Bill Black

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

In July 1954, Sam Phillips of Sun Records asked Black and guitarist Scotty Moore to play backup for the unknown Elvis Presley. On July 5, the trio met at Sun studios. According to Moore, the first song they recorded was "I Love You Because," but after unimpressive country numbers they took a break. During the break, Presley began "acting the fool" with Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right (Mama)" — a blues song. When Black and Moore joined in, Phillips taped it. Black remarked, "Damn. Get that on the radio and they'll run us out of town." The next day they recorded four more songs, including "Blue Moon of Kentucky." Moore said, "Bill is the one who came up with 'Blue Moon of Kentucky.' ... He starts beating on the bass and singing 'Blue Moon of Kentucky,' mocking Bill Monroe, singing the high falsetto voice. Elvis joins in with him." They ended up with a fast version in 4/4 time. Phillips took acetates to DJ Dewey Phillips of Memphis radio station WHBQ's Red, Hot and Blue show. The two sides traded chart positions regionally, and both charted across the South. Black and Moore became Presley's backup group, paid 25% of his earnings. Their Sun recordings were credited as "Elvis Presley, Scotty and Bill," later billed as "Elvis Presley and the Blue Moon Boys." Over the next 15 months, the trio released five singles, toured the South, and appeared regularly on the Louisiana Hayride. They auditioned for the Grand Ole Opry in October 1954 but failed to impress. In 1955, Black went to RCA Victor with Presley and Moore. Black played on early Presley recordings including "Good Rockin' Tonight," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Baby Let's Play House," "Mystery Train," "That's All Right," and "Hound Dog." He became one of the first bass players to use the Fender Precision Bass in popular music, on "Jailhouse Rock" in the late 1950s. Black, Moore, and drummer D. J. Fontana toured extensively. Black continued his onstage "clown" persona, developing comedy routines with Presley. According to Black's son Louis, Moore said, "Elvis used to just stand up there and not move, and Bill would jump around on the bass. Your daddy would come down through there and get everybody to laughing and loosen them up." Fontana called Black the mainstay of the band in the early days: "He was a comedian who could warm up a crowd."

In Their Own Story

The air inside the small Memphis studio is thick with heat and cigarette smoke. Black plucks a string on his upright bass, testing the tension before nodding to the singer across the room. There is no sheet music, only instinct and rhythm. They launch into a number that will change music forever, the deep thump of the strings vibrating through the floorboards as they capture lightning in a bottle.

Reader's Guide

In 1959, Black joined a group of musicians that became Bill Black's Combo: Black (bass), Joe Lewis Hall (piano), Reggie Young (guitar), Martin Willis (saxophone), and Jerry Arnold (drums). The band released the blues instrumental "Smokie" for Hi Records (Hi 2018) in December 1959. "Smokie, Part 2" became a No. 17 U.S. pop hit and made number one on the "black" music charts. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The follow-up "White Silver Sands" (Hi 2021) was a Top 10 hit (No. 9) and topped the R&B chart for four weeks. Eight of the Combo's recordings placed in the Top 40 between 1959 and 1962. The Combo appeared in the 1961 film Teenage Millionaire and on The Ed Sullivan Show, where they performed a medley of "Don't Be Cruel," "Cherry Pink," and "Hearts of Stone." They were voted Billboard's number one instrumental group of 1961. Albums included Bill Black's Combo Plays Tunes by Chuck Berry, Bill Black's Combo Goes Big Band, Bill Black's Combo Goes West, and Bill Black's Combo Plays the Blues. Another characteristic of the Combo was Reggie Young thwacking on the guitar with a pencil. In 1962, Black opened Lyn-Lou Studios on Chelsea Street in Memphis, Tennessee, with Larry Rogers as engineer and producer. Early in 1963, Black sent from two to five different versions of the Combo to different regions of the country at the same time, while staying off the road himself to concentrate on business, family, and his health. Black had been ill for the past year and a half and unable to travel. Nonetheless, he insisted the band continue without him. Bill Black's Combo created musical history in 1964 when they became the opening act for the Beatles (at their request) on their historic 13-city tour of America after their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Black himself was not well enough to make the tour. After two surgeries and lengthy hospital stays, Black died of a brain tumor on October 21, 1965, at age 39. His death occurred during his third operation. Black's body was buried next to his father, William Patton Black Sr., at Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. Presley did not attend the funeral, believing his presence would turn it into a media frenzy; he visited the family privately after the service. According to Louis Black, Presley said, "If there's anything that y'all need, you just let me know and it's yours."

Did You Know?

• Black learned to play music at age 14 on an instrument made by his father: a cigar box with a board nailed to it and strings attached.
• Black modeled his slap-bass technique after Fred Maddox of Maddox Brothers and Rose.
• Bill Black's Combo was one of several opening acts on the Beatles' 1964 American tour, but not for the entire tour, and the claim that it was at the Beatles' request is unsubstantiated.