Earl Poole Ball Jr. (born March 12, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter,
''Acoustic Music'' pianist,"“A Honky-Tonk Song”
article by Jerry Renshaw, Dec 24, 1999 ''Austin Chronicle''. music producer and actor. His musical work spans the Ameripolitan, Country, Americana and Rockabilly genres. He has performed with many well known American musicians, including

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

& The Buckaroos,

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

Freddie Hart Frederick Segrest (December 21, 1926 – October 27, 2018), known professionally as Freddie Hart, was an American country musician and songwriter best known for his chart-topping country song and lone pop hit "Easy Loving," which won the Cou ...

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

Wynn Stewart Winford Lindsey Stewart (June 7, 1934 – July 17, 1985), better known as Wynn Stewart, was an American country music performer. He was one of the progenitors of the Bakersfield sound. Although not a huge chart success, he was an inspiration t ...

The Flying Burrito Brothers The Flying Burrito Brothers are an American country rock band, best known for their influential 1969 debut album, ''The Gilded Palace of Sin''. Although the group is perhaps best known for its connection to band founders Gram Parsons and Chris ...

and

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

."Earl Poole Ball Pianography/Tin Tube Tunes "
''Post and Courier''"Earl Poole Ball-Pianography , Album Review"
''Blues Blast Magazine''. He is best known for his 20 years spent touring and recording with

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

. (1977-1997)

Early years

Ball was born in

Columbia, Mississippi Columbia is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Marion County, Mississippi, which was formed six years before Mississippi was admitted to statehood. Columbia was named for Columbia, South Carolina, from which many of the early settlers had migr ...

. An only child, he was raised in Foxworth, Mississippi by his parents and grandparents. His father ran a pool hall. "Earl Poole Ball" sounds like a stage name, but it is his given name; "Poole" is his grandmother's maiden name. When Ball Jr was eight years old, he began taking piano lessons from his aunt Kathryn Ball, the minister of music at The Foxworth First Baptist Church. He learned classical music and hymns, and later chords and music theory, and played the popular music from radio programs. Ball and some friends formed a band called The Hill Cats, and played at local venues. Ball also worked as a bus boy in a diner.

Career

Early career

At the age of 16, Earl was hired to play piano on The

Jimmy Swan James Eldon Swan (November 18, 1912 – 29 October 1995) was an American country musician. Early life Birth and childhood James Edgar Swan was born on November 18, 1912 in the Sand Hill area of Cullman County, Alabama. After his father ...

Television Show in Hattiesburg. After graduating from High School, Ball moved to Hattiesburg and continued playing music on the show and in local night clubs. He supplemented his income by selling Fuller Brushes door-to-door. Ball was introduced to blues by

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

. In 1959 Ball was hired to play piano as part of the re-election campaign for Louisiana Governor

Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American politician, singer and songwriter of both sacred and popular songs. Davis was elected for two nonconsecutive terms from 1944 to 1948 and from 1960 to 1964 as the ...

. Ball enrolled in college in Hattiesburg for three months but spent most of his time playing in honky-tonks. His young marriage broke up, and Ball moved to Houston, where he spent the next three years playing in honky-tonks at night and selling sewing machines by day. His old band from Hattiesburg relocated to Houston and Earl had a regular gig with them at The Silver Dollar Lounge. He learned some practical skills from country piano player and singer

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1 ...

. After three years in Houston, Earl headed to Los Angeles. He was hired as a piano player in a Country Music TV series which eventually became a movie called “Country A-G0-G0”. There he met drummer Jon Corneal, who Earl would later work with on the

recording sessions. Back in L.A., Ball performed as part of the house band at The Aces Club and played every Sunday afternoon on the TV show Cal's Corral. He then was hired for the house band at The Palomino Club. He was so busy that he turned down an offer from

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 ...

's guitarist

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

to join Elvis' stage band.“Earl Poole Ball”, article by Steve Uhler, Texas Music Monthly, October 2012. Ball also played on a number of sessions with Buck Owens' Buckaroos. Ball wrote and did session work for Stone's Central Songs. His songs were recorded, and reached the top of Billboard's chart, by

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

(“Try A Little Kindness”) and

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

(“The Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line”). Earl then began working at

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, starting as a sessions player and associate producer under Ken Nelson, who was vice-president of Capitol's Country Music Division. Ball worked with many artists on Nelson's roster including

Stoney Edwards Stoney Edwards was an American country singer. He was one of the first African-American singers to have a significant presence in country music. He is best known for the song, "She's My Rock," a Top 20 country hit that was later a hit song for ...

Susan Raye Susan Raye (born October 8, 1944) is an American country music singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid-1970s, and chalked up seven top-10 and 19 top-40 country hits, most notably the song " L.A. International Airport", an ...

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...

Bonnie Owens Bonnie Owens (October 1, 1929 – April 24, 2006), born Bonnie Campbell, was an American country music singer who was married to Buck Owens and later Merle Haggard. Biography She was born Bonnie Campbell in Blanchard, Oklahoma, United Stat ...

and folk/protest singer

. Earl played on the original recording of 'Don't Bogart Me'. By

The Fraternity of Man The Fraternity of Man were an United States of America, American blues rock and psychedelic rock group from the 1960s. They are most famous for their song "Don't Bogart Me" (aka Don't Bogart That Joint), which was released on LP in 1968, and subseq ...

, which was in the 1969 film “

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American independent drug culture road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American So ...

”. Ball recorded with

and

The International Submarine Band The International Submarine Band (ISB) was a country-rock band formed by Gram Parsons in 1965, while a theology student at Harvard University and John Nuese, a guitar player for local rock group, The Trolls. Nuese is credited with having persua ...

on the album “ Safe at Home”, and again when Parsons was with

, on the album “

Sweetheart of the Rodeo ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' is the sixth album by American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records. Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first album widely recognized as c ...

”.

Nashville

In 1971 Ball was transferred to

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 ...

, where he continued to produce and do session work for Capitol Records. He produced

's album “

My Hang-Up Is You "My Hang-Up Is You" is a 1972 single by Freddie Hart Frederick Segrest (December 21, 1926 – October 27, 2018), known professionally as Freddie Hart, was an American country musician and songwriter best known for his chart-topping country ...

”, which included two #1 singles on the Country Music Chart. Ball also performed in the Nashville club scene and in studio sessions for Atlantic records. His friend

Harlan Howard Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002) was an American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote many popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists. C ...

introduced him to

. He recorded with Cash in 1973 on a record that Don Davis was producing, and again in 1977, at which time he was hired to tour with Cash. He produced Cash's 1980 album “

Rockabilly Blues ''Rockabilly Blues'' is the 64th album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1980. Highlights include "Cold Lonesome Morning," which had some minor chart success (No. 53 in the country charts), " Without Love," by ...

”. Ball stayed with the band for 20 years, touring and performing on Cash's TV specials until Cash's retirement in 1997. Ball played piano on two songs on the 1985 album '' Lost & Found'' by Nashville-based

cowpunk Cowpunk (or country punk) is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s - early 1980s. It combines punk rock or New wave music, new wave with country music, country, folk music, folk, and b ...

band

Jason & the Scorchers Jason & the Scorchers, originally Jason & the Nashville Scorchers, are a cowpunk band that formed in 1981 and are led by singer-songwriter Jason Ringenberg. With a sound that combines punk rock and country music, Jason and the Scorchers are not ...

: "Broken Whiskey Glass" and "Far Behind". In 1999, he recalled that while he was working on the latter tune,

dropped by the studio to show Scorchers guitarist Warner E. Hodges some licks.

Film career

Director

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on R ...

included the song ''I Don't Think I Could Take You Back Again'', which was written by Earl Poole Ball and

Jo-El Sonnier Jo-El Sonnier (; born Joel Sonnier; October 2, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and accordionist who performs country music and Cajun music. Originally signed to Mercury Nashville Records, Sonnier charted several minor singles on the ''Bi ...

, in his 1981 film ''They All Laughed''. Ball was hired to play piano in the film, and began to take acting lessons. He also appeared in a 1981 TV movie with Cash and

Brenda Vaccaro Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in areas ...

called ''The Pride of Jesse Hallam''. In 1983, he and Cash worked together on another made-for-TV film ''

Murder in Coweta County Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

'' with actor

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characte ...

. In 1986 Earl moved back to California and found more work in character roles on movies such as ''Texasville'' (1990) and ''The Thing Called Love'' (1993).

Austin, Texas

In 1999 Ball moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. He continues to write songs, perform and do session work. He performs live with several bands including Heybale!, Earl Poole Ball's Rockabilly Blues Band and Earl Poole Ball and The Cosmic Americans."Earl Poole Ball Pianography"
''Austin Chronicle''. Reviewed by Jim Caligiuri, July 19, 2013

Discography

As performer

As writer/arranger

*I'd give a Whole Lot of Me for a Little Bit of You – Various:blue Ribbon Country Vol 1 – Capitol, 1969 *

– Greatest Hits – A&M Records, 1970 *

– Heavenly/You're No Secret of Mine – Capitol, 1970 *

Terry Stafford Terry LaVerne Stafford (November 22, 1941 – March 17, 1996) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his 1964 US Top 10 hit "Suspicion", and the 1973 country music hit " Amarillo by Morning". Stafford was also known for his Elvis ...

– Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose – Atlantic, 1974 *

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

– Hand Sown...Home Grown –

, 2004 * Ray Stanley – Yolanda/ I've Wasted My Love –

Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...

* Vern Stovall and The Showmen – The Wreck of the Olds 88/ Break Time – Longhorn Records *

Bobby George Robert Francis George (born 16 December 1945) is an English television presenter and former professional darts player. He is widely recognised as one of the game's biggest personalities, known for his flamboyant entrances in which the "King ...

– I Wish I Was Coming Home(To You)/ Heart of The City –

Pompeii Records Pompeii Records was an American record company and label formed in 1968 in Dallas by Joe Perry, president, and Pat Morgan, chairman of the board. Distributed by Atco Records in the US and by London Records internationally, the company is noted ...

As producer

*Wynn Stewart – It's a Beautiful Day – Capitol, 1970 * Bobby Austin – When Your Sweet Love Carried On – Capitol, 1970 *Wynn Stewart – Heavenly/ You're No Secret of Mine – Capitol, 1970 *

Beth Moore Wanda Elizabeth "Beth" Moore (born Wanda Elizabeth Green, June 16, 1957) is an American Anglican evangelist, author, and Bible teacher. She is president of Living Proof Ministries, a Christian organization she founded in 1994 to teach women to k ...

– Put Your Hand in The Hand – Capitol, 1971 *Wynn Stewart – Baby, It's Yours/ I Was the First One to Know – Capitol, 1971 *

– Mama's Love/ Poor Folks Stick Together – Capitol, 1971 *Wynn Stewart – Baby, It's Yours – Capitol, 1971 *

– My Hang-Up is You/ Big Bad Wolf – Capitol, 1972 *Marty Mitchell - Midnight Man - Atlantic, 1974 *Terry Stafford - Stop If You Love Me – Atlantic, 1974 *Terry Stafford – Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose – Atlantic, 1974 *Terry Stafford – Captured – Atlantic, 1974 *Johnny Cash – Rockabilly Blues – Columbia, 1980 *Johhny Cash – Song of the Patriot – Columbia, 1980 *Johnny Cash – The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983 (producer of 2 cuts) – Columbia, Legacy, 1992 *Merle Haggard – The Studio Recordings, 1969-1976 - Bear Family (Germany), 2007

Film

The Thing Called Love (1993)

They All Laughed (1981)

Texasville(1990)

Television

* Jimmy Swan Television Show (1956 - 1957) * Country A Go-Go (1964) * Cal's Corral (1964-1965) * ''

The Pride of Jesse Hallam ''The Pride of Jesse Hallam'' is a 1981 American made-for-television drama film starring Johnny Cash and Brenda Vaccaro. It originally aired March 3, 1981 on CBS. Plot Jesse Hallam is a coal miner in Muhlenberg, Kentucky, whose wife has recently ...

'' (1981) * ''

'' (1983) * '' The Baron and the Kid'' (1984) * '' Naked City: A Killer Christmas'' (1998)

External links

* Earl's piano sol
"Last Date" with Johnny Cash Prague 1978
– YouTube of live performance. * KUT Radio Show with Heybale! 2009

* Official website:

References

*"Earl Poole Ball", radio interview at KUT, Austin Texas, 3/1/12. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Earl Poole 1941 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters People from Marion County, Mississippi Country musicians from Mississippi Singer-songwriters from Mississippi American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American singer-songwriters Male actors from Mississippi 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters