The Tennessee Three was the backing band for singer

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 ...

for nearly 25 years; he was known especially for his

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

style, although he won awards in numerous categories. In 1980, he reorganized the group, expanding it and naming it The Great Eighties Eight. The band provided the unique backing that would come to be recognized by fans as "the Johnny Cash sound."

History

Roy Cash Sr., older brother of Johnny Cash, was service manager at an Automobile Sales Company dealership 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 1953, while the younger Cash was stationed in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Luther Perkins Luther Monroe Perkins (January 8, 1928 – August 5, 1968) was an American country music guitarist and a member of the Tennessee Three, the backup band for singer Johnny Cash. Perkins was an iconic figure in what would become known as rockabilly ...

joined the staff at Automobile Sales, where he met co-workers

Marshall Grant Marshall Garnett Grant (May 5, 1928 – August 7, 2011) was the upright bassist and electric bassist of singer Johnny Cash's original backing duo, the Tennessee Two, in which Grant and electric guitarist Luther Perkins played. The group became kno ...

and A.W. 'Red' Kernodle. Grant, Kernodle and Perkins began bringing their guitars to work, and would play together when repair business was slow. When Johnny Cash moved to Memphis after returning from Germany in 1954, Roy introduced him to Grant, Kernodle and Perkins. The four began to get together in the evenings at Perkins' or Grant's home and play songs. During this time they decided to form a band, with Grant moving to an

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, Kernodle to a six-string

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

, and Perkins buying a

Fender Esquire The Fender Esquire is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by Fender. The Esquire was the first solid-body guitar sold by Fender, debuting in 1950.. Shortly after its introduction, a two- pickup version was built. It was soon renamed the ''B ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

. Perkins' performance style on the Fender resulted in the band's famous steady, simple "boom-chicka-boom", or "freight train" rhythm. By 1955, Cash and his bandmates were in the Memphis studio of

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 ...

, to audition for owner

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, ...

. Kernodle was so nervous that he left the session, not wanting to hold back the group. The band presented themselves as the "Tennessee Three", but Phillips suggested that they call themselves Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two. When Cash moved to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

in 1958, the group followed him. In 1960,

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

mer

W.S. Holland W. S. "Fluke" Holland (April 22, 1935 – September 23, 2020) was an American drummer who played with Carl Perkins, and later for Johnny Cash in the bands The Tennessee Three, The Great Eighties Eight, and The Johnny Cash Show Band. Holland ...

joined the group, which was renamed The Tennessee Three. Holland has been credited as one of the first country music drummers. In the early 1950s, he had collaborated with Cash on recordings, as well as having played with

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 ...

(no relation to Luther Perkins) and the "Perkins Brothers Band". In 1961, the group released two instrumental singles on Columbia recorded in 1959 (before Holland joined) as The Tennessee Two and Friend. The four songs would later be included in Cash's greatest hits collection '' More of Old Golden Throat''. Luther Perkins died from injuries sustained in a house fire in August 1968, after reportedly having fallen asleep with a lit cigarette.

Bob Wootton Robert "Bob" Wootton (March 4, 1942 – April 9, 2017) was an American guitarist. He joined Johnny Cash's backing band, the Tennessee Three, after original lead guitarist Luther Perkins died in a house fire. He remained Cash's guitarist for n ...

filled in as the group's guitarist at a performance the following month, and continued with the band. He participated in their landmark February 1969 performance with Cash at

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, when the singer's live album was recorded. In 1971, the group recorded an instrumental album dedicated to Perkins: '' The Tennessee Three: The Sound Behind Johnny Cash''. Through the 1970s, the Tennessee Three continued to work as Cash's studio and stage backing group. One major exception occurred in 1975 when

, seeking to update Cash's sound, had the singer record an album with a new set of session musicians (including members of

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 touring band), titled ''

John R. 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 ...

''. This was the only major Cash recording of the era on which no member of the Tennessee Three participated. The album was unsuccessful. The next album released, '' Look at Them Beans'', reinstated both the Tennessee Three as core session musicians and the accompanying Johnny Cash sound. In 1980, Marshall Grant left to become manager of the Statler Brothers. He decided to discontinue using the name, "The Tennessee Three", ostensibly for legal reasons (Grant had filed a lawsuit against Cash, which was settled out-of-court years later). The reconstituted band was called The Great Eighties Eight after Grant left. Since that time, others joined the group, with Wootton and Holland remaining off-and-on as the group's anchors. In September 1989, Cash hired Kerry Marx and Steve Logan as guitarist and bassist, respectively, and renamed the group The Johnny Cash Show Band. By the early 1990s, the band consisted of Bob Wootton (guitar), W.S. Holland (drums), Dave Roe (upright bass), the singer's son

John Carter Cash John Carter Cash (born March 3, 1970) is an American country singer-songwriter and musician. He is the only child of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and the grandson of Maybelle Carter. Biography For several years after his birth, his fathe ...

(rhythm guitar), and Earl Poole Ball (piano). This was the final configuration of the Johnny Cash Show Band until Cash's death in 2003. (

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 ...

joined the group on guitar for a one-off performance of Cash's version of "Rusty Cage" on ''

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'' in 1996). The group made its final appearance backing Cash (with Marshall Grant in a surprise appearance on string bass) on April 6, 1999, while taping a

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television special in New York City. After Cash's death, in 2006 then-manager

Trevor Chowning Trevor Chowning is an American pop artist known for his extensive use of unique materials and strange objects in his work. Paintings have featured precious metals such as gold or silver leaf, and have included everything from antique hummingbird f ...

revived the band's career. They recorded and released a tribute album to Johnny Cash titled ''The Sound Must Go On.'' In August 2007, the band made their first appearance in Scotland since the 1990s at the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Inverness-shire. A planned Tennessee Three concert in January 2008, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Cash's Folsom Prison performance, was scrapped after disputes between prison managers and the concert promoter. In January 2008, Wootton announced on his mySpace page that Holland had decided against continued touring with him. He formed the "W.S. Holland band". In an interview, Wootton said that Holland had decided to dissolve the partnership after Wootton backed out of playing the Folsom anniversary concert. Wootton continued touring in 2008 as the Tennessee Three with drummer Rodney Blake Powell, and Vicky and Scarlett Wootton, to appreciative crowds across the globe. The band continued to tour throughout 2009, with the addition of upright bassist Lisa Horngren and drummer Derrick McCullough."Johnny Cash's Legendary Band: The Tennessee 3 programme", 2010, the-ferry.co.uk In 2012, the band released another album, titled ''All Over Again''. It includes a new song "How a Cowboy Has to Ride", written by Vicky Wootton.

Personnel

(Key members listed in bold.) *

– lead vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar (1954–2003; died 2003) *

– bass, double bass (1954–1980; one-off performance in 1999; died 2011) *

– lead guitar (1954–1968; died 1968) * W. S. Holland – drums (1959—2008; died 2020) (Johnny Cash himself stated during a performance that Holland was "my drummer since 1959.") *

– rhythm guitar, lead guitar (1966–1974) (played second guitar with the band and lead in August 1968 after

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

died) *

– lead guitar (1968–1989, 1992–2003; died 2017) * Larry Butler – piano (1972) * Bill Walker – piano (1973) * Larry McCoy – piano (1973–1976) * Jerry Hensley – rhythm guitar (1974–1982) * Tommy Williams – fiddle (1974) *

Gordon Terry Gordon Terry (October 7, 1931 – April 9, 2006) was an American bluegrass and country music fiddler and guitarist. He was a member of Merle Haggard's backing band The Strangers. He was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the ...

– fiddle (1975–1976) * Earl Poole Ball – piano (1977–1997) * Jack Hale Jr – trumpet (1978–1989) (Tennessee Trumpets) * Bob Lewin – French horn (1978–1989) (Tennessee Trumpets) *

— rhythm guitar, bass, fiddle, mandolin (1980-1986; one-off appearance in 1996) * Bodie Powell – bass (1981) *

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1988–2003) * Dave Roe – bass (1992–2003)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:80 top:0 right:5 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:09/01/1954 till:09/12/2003 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:lead value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:guitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:percussion value:claret legend:Percussion id:horns value:gray(0.5) legend:Horns LineData = layer:back color:black ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1955 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1955 Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 BarData = bar:Johnny text:"Johnny Cash †" bar:Carl text:"Carl Perkins †" bar:Hensley text:"Jerry Hensley" bar:Stuart text:"Marty Stuart" bar:Soldi text:"Jim Soldi" bar:Elliott text:"Jim Elliott" bar:JohnCC text:"June Carter Cash" bar:Jones text:"David Carter Jones" bar:Luther text:"Luther Perkins †" bar:Bob text:"Bob Wootton †" bar:Marx text:"Kerry Marx" bar:Marshall text:"Marshall Grant †" bar:Allen text:"Joe Allen" bar:Strezlecki text:"Henry Strezlecki" bar:Powell text:"Bodie Powell" bar:Tittle text:"Jimmy Tittle" bar:Logan text:"Steve Logan" bar:Roe text:"Dave Roe" bar:LarryB text:"Larry Butler" bar:Walker text:"Bill Walker" bar:LarryM text:"Larry McCoy" bar:Ball text:"Earl Poole Ball" bar:Hale text:"Jack Hale, Jr" bar:Lewin text:"Bob Lewin" bar:WS text:"W.S. Holland †" bar:Wadell text:"Hugh Wadell" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Johnny from:09/01/1954 till:09/12/2003 color:guitar bar:Johnny from:09/01/1954 till:09/12/2003 color:vocals width:3 bar:Luther from:09/01/1954 till:08/05/1968 color:lead bar:Marshall from:09/01/1954 till:02/01/1980 color:bass bar:Marshall from:04/06/1999 till:04/06/1999 color:bass bar:WS from:01/01/1959 till:09/12/2003 color:drums bar:Carl from:01/01/1966 till:08/05/1968 color:guitar bar:Carl from:01/01/1966 till:06/01/1974 color:vocals width:3 bar:Carl from:08/01/1967 till:08/05/1968 color:lead width:7 bar:Carl from:08/05/1968 till:10/01/1968 color:lead bar:Carl from:10/01/1968 till:06/01/1974 color:guitar bar:Bob from:10/01/1968 till:06/05/1989 color:lead bar:Bob from:12/01/1992 till:09/12/2003 color:lead bar:LarryB from:01/01/1972 till:01/01/1973 color:keys bar:Walker from:01/01/1973 till:06/01/1973 color:keys bar:LarryM from:06/01/1973 till:01/01/1977 color:keys bar:Hensley from:06/01/1974 till:01/01/1983 color:guitar bar:Ball from:01/01/1977 till:01/01/1998 color:keys bar:Hale from:01/01/1978 till:10/01/1989 color:horns bar:Lewin from:01/01/1978 till:10/01/1989 color:horns bar:Allen from:02/01/1980 till:03/01/1980 color:bass bar:Allen from:03/01/1986 till:03/01/1988 color:bass bar:Strezlecki from:03/01/1980 till:05/01/1980 color:bass bar:Stuart from:01/01/1980 till:05/25/1980 color:guitar bar:Stuart from:10/01/1982 till:03/01/1986 color:guitar bar:Stuart from:05/25/1980 till:10/01/1982 color:bass bar:Powell from:05/01/1980 till:05/25/1980 color:bass bar:Tittle from:10/01/1982 till:03/01/1986 color:bass bar:Tittle from:03/01/1988 till:10/01/1989 color:bass bar:Soldi from:03/01/1986 till:10/01/1989 color:guitar bar:Elliott from:01/01/1987 till:10/01/1989 color:guitar bar:Elliott from:01/01/1987 till:10/01/1989 color:lead width:3 bar:Wadell from:05/01/1989 till:06/01/1989 color:drums bar:Marx from:10/01/1989 till:12/01/1992 color:lead bar:Logan from:10/01/1989 till:12/01/1992 color:bass bar:JohnCC from:01/01/1992 till:09/12/2003 color:guitar bar:JohnCC from:01/01/1992 till:09/12/2003 color:vocals width:3 bar:Jones from:01/01/1993 till:01/01/1996 color:guitar bar:Roe from:01/01/1994 till:09/12/2003 color:bass

''Walk the Line''

In the 2005 film biography of Johnny Cash, ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' Man ...

'', the

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

members were portrayed by the following

actors An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

. True to their supposed characterizations described earlier, Perkins was played as stiff and expressionless onstage, while Grant was played as animated and gregarious: *Luther Perkins –

Dan John Miller Dan John Miller is an American singer-songwriter and actor from Detroit, Michigan. He is currently the guitarist and lead vocalist for the gothic country-garage band Blanche (band), Blanche. He made his major film acting debut in the film ''Wa ...

*Marshall Grant –

Larry Bagby Larry Bagby (born March 7, 1974) is an American actor and musician, who is best known as Ernie 'Ice' in '' Hocus Pocus'', Larry Blaisdell in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', Pvt. Shirley "Hickey" Kendrick in '' Saints and Soldiers'', Marshall Grant ...

*W.S. Holland – Clay Steakley The film contains a subtle foreshadowing of Perkins' fate, in a brief scene in which Perkins falls asleep with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Cash retrieves the cigarette and stubs it out. Cash later suggested that this was how Perkins's house had caught fire. Promotion for the DVD release of ''Walk the Line'' by FOX Television included a history-making screening of the film at Hollywood's famed Arclight Cinema wherein actors in the film and their real-life counterparts performed a set of Cash's music prior to the screening. Original Tennessee Three members,

and W. S. Holland were among those to perform as well as serve on a speaking panel after the film. Also in attendance was

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was List of English consorts, Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their Wives of Henry VIII, marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen followi ...

, wife of the film's producer,

James Keach James Keach (born December 7, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the younger brother of actor Stacy Keach Jr. and son of actor Stacy Keach Sr. Early life and education Keach was born in Savannah, Georgia, the son of Mary Cain () ...

References

External links

Official website of The Tennessee Three
(Archived)
LutherPerkins.com
(Archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tennessee Three, The Country music groups from Tennessee Johnny Cash Rockabilly music groups Sun Records artists Musical backing groups Musical groups established in 1954 1954 establishments in Tennessee Musical groups from Memphis, Tennessee Rock music groups from Tennessee Columbia Records artists