ELVIS' MUSICIANS: SCOTTY MOORE

Winfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III was born in December 27th, 1931.

He is a member of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame and for his pioneering contribution, Moore has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2000.

Known for his work with Elvis in the first part of his career, from 1954 to 1958, Scotty Moore learned to play the guitar at eight years of age from family and friends .His early background was in Jazz and country music.

Scotty led a group called the "Starlite Wranglers" before Sam Phillips at Sun Records put him together with young Elvis Presley.

Phillips believed that Moore's lead guitar and Bill Black was all that was needed to augment Presley's rhythm guitar and lead vocals on their recordings.

In 1954 Moore and Black accompanied Elvis on what was going to be the first legendary Presley hit: "That's All Right Mama".

Elvis, Black and Scotty Moore then formed the "Blue Moon Boys". They were later joined by drummer D.J. Fontana.

Beginning in July of 1954, the "Blue Moon Boys" toured throughout the American South and as Presley's popularity rose, they toured the United States and made appearances in various television shows and movies.

July 12, 1954: Scotty becomes Elvis’ first manager with the signing of a contract that also bore the signatures of Elvis’s parents.

Moore played on many of Presley's most famous recordings including "Good Rockin' Tonight", "Baby Let's Play House", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Mystery Train", "Hound Dog", "Too Much" and "Jailhouse Rock".

Scotty is given credit as the pioneer of the rock 'n' roll lead guitarist. Most popular guitarists cite Moore as the performer that brought the lead guitarist to a dominant role in a rock 'n' roll band.

Moore, being quite introverted on stage, accomplished this almost exclusively through his performance and interpretation of the music.

In the 1960s, Moore released a solo album called The Guitar That Changed the World.

He moved to Nashville in 1964. In addition to working as an engineer and session musician, he played on many of Presley’s Nashville sessions at RCA’s Studio B. Moore set up his own Nashville studio, Music City Records, in 1966.

Moore and Fontana rejoined Presley for the televised 1968 “comeback special” (bassist Black had died in 1965).

While with Presley, Moore initially played a Gibson ES-295, before switching to a Gibson L5 and subsequently a Gibson Super 400.

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ELVIS' MUSICIANS: BILL BLACK

William Patton "Bill" Black, Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21st, 1965).

Elvis Presley's bassist.('slapped/rockabilly' upright double)

Born in Memphis, Tennesse, Bill recorded "That's all right"with Elvis and Scotty in a Sun Records Studio session in Memphis. That is considered a seminal event in the history of Rock N Roll.

Bill Black became one of the first bass players to use the Fender Precision Bass Guitar in the late 1950s.

Bill, Scotty, Elvis and drummer D.J. Fontana toured extensively during Presley's early career.

Bill was an extrovert and often "clowned" and did comedy during the shows. He and Elvis had a couple of comedy routines together that they would slip into the show from time to time. Bill's on stage personality was a big contrast to the introverted stage presence of Scotty Moore. This balance seemed to be the perfect fit for the Elvis performances.

Elvis' unusual and very active stage presence was not always easily accepted in the 50's. Bill's comedic personality would often relax the audience and win them over to their side.

Black worked with Elvis until 1958, leaving his band in large part due to disputes over financial terms.

Although guitarist Scotty Moore would eventually work with Elvis again, Bill 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.

Black died of a brain tumor in 1965 at the age of thirty-nine and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis.

Elvis received criticism for not attending his funeral; however Elvis 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.

Bill Black's bass is today owned by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney who received the bass as a birthday present from his late wife Linda McCartney in the late 70's. The bass can be seen in the video clip to McCartney's song "Baby's Request". In the documentary film "The world tonight" Paul McCartney can be seen playing the bass and singing his version of "Heartbreak Hotel".

source;http://wikipedia.org/