Norma Lee (Hoople)

About The Artist In the 1950s, WSAZ-TV out of Huntington, West Virginia had a show called the "Saturday Night Jamboree" and one of the vocal stars was Norma Lee. A 1957 article mentions the show had been on at least four years, putting its origins to about 1953 or so. Dean Sturm was the master of ceremonies for the show. The show was quite popular in its time - it played to a live studio audience of about 75 people and folks had to write in advance to get tickets, often several weeks in advance. Not much else was mentioned about Norma nor have we found much else at this time. A 1956 article simply describes Odey and Norma Hoople (we suspect this may be the same singer we speak of here, perhaps having gotten married), and Phyllis Noel as "talented kids with fine future in the country and western field." Ivan Tribe mentioned Ms. Lee (Hoople) in his book, "Mountaineer Jamboree: Country Music in West Virginia". He writes that she and Phyllis Noel were later succeeded by another talented female vocalist - Connie Smith - who went on to make a name in Nashville. Credits & Sources Country & Western Jamboree; June 1956; Maher Publications; Chicago, IL Rustic Rhythm; September 1957; Vol. 1, No. 6; Rustic Rhythm, Inc.; 5 East 40th Street, New York, NY Mountaineer Jamboree; Ivan Tribe; The University Press of Kentucky; 1984; ISBN: 0-8131-0878-0; 243 pages

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