William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country music singer-songwriter and was one of the most definitive honky-tonk singers of country music. A vocalist who set the style of singing "the country way" for the generations that followed, Frizzell became one of the most successful and influential artists of country music throughout his stellar career. He gained prominence in  1950 after two major hits, and throughout the decade was a very popular country performer. He smoothed out the rough edges of a honky tonk song by sounding out syllables longer and singing longer. Because of this, his music become much more mainstream without losing its honky tonk attitude and persona.