Tee Fletcher has been played on NTS shows including Carolina Soul, with Down In The Country first played on 5 May 2023.

Thomas Fletcher was a brilliant songwriter who had been kicking around Atlanta for years before meeting Jesse Jones at the Playboy club on Luckie Street in early 1968. His resume included a brief stint at Wendell Parker’s Shurfine label and a handful of writing credits for locals Larry James, the Barons, Richard Marks, and Jimmy Tig. Performing under the name Tee Fletcher, he made up for his lack of polish with sheer determination, a quality Jones could appreciate. Arranged by James Hudson, “Down In The Country” is vintage rural funk, even spending a few verses on shouting out the bosses of the southern sound. The flip, “Would You Do It For Me,” has its hand in Wilson Pickett’s bag, traditional up-tempo soul with a crushing one-handed piano pound. Fletcher’s vocals are on the mark throughout but lack a strong distinctive quality. He would continue working with Jones intermittently throughout the year, giving his best performance on the stirring “All Because Of You.” Fletcher dipped his toes into nearly every river flowing through the Atlanta scene, and even found himself on a nationally distributed label when Shurfine leased “Thank You Baby” to Josie. Well-liked, creative, and hard working, Tee Fletcher never had a hit but remains a key elder of Southern soul.