Bill Black

William Patton "Bill" Black, Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician. He is noted for being Elvis Presley's bassist.

Career

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and one of nine children, Black played bass ('slapped/rockabilly' upright double) with guitarist Scotty Moore, while Elvis Presley played rhythm guitar and sang "That's All Right (Mama)" in a Sun Studios session in Memphis, that is considered a seminal event in the history of Rock and Roll.

In the early 1950s, the Black family lived in Lauderdale Courts housing complex in Memphis. Several of the Black children attended Humes High School at the same time as Presley although Bill Black had already left home for the U.S. Army by this time. Ken R. Black, the youngest of the Black children, associated with Presley, who was a year behind him at Hume.

Black went on to play double bass on early Presley recordings including "Good Rockin' Tonight", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Baby Let's Play House", "Mystery Train", "That's All Right (Mama)", "Hound Dog"; and eventually became one of the first bass players to use the Fender Precision Bass guitar in popular music on "Jailhouse Rock" in the late 1950s.

Black, Scotty Moore, Presley and drummer D. J. Fontana toured extensively during Presley's early career. Black was an extrovert and often "clowned" and did comedy during the live shows. Black and Presley had a couple of comedy routines together that they would slip into the live show from time to time. Black's on stage personality was a sharp contrast to the introverted stage presence of Moore. This balance seemed to be the perfect fit for the Presley performances.

Black's personality would often "warm" the audience to the band in the early live shows. Presley's unusual and very active stage presence was not always easily accepted. Black's comedic personality would often relax the audience and win them over to their side.

Black continued to work with Presley until 1958, leaving his band in large part due to disputes over financial terms. He and guitarist Moore had taken one-quarter of the royalties at the outset of Presley's career, but even after Presley had rocketed to stardom with RCA starting in 1956, Colonel Tom Parker had them on a 200 dollars per week wage.

Although Moore would eventually work with Presley again, Black never did, joining a Memphis group that evolved into Bill Black's Combo in 1959. Their instrumental "Smokie," released late that year, made the Top Ten in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Bill Black's Combo stuck to the formula of "Smokie" for many of their subsequent singles: a basic shuffle beat, simple bluesy R&B riffs, and some rinky-dink organ and smoky saxophone lines on top. They were not too imaginative, but they were quite successful, placing eight singles in the Top 40 between 1959 and 1962, including "White Silver Sands" (U.S. #9), "Josephine" (U.S. #18), "Don't Be Cruel" (U.S. #11), "Blue Tango" (U.S. #16), and "Hearts of Stone" (U.S. #20). Their sales were greatly boosted by the suitability of their instrumental rock for background music at bars, clubs, and diners, with many of their discs placed in jukeboxes.

Black died of a brain tumor in 1965 at the age of thirty-nine, and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. Presley received criticism for not attending his funeral; however he believed that his presence would turn the funeral into a media frenzy. He decided instead to visit the family privately after the service to express his condolences.

After Black's death, the Combo continued touring and recording under the same name for a number of years, led by their tenor saxophone player Ace Cannon, who continues a solo career to this day.

Black's bass guitar is today owned by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney who received the instrument as a birthday present from his late wife Linda McCartney in the late 1970s. The bass can be seen in the video clip to McCartney's song "Baby's Request". In the documentary film, "The World Tonight", McCartney can be seen playing the bass and singing his version of "Heartbreak Hotel".

ee also

*List of bass guitarists
*List of Precision Bass players
*List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart
*One-hit wonders in the UK
*List of notable brain tumor patients

External links

* [http://www.rockabillyhall.com/BillBlack1.html Rockabilly Hall of Fame]
* [http://entertainment.msn.com/artist/?artist=132505 MSN Entertainment]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=B6au67ur0h0jg AllMusic Guide]
* http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/billblack.txt
* http://www.hirecords.com/artists/billblack.htm
* [http://www.elvisdirectory.co.uk Elvis Directory]
* [http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/article_blackie.shtml Blackie - Bill Black & Elvis]