No-one could ever recreate the mellifluous baritone and unique style of iconic singer-songwriter Lee Hazlewood, who died on 4 August, 2007, aged 78.

In a diverse career spanning five decades, the legendary pop Svengali became widely respected as the pioneer of ‘country-rock’, as well as a major contributor to the sound known as 'Cowboy Psychedelia' or 'Saccharine Underground'.

His distinctive baritone voice told tales of society misfits, wonderers and damsels on death row, set to catchy but unorthodox melodies produced using groundbreaking recording techniques. He experimented with reverb to achieve his ambition of creating a unique sound that he labeled "not normal" music.

But he will be best remembered for his illustrious partnership with 1960s pop starlet Nancy Sinatra. He produced all her recordings and wrote many of her hit songs, including his most famous song ‘These Boots Are Made for Walking’ which he instructed Sinatra to sing "like a 16-year old girl who ***** truck drivers".

Barton Lee Hazlewood was born in Oklahoma on 9 July, 1929. Although he studied medicine at the Southern Methodist University in Texas, Mr Hazlewood was always passionate about music and returned from fighting in the Korean War to become a radio DJ

In 1953 he moved to Los Angeles, where he perfected his songwriting skills. He set up his own record label, Viv, and became involved with pioneering musicians such as rock guitarist, Duane Eddy, for whom he penned 14 US and 25 British hits.

Mr Hazlewood had his first top 10 hit in 1956 with a song called ‘The Fool’, performed by Sanford Clark. But despite gaining a reputation for writing popular and interesting songs, he was dismayed by the British invasion of the US charts and announced his retirement in 1964.

Luckily, just a year later, Reprise Records coaxed him out of retirement with the opportunity to record ‘Dino, Desi & Billy’. His success, producing two hits for the teenage trio and a chart-topper for Dino's father Dean Martin, led him to revive the career of struggling singer Nancy, daughter of Frank Sinatra.

Mr Hazlewood told her to sing in a lower register, giving her instant success with ‘So Long, Babe’ in 1966. In the same year, he wrote ‘These Boots Are Made for Walking’, the song that established Sinatra as one of the hottest pop stars of the 1960s. During this time he is also widely credited with discovering country-rock legend Gram Parson, signing his band in 1967.

Mr Hazlewood produced the Sinatra father-daughter hit, ‘Somethin' Stupid’, in 1967. He went on to share many popular duets with Nancy himself, and in 1968 the pair released an album of tracks including ‘Some Velvet Morning’.

In 1970, at the peak of his career, he made a shock move to Sweden, where he released almost two albums a year before retiring in 1978. But in 1993 he was persuaded to return to the US, where he was surprised to discover he had obtained cult status. His albums were reissued by popular underground bands, he toured again with Nancy, and in 1999 and 2002 he headlined The Royal Festival Hall in London.

In 2006 Mr Hazlewood was diagnosed with terminal renal cancer, but this did not slow him down - almost half a century after his debut record, he released his acclaimed final album, ‘Cake or Death’. But the cult hero died on 4 August, 2007, survived by his third wife Jeane Kelly and their three children.

As one of the most iconic figures in 20th century pop and underground music, Mr Hazlewood will continue to be a major influence on musicians of all genres. His committed fan website calls him "the real creative genius of the popular music scene" and his records are still celebrated as cult tunes.

He revolutionised production with his pioneering recording techniques which impressed many industry luminaries including the young Phil Spector, who was highly influenced by Mr Hazlewood's sound.

Despite his commercial pop success, he was at heart a wilfully eccentric solo artist who once exclaimed: “Thank God for kids that love obscure things! I never thought anyone would pay attention to those records, and it's a good feeling. It makes me feel like I really did get to do what I wanted to do.”

Mr Hazlewood was a big fan of musician-songwriter Beck, who was himself in complete awe of the music idol. Beck pays tribute to his hero’s voice:“His voice had the kind of stature that Johnny Cash's had. It had a gravity that allows him to be sincere and tongue-in-cheek at the same time. It's that immense voice of experience, not expecting any kindness from humanity other than a spare cigarette.”