Post by erik on Nov 12, 2022 13:05:31 GMT -5
Elvis' bass player Bill Black is in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight with his instrumental version of his former boss' 1956 smash "Don't Be Cruel".
DON’T BE CRUEL (Bill Black’s Combo; Hi; 1960)—Along with guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer D.J. Fontana, bass player Bill Black helped form the musical sound behind the man who was arguably the most popular influential single musical performer of the 20th century, Elvis Presley. All three guys formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954 to back Elvis, then still thought of as a country music performer, but with a penchant for “sounding Negro”. With the promotional flair of Sam Phillips and his Memphis record label Sun, the Blue Moon Boys and Elvis became big deals in the South; but the need to go national resulted in a change of management in 1955, from Phillips’ right-hand man Bob Neal to one “Colonel” Tom Parker, and a signing to RCA Records for a then-outrageous sum of $35,000. Elvis rapidly became a star, albeit a very controversial one, in 1956 thanks to he and his boys’ mix of energetic R&B and country that became known as rock and roll; but after 1957, the Colonel unceremoniously dumped these guys, considering them too much of a drain on finances (provoking Elvis’ close friend and Memphis DJ George Klein to remark that it was the first decision of the Colonel’s that, in his mind, was detrimental to Elvis). Black, like Moore and Fontana, however, remained close to Elvis; and in 1960, after having scored instrumental hits with originals like “Smokie” and “White Silver Sands”, Black and his Bill Black’s Combo scored a third big hit with their short but energetic instrumental version of Elvis’ massive 1956 classic “Don’t Be Cruel”. While this instrumental version wasn’t anywhere near as big as the original Elvis recording that Black played on, it nevertheless had a chart peak of #11 on the Hot 100 and #9 on the R&B chart in late October 1960. By 1963, however, Black had to retire due to a brain tumor, though he had encouraged his group to continue without him. Black would pass away on October 21, 1965 from complications due to that tumor, having long since established his place as an originator of a most uniquely form of American popular music.
DON’T BE CRUEL (Bill Black’s Combo; Hi; 1960)—Along with guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer D.J. Fontana, bass player Bill Black helped form the musical sound behind the man who was arguably the most popular influential single musical performer of the 20th century, Elvis Presley. All three guys formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954 to back Elvis, then still thought of as a country music performer, but with a penchant for “sounding Negro”. With the promotional flair of Sam Phillips and his Memphis record label Sun, the Blue Moon Boys and Elvis became big deals in the South; but the need to go national resulted in a change of management in 1955, from Phillips’ right-hand man Bob Neal to one “Colonel” Tom Parker, and a signing to RCA Records for a then-outrageous sum of $35,000. Elvis rapidly became a star, albeit a very controversial one, in 1956 thanks to he and his boys’ mix of energetic R&B and country that became known as rock and roll; but after 1957, the Colonel unceremoniously dumped these guys, considering them too much of a drain on finances (provoking Elvis’ close friend and Memphis DJ George Klein to remark that it was the first decision of the Colonel’s that, in his mind, was detrimental to Elvis). Black, like Moore and Fontana, however, remained close to Elvis; and in 1960, after having scored instrumental hits with originals like “Smokie” and “White Silver Sands”, Black and his Bill Black’s Combo scored a third big hit with their short but energetic instrumental version of Elvis’ massive 1956 classic “Don’t Be Cruel”. While this instrumental version wasn’t anywhere near as big as the original Elvis recording that Black played on, it nevertheless had a chart peak of #11 on the Hot 100 and #9 on the R&B chart in late October 1960. By 1963, however, Black had to retire due to a brain tumor, though he had encouraged his group to continue without him. Black would pass away on October 21, 1965 from complications due to that tumor, having long since established his place as an originator of a most uniquely form of American popular music.