"Red Hot" is a song written and recorded by

Billy "The Kid" Emerson William Robert Emerson (born December 21, 1925), known during his recording career as Billy "The Kid" Emerson and more recently as Rev. William R. Emerson,''Juke Blues'' magazine, # 58, 2005, pp.11-21, Interviews with Emerson is an American preac ...

and released on

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

in 1955. It has been covered many times.

Emerson's version

Emerson recorded the song at the Sun Recording Studio 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 ...

on May 31, 1955. Besides Emerson as vocalist, the

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, ...

produced session included

Calvin Newborn Edwin Calvin Newborn (April 27, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American jazz guitarist. Career He was the brother of pianist Phineas Newborn Jr. (1931–89), with whom he recorded between 1953 and 1958. They also formed an R&B band, with the ...

, guitar; Kenneth Banks, bass;

Phineas Newborn Phineas Newborn Jr. (December 14, 1931 – May 26, 1989) was an American jazz pianist, whose principal influences were Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Bud Powell. Biography Newborn was born in Whiteville, Tennessee, and came from a musical fami ...

, Sr., drums; Billy 'Red' Love, piano; Jewell Briscoe, tenor sax; and Moses Reed, tenor sax. The b-side for the release was another Emerson song, "No Greater Love".

Covers

*The best known cover of "Red Hot," also recorded at Sun Studio, produced by Sam Phillips, and released on Sun Records was by

Billy Lee Riley 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 ...

& The Little Green Men, in January 1957 and issued as # 277. Along with Riley on vocals and guitar were 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 ...

, drummer J. M. Van Eaton, bassist Marvin Pepper, and Jimmy Wilson on piano. The record did not chart. *Another version was recorded in 1957, at Mira Smith's Ram Studios, Shreveport, Louisiana by

Bob Luman Robert Glynn Luman (April 15, 1937 – December 27, 1978) was an American country and rockabilly singer-songwriter. Early life and career Luman was born in Blackjack, Texas, United States, though was raised in Nacogdoches, Texas. His early ...

(Imperial XB8313, 1957) featuring

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 ...

on guitar. *

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

released a version of the song on his first album, ''Ronnie Hawkins'', on

Roulette Records Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed direc ...

, # SR-25078 in 1959. The drummer on the session was future member of The Band,

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

, then a member of Hawkins' backing band, The Hawks. *

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

performed "Red Hot" in December 1962, live at the Star-Club in Hamburg, but the recording has never been officially released. *

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 ...

with

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 ...

on guitar, released a version on his debut album for

Private Stock Records Private Stock Records was a record label that operated from 1974 to 1978. The label was founded by Larry Uttal after he was ousted from Bell Records. The label primarily focused on pop music and had numerous hit records, many of them one-hit wo ...

, # PS-2030 in 1977. *The song was performed by

Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928) is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock Del ...

(as Evil Edmunds and The BeeLzeeBOPS) in the 2003 movie, '' I'll Be There''. *

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

released a version of the song on his 2005 album ''Rockabilly Riot, Vol. 1 - A Tribute to Sun Records''.

References

1955 songs 1955 singles 1957 singles 1959 singles Songs written by Billy "The Kid" Emerson {{1950s-single-stub