Billy Lee Riley (October 5, 1933 – August 2, 2009) was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. His most memorable recordings include "Rock With Me Baby", "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll"Variously spelled as "...Rock & Roll" or "...Rock 'n' Roll" in different sources. and " Red Hot".

Biography

Riley was born in

Pocahontas, Arkansas Pocahontas is a city in Randolph County, Arkansas, United States, along the Black River. According to the 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city was 6,608. The city is the county seat of Randolph County. Pocahontas has a number of histo ...

, the son of a

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

. He learned to play the guitar from black farm workers. After four years in the Army, he first recorded in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, in 1955, before being persuaded by

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

to record for

Sun Studios Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label ...

. He then recorded "Trouble Bound", produced by

Jack Clement Jack Henderson Clement (April 5, 1931 – August 8, 2013) was an American singer, songwriter, and record and film producer. Biography Early life Raised and educated in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, Clement was performing at an early age, ...

and Slim Wallace. Phillips obtained the rights and released "Trouble Bound" backed with "Rock with Me Baby" on September 1, 1956 (Sun 245). Riley’s first hit was "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll", backed with "I Want You Baby", released February 23, 1957 (Sun 260), with backing piano by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

. Riley then recorded " Red Hot", backed with "Pearly Lee", released September 30, 1957 (Sun 277). "Red Hot" was showing promise as a hit record, but Phillips stopped promoting it so as to promote "

Great Balls of Fire "Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie '' Jamboree''. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 reco ...

", by

. Riley felt that his chances of chart success were compromised when Phillips diverted resources to Lewis's career. He had made other recordings for Sun, and they likewise did not have a lot of sales, as Phillips did not promote them. Like other artists, such as

Sonny Burgess Albert Austin "Sonny" Burgess (May 28, 1929 – August 18, 2017) was an American rockabilly guitarist and singer. Biography Burgess was born on a farm near Newport, Arkansas to Albert and Esta Burgess. He graduated from Newport High School in ...

Hayden Thompson Hayden Thompson (born March 5, 1938) is an American singer, songwriter, and rockabilly musician. He is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Thompson was born in Booneville, Mississippi, United States. At high school Thompson formed the So ...

Ray Harris Ray Harris (September 7, 1927 – November 13, 2003)'. ''The Independent''. November 27, 2003. was an American rockabilly musician and songwriter. He formed a band with Wayne Powers, and wrote the songs "Come On, Little Mama" and "Greenback Do ...

, and Warren Smith, chart success largely eluded him. Considered good looking and with wild stage moves, Riley had a brief solo career with his backing band, the Little Green Men. Riley and his Little Green Men were the main Sun studio band. The band consisted of Riley, the guitarist

Roland Janes Roland E. Janes (August 20, 1933 – October 18, 2013) was an American rockabilly guitarist and record producer, who was active at Sun Records between 1956 and 1963. Biography He was born in Brookings, Clay County, Arkansas, the second youngest in ...

, the drummer

Jimmy Van Eaton James Mack Van Eaton (born December 23, 1937), known as Jimmy Van Eaton or J. M. Van Eaton, is an American rock and roll drummer, singer and record producer, best known for his recordings as the drummer in sessions with Jerry Lee Lewis and others ...

, the bassist Marvin Monroe Peppers, and Jimmy Wilson, later joined by Martin Willis. In 1960, Riley left Sun and started Rita Records with Roland Janes. They produced the national hit "

Mountain of Love "Mountain of Love" is a song written by Harold Dorman. Dorman released his version as a single in 1960. It was originally recorded in late 1959 at the Royal Recording Studios in Memphis before the backing vocals (and strings, much later) were ov ...

", by

Harold Dorman Harold Kenneth Dorman (December 23, 1926 – October 8, 1988)
– accessed September 2010 was an American

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American musician. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit sing ...

' version of the same song. Riley later started two other labels, Nita and Mojo. In 1962, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a session musician with

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

, the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

, and

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

, among others, and also recorded under various aliases. Riley appeared in a

Scopitone Scopitone is a type of jukebox featuring a 16 mm film component. Scopitone films were a forerunner of music videos. The 1959 Italian Cinebox/Colorama and Color-Sonics were competing, lesser-known technologies of the time one year before the Scopi ...

performing the song “High Heel Sneakers”, filmed live at the Whiskey a Go Go, in Hollywood, in 1965. That same year Mercury Records released the LP ''Whiskey a Go Go Presents Billy Lee Riley'', recorded live at the Whiskey a Go Go. In the early 1970s, Riley quit music to return to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

and started his own construction business. In 1978 "Red Hot" and "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll" were covered by

Robert Gordon Robert Gordon may refer to: Entertainment * Robert Gordon (actor) (1895–1971), silent-film actor * Robert Gordon (director) (1913–1990), American director * Robert Gordon (singer) (1947–2022), American rockabilly singer * Robert Gordon (scr ...

and

Link Wray Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr. (May 2, 1929 – November 5, 2005) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist who became popular in the late 1950s. ''Rolling Stone'' placed Wray at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 2013 ...

, which led to a one-off performance in Memphis in 1979, the success of which led to further recording at Sun Studio and a full-time return to performing. Riley was rediscovered in 1992 by

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 ...

, who had been a fan since 1956. His album '' Hot Damn!'' (Capricorn, 1997) was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. He was injured falling on a slippery department store floor in 2005, requiring two surgeries as a result. In 2006, he released a country CD, ''Hillbilly Rockin' Man''. The

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...

reported in summer 2009 that Riley was in poor health, with stage four

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

. His last public performance was in June 2009 at the New Daisy Theatre on

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, th ...

in Memphis, when he took part in Petefest 2009, honoring the historian Pete Daniel, who had befriended Riley while helping launch the

Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum The Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum is a music museum located at 191 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. The museum tells the critical story of the musical pioneers who overcame racial and socio-economic obstacles to create the music that changed ...

. Supported by a walker, Riley rocked out on "Red Hot" and other old hits. He died of colon cancer on August 2, 2009, in

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County. According to the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 78,576 and is the f ...

. In 2015, Bob Dylan offered this tribute to Riley, thanking

MusiCares MusiCares Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1989 and incorporated in 1993 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Meant for musicians to have a place to turn in times of financial, personal, or medical crisis, ...

for their support in Riley's last years:

He was a true original. He did it all: He played, he sang, he wrote. He would have been a bigger star but Jerry Lee came along. And you know what happens when someone like that comes along. You just don't stand a chance. So Billy became what is known in the industry—a condescending term—as a one-hit wonder. But sometimes, just sometimes, once in a while, a one-hit wonder can make a more powerful impact than a recording star who's got 20 or 30 hits behind him. And Billy's hit song was called "Red Hot," and it was red hot. It could blast you out of your skull and make you feel happy about it. Change your life.

Selected albums

* ''Harmonica & the Blues'', Crown, 1962 * ''Big Harmonica Special'', Mercury, 1964 * ''Harmonica Beatlemania'', Mercury, 1965 * ''Whiskey a Go Go Presents'', Mercury, 1965 * ''Funk Harmonica'', GNP, 1966 * ''In Action'', GNP, 1966 * ''Southern Soul'', Mojo, 1968; reissued, Cowboy Carl, 1981 * ''The Legendary Sun Performers: Billy Lee Riley'', Charly, 1977 * ''Sun Sound Special: Billy Lee Riley'', Charly, 1978 * ''Vintage, Mojo'', 1978 * ''706 Reunion, Sun-Up'', 1992 * ''Blue Collar Blues'', Hightone, 1992 * ''Classic Recordings 1959–1960'', Bear Family, 1994 * ''Rockin' Fifties'', Icehouse, 1995 * '' Hot Damn!'', Capricorn, 1997 * ''Very Best of Billy Lee Riley: Red Hot'', Collectables, 1998 * ''Shade Tree Blues'', Icehouse, 1999 * ''One More Time'', Sun-Up, 2002 * ''Hillbilly Rockin' Man'', Reba Records, 2003 * ''Still Got My Mojo'', 2009

Notes

References

Sources

* DeRemer, L., ed. (2004)
Billy Lee Riley
''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 43. Thomson Gale. eNotes.com, 2006. * Escott, C.; Hawkins, M. (1975). ''Catalyst: The Sun Records Story''. London. * Evans, P.; Futterman, S.; et al. (1995). “The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll”. New York: Fireside. p. 835. . * Gray, M. (2006). ''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. New York and London. pp. 575–576. * Hardy, Phil; Laing, Dave (1977). ''Encyclopedia of Rock 1955–1975''. London. p. 78. * Pareles, J.; Romanowski, P. (1983). ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopaedia of Rock & Roll''. New York: Summit Books. p 470. . * Weigel, Andreas

Portrait.

Discography

(Original URL no longer active, this is the last good

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...