmony Park Ballroom in Anaheim, California.

The Saturday-night stage show was hosted and produced by Cliffie Stone, who helped popularize country music in California. Before their performance of "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (and Loud, Loud Music)", Ford teased Bee about her hair, which she wore in braids, and complimented her "silver bell voice". She was quoted as saying that her nine years with the Tennessee Ernie Ford show were the most enjoyable years of her life; she was home most of the time and got to see her family every day. Bee appeared in 1958 with George Montgomery in an episode of The Gisele MacKenzie Show. She guest-starred on other national television variety shows hosted by Red Foley and Steve Allen.

During the 1960s, Bee was a regular headliner at major Las Vegas showrooms, and briefly toured with Bob Hope's USO troupe. She also made frequent appearances on The Jimmy Dean Show. In 1966, Dick Clark and Barbara John put together the show Swingin' Country that featured three regulars—Bee, Roy Clark, and Rusty Draper. The show gained popularity, and the Armed Forces Radio and Television picked it up to be seen by over 250,000 military personnel worldwide. She was nominated in 1966 as Best Television Personality by The Academy of Country Music Awards.

By the end of the 1960s, her career began to fade; in later years, she blamed her decline on drug abuse. In 1975, in Country Song Roundup magazine, she was quoted as saying that through her children, she found "equilibrium". Although she was no longer touring, in April 1998, she was part of the playbill putting on a benefit for the Ivey Ranch Park for the physically and mentally handicapped in Oceanside, California.

By the 1990s, she owned a restaurant and night club in Oceanside, known as The Molly Bee. She was quoted as having said, "I've done it all, and lived to tell about it." and one son, Michael Allen.

Death Bee, who in her later years went by Molly Muncy offstage, died on February 7, 2009, at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside from complications following a stroke. She was 69 years old and lived in Carlsbad, California.

Discography Albums Year Album US Country Label 1958 Young Romance Capitol 1965 It's Great, It's Molly Bee MGM 1967 Swingin' Country 40 1975 Good Golly Ms. Molly Granite 1982 Sounds Fine to Me Accord

Singles

Year Single1952"The Tennessee Tango"1952"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"1952"Where Did My Snowman Go?1953"Honky-Tonk Mountain" / "Nobody's Lonesome for Me"1956"Sweet Shop Sweetheart" / "From the Wrong Side of Town"1957"Since I Met You, Baby"/ "I'll Be Waiting for You"1958"Going Steady with a Dream"/ "Magic Mirror"1958"Don't Look Back"/ "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone"1958"After You've Gone"/"Five Points of a Star"1962"Just For the Record"1963"All My Love, All My Life"1963"I Was Only Kidding"1963"Some Tears Fall Dry"1964"Our Secret"/"He Doesn't Want You"1965"Single Girl Again"/"Keep It a Secret"1967"Sinner's Wine"1974"She Kept on Talkin'"1975"Good Golly Ms. Molly"1975"Right or Left at Oak Street"