David Lee Spradley (DLee)

David Lee Spradley, also known as D. Lee, David Lee, David Lee Chong, and St. Song throughout his career, was born on May 18, 1954 in Seoul, South Korea.   His birth name was Lee Seung Chang, which when translated is St. Song!   When he was three years old, Americans, Russell and Nancy Spradley, adopted David.  Russell, serving in the military at the time, then brought him over to the United States where David became a naturalized U.S. citizen.  His father’s occupation led to his growing up in several different countries, his favorite being Germany, where he lived for nearly four years as a child.

 

     David’s love of performing started at the tender age of four when he first discovered his adopted grandmother’s old upright piano.  He also enjoyed playing guitar and drums as a youth.  He graduated from Roseville High School in 1972 and attended Oakland University (1972-75) in Rochester, MI, as a music-major. He has continued his love of music for the past forty years working as a professional musician, composer, arranger, producer, and engineer for an interesting mix of internationally known artists.

 Some of the incredible artists David has worked with throughout his career include:  Steve Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Jeffrey Osborne, Peabo Bryson, Patti Austin, Anita Baker, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy Collins, (as David Lee Chong) Roy Ayers, Stanley Clarke, Earl Klugh, Bob James, Boney James, David Benoit, Chuck Loeb, Norman Brown, Tom Browne, Ray Parker, Jr., Peter White, Mindi Abair, Jesse J, Sly Fox, Boogie Boys, L.J. Reynolds, Phillipe Wynne, David Peaston, Keith Washington, and Straight Ahead.

     David has also composed many songs throughout his career, the most famous being, “Atomic Dog,” with George Clinton.  This song has the distinction of being one of the most sampled songs in the industry, most notably, by Snoop Dogg in, “What’s My Name,” a multi-million seller.

     David currently works with Grammy Award-winning guitarist, Earl Klugh, performing in concerts all over the world and in the recording studio. Earl’s last band album, “The Spice Of Life,” which David performs on, was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award.  David has been working with Earl since 1993.

 

David also had his own band based in Detroit called, “D. Lee and The Edge.”  They released two albums entitled, “In Pursuit of Phatness,” (1998) and “Fabulous,” (2005).  He also has a mini-CD entitled, "Back To Basics," -A Pop Thang- (2014)
Plus the new re-release of "In Pursuit of Phatness" All of which are available for review and purchase at
http://cdbaby.com/cd/davidlee82.