Bee, who was part Native American, was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on August 18, 1939, and raised in
Bell Buckle, Tennessee, until her family and she moved to Tucson, Arizona, sometime in the 1940s. In Arizona, she was discovered by "singing cowboy"
Rex Allen, a disc jockey in Tucson, when he heard her singing. a
KTLA-TV program produced at the
Legion Stadium in El Monte, California. It later was moved to the then-famous Harmony Park Ballroom in Anaheim, California. The Saturday-night stage show was hosted and produced by
Cliffie Stone, who helped popularize country music in California. Before their performance of "
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (and Loud, Loud Music)", Ford teased Bee about her hair, which she wore in braids, and complimented her "silver bell voice". She was quoted as saying that her nine years with the Tennessee Ernie Ford show were the most enjoyable years of her life; she was home most of the time and got to see her family every day. Bee appeared in 1958 with
George Montgomery in an episode of
The Gisele MacKenzie Show. She guest-starred on other national television variety shows hosted by
Red Foley and
Steve Allen. During the 1960s, Bee was a regular headliner at major Las Vegas showrooms, and briefly toured with
Bob Hope's
USO troupe. She also made frequent appearances on
The Jimmy Dean Show. In 1966,
Dick Clark and Barbara John put together the show ''Swingin' Country'' that featured three regulars—Bee,
Roy Clark, and
Rusty Draper. The show gained popularity, and the Armed Forces Radio and Television picked it up to be seen by over 250,000 military personnel worldwide. She was nominated in 1966 as Best Television Personality by The
Academy of Country Music Awards. By the end of the 1960s, her career began to fade; in later years, she blamed her decline on drug abuse. In 1975, in
Country Song Roundup magazine, she was quoted as saying that through her children, she found "equilibrium". Although she was no longer touring, in April 1998, she was part of the playbill putting on a benefit for the Ivey Ranch Park for the physically and mentally handicapped in Oceanside, California. By the 1990s, she owned a restaurant and night club in Oceanside, known as The Molly Bee. She was quoted as having said, "I've done it all, and lived to tell about it." and one son, Michael Allen.
Death Bee, who in her later years went by Molly Muncy offstage, died on February 7, 2009, at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside from complications following a stroke. She was 69 years old and lived in Carlsbad, California. ==Discography==