Molly Bee (August 18, 1939–February 7, 2009), born Mollie Gene Beachboard, was an American country music singer who was 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 Los Angeles, California area in the 1950s as a regular on Hometown Jamboree, a local television program featuring what was then referred to as "country and Western" music.^[1]

Biography

Bee was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on August 18, 1939 and raised in Bell Buckle, Tennessee,^[2][3] Bee and her family moved to Tucson, Arizona sometime in the 1940s. While in Arizona, Bee was discovered by "Singing Cowboy" Rex Allen. Allen was impressed with Bee's talent, having the ten year old sing "Lovesick Blues" on his popular radio show.^[4] In 1950, the Beachboard family relocated to the Los Angeles area when Bee was 11. When she was 13, Bee signed with Capitol Records and had her first major recording success with "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" in 1952^[5] In 1952, Bee was cast to play Pinky Lee’s sidekick on the nationally televised children's program, The Pinky Lee Show. In 1954, Bee left the children's TV program to join Tennessee Ernie Ford's daytime variety show. Ford coaxed her to yodel, a skill learned on the Tennessee farm, where she spent her early years. Thereafter, her yodeling became a feature in most of her early appearances.^[6]

Bee's biggest hit was followed by three more hit singles, including "The Tennessee Tango". Bee also enjoyed a brief stage and film acting career in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in Corral Cuties, Going Steady, Chartroose Caboose and The Young Swingers, but once said she was "too shy" to embrace acting.^[7] She attended Rosemead High School and graduated from Hollywood Professional High School.^[8] Bee appeared in 1958 with George Montgomery in an episode of NBC's The Gisele MacKenzie Show. She guest-starred on a number of national television variety shows, hosted by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Red Foley and Steve Allen. She also became a regular on Hometown Jamboree, a KTLA-TV, Los Angeles show, which was actually produced at the legendary American Legion Stadium in El Monte, California. ^[9] The Saturday night stage show was hosted and produced by Cliffie Stone, who helped popularize country music in California.^[10] Bee sang on the Jamboree throughout her teens, gaining a large following of fans; she was so popular, the program was occasionally called the "Molly Bee Show." During this time, she was also a regular on The Pinky Lee Show, appearing on the television program for three years. ^[11]

During the 1960s, Bee was a regular headliner at major Las Vegas showrooms and briefly toured with Bob Hope's USO troupe.^[12] She also made frequent appearances on ABC-TV's The Jimmy Dean Show. By the end of the 1960s, her career began to fade; in later years she credited a period of drug abuse as one of the reasons for her career's demise. Crediting her children as impetus ^[13], Bee attempted a began a comeback in the 1970s by playing small country bars and venues that were very different from the large concert audiences she had once attracted. She often had her two daughters perform with her. ^[14] As she rebuilt her fan base, Bee released the albums Good Golly Ms. Molly in 1975, this time on Cliffie Stone's Granite record label, and in 1982, her final album, Sounds Fine to Me. ^[15][16]

Personal life

Bee was married five times, having two daughters, Lia Glenn and Bobbi Carey, ^[17] and one son, Michael Allen^[18]. By the late '60s, Bee had developed a severe drug addiction and was forced to take several years off the road as she rebuilt her life. ^[19] By the 1990s she ran a restaurant and night club in Oceanside, California, The Molly Bee. She is quoted as saying, "I've done it all, and lived to tell about it".^[20]

Death

Molly Bee, who in her later years went by the name Molly Muncy offstage, died on February 7, 2009, at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, California of complications related to a stroke. She was 69 at the time of her death and had lived in Carlsbad, California.^[21]

Discography

Albums

Singles