Bio

LeeLee Robert

 LeeLee’s favorite child's play, while growing up in Phoenix, AZ, was singing 3-part harmony with her older brother and twin sister. She picked up the guitar at age 12, wrote her first song at 14 and began her professional music career at 16 in the coffee houses of the 60’s. In 1966 she won first place in the Arizona Teenage Fair Competition receiving $50, a recording contract, and a one-week stint at the Shrunken Head Coffeehouse.


    At the very same time, her love of ballet inspired a serious study of dance. She eventually graduated from Arizona State University (where she won the Prestigeous Wanda Turk Award for choreography). She also had the privilege of studying at the Martha Graham School of modern dance (The Place) in Londen, England where she studied while at the same time performing music and following the folk scene there. She also had the opportunity of spending a summer in New York City taking classes at The Martha Graham school and observing classes of the top dance companies there.


     She returned to America and eventually graduated from Arizona State University while playing clubs. She was offered a position teaching dance at College of the Redwoods in Northern California while performing her music as a solo artist and with her own band around the Northern California area for several years.This gave her music career a “leg up” and eventually she worked her way up to singing with a 13-piece orchestra at the renowned Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. She worked with a Bay Area agent that booked her 3-5 nights a week at the “Nob Hill” hotels.


    In 1985 she observed a public speaker use her guitar and singing combined with public speaking and storytelling and decided to expand her revenue stream. She moved back to Arizona and joined her father in his public speaking business: Cavett Robert, Inc., as Sales and Marketing Director and aspiring public speaker. Cavett Robert founded the National Speakers Association in 1972, and after retiring from a successful law practise at the age of 55, became a well-known platform speaker in the early days of the Meetings Industry. 


    Lee had the privilege of learning from many of  public speaking’s “greats.”  She’s authored two books—a biography of her father titled “Cavett Robert: Leaving a Lasting Legacy;” and the co-authored Prentice Hall business book, “Gendersell: How to Sell to the Opposite Sex.” 


     She created a niche in the speaking industry by combining public speaking with original music. She performed across the U.S., England, Finland, Germany, and New Zealand for audiences as large as 25,000 people.


    In 1999 Lee met Rick Flory, who asked her to become the Executive Director of his philanthropic organization: Earth Friends Conservation Fund. After volunteering for 3 years, she eventually joined the organization and they were married.  Rick and Lee split their time between Jackson Hole, WY and Paradise Valley, Arizona. With their business backgrounds, (Rick led an organization of 1800 employees and had the second largest Dominoes Pizza Franchize company in the U. S.), they were asked to serve on the boards of several National Park and Conservation Foundations.


    While Rick continued with his philanthropic activities, LeeLee’s attentions turned back to her music and songwriting in 2010. Her love of the Western landscape inspires much of her music and songwriting and in 2014 she released her seventh album, Jewel of the West, which was voted Best Western Album of the Year by The Academy of Western Artists.   

   
    For her jazz release, Let Me Be The One in 2016, the talented guitarist and vocalist dove into her long relationship with vocal jazz history through a 12-song set. Five songs were written by Robert alongside three standards and others written by respected jazz songwriters.


   She’s developed a unique style she calls “Cowgirl Jazz” that combines the colors and textures of jazz and blues with the lyric strengths of Western music. She is also known for her ability to connect with an audience through storytelling. She is a vocalist with the Jazz Foundation of Jackson Hole’s big band, and she also performs as a solo artist inviting accomplished instrumentalists to join her performances from time to time.


   Lee was invited to serve on the boards of both The Jazz Foundation of Jackson Hole and also the board of The International Western Music Association. 


   Her most recent album, “Swing Set,”was voted best Western Swing Album of the Year in 2018 by The Academy of Western Artists. One of the capstones of her career was being voted Songwriter of the  Year by The International Western Music Association in 2019 honoring her body of work.


    She continues her songwriting and performing while enjoying her family, friends, fitness, and her dog, Raphee. Her favorite quote is: “all art is just an analogy for the great art of life.”