Before honoring Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels at the 44th Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., singer/songwriter Paul Simon and his singer/songwriter wife Edie Brickell performed an acoustic guitar duet of the 1957 Top 10 song “Mr. Lee.” See below.
It was original sung by the R&B girl group The Bobbettes of Harlem, New York. (The five girls were students at P.S. 109 in Spanish Harlem; Mr. Lee was a school teacher.) The Bobbettes were the first girl group to release a #1 R&B hit that also made the pop top 10.
Thirty years later, former Supremes singer Diana Ross recorded the song and included it on the European version of her 1987 album Red Hot Rhythm & Blues. See video below. Note: Motown founder Berry Gordy — who launched the career of The Supremes — is also being honored at the Kennedy Center with Lorne Michaels, Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler, and Justino Diaz.
The 44th Annual Kennedy Center Honors ceremony will air on CBS on Wednesday, December 22 at 9 pm.
