Area Code 615 was an American country rock band from

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, taking their name from the telephone

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

, which at the time covered all of Central and Eastern Tennessee. The band was made up of session musicians, recording only two albums before resuming normal session work. Several of the members were backing musicians for

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's ''

Blonde on Blonde ''Blonde on Blonde'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as a double album on June 20, 1966, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions began in New York in October 1965 with numerous backing musicians, ...

'' and ''

Nashville Skyline ''Nashville Skyline'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on April 9, 1969, by Columbia Records as LP record, reel to reel tape and audio cassette. Building on the rustic style he experimented with on ''Joh ...

'' albums plus recordings by

Billy Swan William Lance Swan (born May 12, 1942) is an American country singer-songwriter, best known for his 1974 single, "I Can Help". Biography Swan was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States. As a child, he learned drums, piano and guitar ...

and

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

. Their best known work was "Stone Fox Chase", which was used as the theme to the

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

's music programme ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

''. Area Code 615 members

Wayne Moss Wayne Moss (born February 9, 1938 in Charleston, West Virginia, United States) is an American guitar player, bassist, record producer and songwriter best known for his session work in Nashville. Moss was one of the founders of Area Code 615 and Bar ...

Mac Gayden McGavock Dickinson "Mac" Gayden (born June 5, 1941) is an American rock and country music, country singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is also president of Wild Child Records, formed in 2004. Background Mac Gayden was born in ...

and

Kenny Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to Country Music Television, CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashvi ...

went on to play with Nashville-based

Barefoot Jerry Barefoot Jerry is an American country rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. Fusing country music and progressive rock, they have been described as a seminal southern rock band. The band was most active from 1971 to 1977. It was composed of area ...

, while David Briggs later worked with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

. Their cover of "Classical Gas", from their self-titled 1969 album, is sampled and featured in Irish and UK

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

TV commercials.

Musicians

– Lead guitar, vocals *

Charlie McCoy Charles Ray McCoy (born March 28, 1941) is a Grammy-winning American session musician, harmonica player, and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Based in Nashville, McCoy's playing is heard on r ...

– Harmonica, vocals * Bobby Thompson – Banjo, guitar (died 2005) *

– Guitar, bass *

Buddy Spicher Buddy Spicher (born July 28, 1938 in DuBois, Pennsylvania; pronounced “Spiker”) is an American country music fiddle player. He is a member of The Nashville A-Team of session musicians, and is Grammy-nominated. He was nominated as Instrumental ...

– Fiddle, viola, cello * David Briggs – Keyboards *Ken Lauber – Keyboards *

Norbert Putnam Norbert Auvin Putnam (born August 10, 1942) is an American musician, studio owner and record producer who was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019.Robert McFarland, Jr"Norbert Putnam."'' Delta Business Journal''. November 2004. Acce ...

– Bass, cello *

– Drums (died 2004) *

Weldon Myrick Weldon Myrick (born Weldon Merle Myrick; April 10, 1938 – June 2, 2014) was an American steel guitar player.Elliot Mazer Elliot Mazer (September 5, 1941February 7, 2021) was an American audio engineer and record producer. He was best known for his work with Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Band, and Janis Joplin. In addition, he worked on film and telev ...

– Co-producer

Discography

*''Area Code 615'', 1969 *''Trip in the Country'', 1970

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Area Code 615 (Band) Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1971 1969 establishments in Tennessee 1971 disestablishments in Tennessee