Former Teen Country Star Molly Bee Dies at 69
Molly Bee, best known for the 1952 holiday hit 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,' has died from complications following a stroke. She was 69.
Bee was just 10 years old when she started singing professionally, gaining instant fame with her performance of the Hank Williams classic 'Lovesick Blues' on the Rex Allen radio show. The Bell Buckle, Tenn. native was just 13 years old when she released 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.'
Bee had a string of country hits throughout the '50s, including 'Young Romance,' 'Don't Look Back' and '5 Points of a Star.' She was also a regular performer on several television programs, including the popular 'Hometown Jamboree' show.
Bee passed away Saturday at an Osceanside, Calif. hospital. Her manager tells the Associated Press the singer had been ill for several months.
soKe.flace('music-boot.dearly.departed', '476', '600');
var uid = new Date().getTime();
var flashProxy = new FlashProxy(uid, 'http://www.aolcdn.com/_media/modtools/kit_swfpublisher_javascriptflashgateway.swf');
var flashvars = {};
try { flashvars.lcId = uid; } catch (Exc) { };
try { flashvars.targetAds = 'music-boot.dearly.departed'; } catch (Exc) { };
try { flashvars.omniture_tracker = '0'; } catch (Exc) { };
try { flashvars.adrefresh_wrapper = '1'; } catch (Exc) { };
try { flashvars.appswfURL = soKe.fv('http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=495493&pid=495492&uts=1234392253'); } catch (Exc) { };
if (typeof(screen_name) != 'undefined') try { flashvars.userName = screen_name; } catch (Exc) { };
var params = {};
try { params.wmode = 'opaque'; } catch (Exc) { };
try { params.menu = 'false'; } catch (Exc) { };
try { params.bgcolor = '#ffffff'; } catch (Exc) { };
try { params.quality = 'best'; } catch (Exc) { };
try { params.allowScriptAccess = 'always'; } catch (Exc) { };
try { params.allowFullScreen = 'true'; } catch (Exc) { };
var attributes = {};
try { attributes.id = 'outlet'; } catch (Exc) { };
top.exd_space.refresher.ads2Refresh(new Array(
'music-boot.dearly.departed',
new Array('93243970','300','250','0','I','')
));
top.exd_space.refresher.iFrm2Refresh(new Array(
'music-boot.dearly.departed',
new Array('Placement_ID', '1368477'),
new Array('Domain_ID', '1012776')
));
top.exd_space.refresher.mmx('music-boot.dearly.departed', 'http://www.aolcdn.com/_media/channels/ke_blank.html', '');
swfobject.embedSWF('http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf', 'music-boot.dearly.departed-swf', '476', '600', '9.0.115', 'http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/swfobject/expressinstall.swf', flashvars, params, attributes);
top.exd_space.refresher.launcher(
'music-boot.dearly.departed',{
dynamicSlide:[''],
size:['476t'],
photoNumber:['1'],
title:['Recently Departed Music Stars'],
numimages:['23'],
baseImageURL:['http://cdn.compuserve.com/'],
imageurl:['http://o.aolcdn.com/photo-hub/news_gallery/6/0/600752/1234276140123.JPEG'],
credit:['Jose Luis Magana, AP'],
source:['Jose Luis Magana, AP'],
caption:['Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, Feb. 9: The "heartbeat" of Cuba's legendary Buena Vista Social Club, a group of semi-retired musicians living in Havana made famous thanks to the work of producer Ry Cooder, died of complications from prostate surgery. He was 76.'],
dims:['http://o.aolcdn.com/dims/PGMC/5/350/412/70/'],
showDisclaimerText:[''],
disclaimerText:[''],
CSS_Title:[''],
CSS_Caption:[''],
CSS_Disclaimer:[''],
CSS_Container:[''],
CSS_Border:[''],
CSS_PhotoWell:[''],
CSS_photoHolder:[''],
CSS_Buttons:[''],
CSS_BtnOver:[''],
CSS_Scroll:[''],
topMargin:['39,0,350,412,428,289,0,0']
}
);
More From TheBoot
