Services have been set for Matt Lee, a well-known member of Detroit’s music community who died last week at age 68.
The musician turned publicist died Thursday at his residence in Southfield. The cause of death unknown.
Eternally known as “Matty” to his many friends and colleagues, Lee surrounded his life with music. He is remembered for his gregarious nature, his ability to foster connections though music and his impactful friendships. He worked as an enthusiastic publicist for 30 years, helping shine a light on the city’s many talented musicians from legendary established artists to young hopefuls just starting out in the business.
After his death was announced Thursday evening, hundreds in Detroit’s music, hospitality, print media and television industries took to social media to share their love for their friend. Those who didn’t already know him from his days as a musician would come to know Lee as a hard-working publicist who worked with some of Detroit’s most famous modern institutions, including the Detroit Jazz Festival, Dutch Girl Donuts and Third Man Records.
He had seen Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones more times than anyone else you know, probably, and he was the band leader and guitar player in R&B group the Suspects in the 1980s.
“He was a walking encyclopedia of music, and he was just the coolest guy. He was a good musician. He had a gift,” his twin brother David Lee told The Detroit News.
“It’s the great pleasure of my life to have been his brother.”
Lee was born Matthew Charles Leibowitz in Detroit on Jan. 16, 1958. He and David had a lifelong brotherly bond, from their days growing up in Dearborn (their dad worked in the auto industry) to graduating from Southfield High School together. They took many trips to New York City, New Orleans, or anywhere else Springsteen may have been playing a concert.
While David was into sports, Matt was obsessed with rhythm and blues, soul and rock and roll.
David said Matt would have “all the newest releases” and remembers being with his brother the first time he heard Bob Dylan.
“He had been a musician, and a very good one, and he was able to step back and see the talent in others and helped develop it. He was a total professional,” said David.
Others are also remembering Lee, who once worked at the Off the Record retail shop in Royal Oak, and his deep love of music and the city.
“Matty Lee loved Detroit music and its great culture,” Detroit musician Tino Gross told The Detroit News. “We often talked about Detroit being the ‘Greatest Music City’ in the world. The outpouring of love for Matty shows that Detroit recognized him and his constant support and loved him right back.”
“Matty had a way of describing folks and who they are or what they do. That trait was perfect for his profession,” said Detroit musician RJ Spangler, who knew Lee since the ’80s. “He called it ‘gorilla PR’ and no one was better, and no one will fill the large void he has left. No one.”
Many of the people Lee worked with through his craft became his friends. In an age of texting and emailing, Lee was a phone call kind of guy, greeting friends and clients with his unmistakable voice booming with energy.
His colleague and friend, Metro Detroit publicist Jason Brown, said Lee’s unexpected death hit him “like a ton of bricks” and calls his passing “a tremendous loss for our community, and frankly, the world.”
“He was ‘the’ publicist in Detroit when it came to arts, entertainment and music,” Brown said about Lee. “The icons he worked with and the music knowledge he possessed were like none other. He didn’t just take on clients for money … these people were, or became, his lifelong friends, and he always treated them with respect, loyalty and genuine care.”
Lee once said he considered himself “a mechanic” of people’s artistic vision.
“Mostly we help people tell their stories,” he said on Paula Messner and Patty Brown’s podcast in 2019. “All I do is take somebody’s art, their music, a restaurant and help put it out there and help people amplify their vision of what they’re doing. I really consider myself just a mechanic.”
Those who knew him say they’ll miss his warmth.
“I will miss his advice. He was the best at that,” Messner told The Detroit News. “I will also miss the random phone calls. I feel like he was the king of checking up on everyone. And that smile. Worth a million bucks. I feel like I heard this from others, but he always told me he loved me before we hung up.”
Lee is survived by his brother David his daughter Grace.
A visitation is scheduled for 3-7 p.m. June 30 at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home, 1368 N. Crooks in Clawson.
Friends and family will gather for a Celebration of Life at the Cadieux Cafe, 4300 Cadieux in Detroit on July 1. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. with tributes starting at noon, followed by live music until 4 p.m.
mbaetens@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ‘The coolest guy,’ Matt Lee remembered for the music and friendships
Reporting by Melody Baetens, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Melody Baetens, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
