Molly Bee (born Mollie Gene Beachboard; August 18, 1939 – February 7, 2009), was an American country music singer famous for her 1952 recording of the early perennial "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and as Pinky Lee's sidekick on The Pinky Lee Show. Bee was also well known in the 1950s in Los Angeles as a regular on Hometown Jamboree, a local television program featuring Tennessee Ernie Ford. She also appeared several times on The Ford Show during its run from 1956 to 1961. Biography 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. Allen was impressed with Bee's voice, and had the 10-year-old sing "Lovesick Blues" on his popular radio show. In 1950, when Bee was 11, the Beachboard family moved to the Los Angeles area. She became a regular on Hometown Jamboree during the next two years, a KTLA-TV program produced at the American 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. While in her teens, Bee sang on the Jamboree, and gathered a large fan following. She was so popular, the program was sometimes referred to as The Molly Bee Show. The program gave a big break to many young singers, including Tommy Sands, who became a teen idol and dated Bee in the 1950s. When she was 13, Bee signed with Capitol Records and had her first major recording success with "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" in 1952. She attended Rosemead High School and graduated from Hollywood High School. In 1952, Bee was cast to play Pinky Lee's sidekick on the nationally televised children's program The Pinky Lee Show. In 1954, Bee joined Tennessee Ernie Ford in a daytime variety show, which ran from January 3, 1955, to June 28, 1957. 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". Ford also coaxed her to yodel, a skill learned