Bill Black
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William Patton "Bill" Black, Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician. He is noted for being Elvis Presley's bassist.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and one of nine children, Bill Black played bass ('slapped/rockabilly' upright double) with guitarist Scotty Moore while Elvis Presley played rhythm guitar and sang "That's All Right (Mama)" in a Sun Studios session in Memphis that is considered a seminal event in the history of Rock & Roll.
In the early-1950s, the Black family lived in Lauderdale Courts housing complex in Memphis. Several of the Black children attended Humes High School at the same time as Elvis although Bill had already left home for the army by this time. Ken R. Black, the youngest of the Black children, associated with Elvis, who was a year behind him at Hume.
Bill Black went on to play double bass on early Presley recordings including "Good Rockin' Tonight", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Baby Let's Play House", "Mystery Train", "That's All Right (Mama)", "Hound Dog", and eventually became one of the first bass players to use the Fender Precision Bass guitar in popular music on "Jailhouse Rock" in the late 1950s.
Bill, Scotty, Elvis and drummer D. J. Fontana toured extensively during Presley's early career. Bill was an extrovert and often "clowned" and did comedy during the live shows. Bill and Elvis had a couple of comedy routines together that they would slip into the live show from time to time. Bill's on stage personality was a sharp contrast to the introverted stage presence of Scotty Moore. This balance seemed to be the perfect fit for the Presley performances.
Bill's personality would often "warm" the audience to the band in the early live shows. Elvis' unusual and very active stage presence was not always easily accepted. Bill's comedic personality would often relax the audience and win them over to their side.
Black continued to work with Presley until 1958, leaving his band in large part due to disputes over financial terms. He and guitarist Scotty Moore had taken one-quarter of the royalties at the outset of Presley's career, but even after Presley had rocketed to stardom with RCA starting in 1956, Colonel Tom Parker had them on a mere 200 dollars/week wage.
Although guitarist Scotty Moore would eventually work with Presley again, Black never did, joining a Memphis group that evolved into Bill Black's Combo in 1959. Their instrumental "Smokie," released late that year, made the Top Ten.
Bill Black's Combo stuck to the formula of "Smokie" for many of their subsequent singles: a basic shuffle beat, simple bluesy R&B riffs, and some rinky-dink organ and smoky saxophone lines on top. They weren't too imaginative, but they were quite successful, placing eight singles in the Top 40 between 1959 and 1962, including "White Silver Sands", "Josephine", "Don't Be Cruel", "Blue Tango", and "Hearts of Stone". Their sales were greatly boosted by the suitability of their instrumental rock for background music at bars, clubs, and diners, with many of their discs placed in jukeboxes.
Black died of a brain tumor in 1965 at the age of thirty-nine and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis received criticism for not attending his funeral; however Elvis believed that his presence would turn the funeral into a media frenzy. He decided instead to visit the family privately after the service to express his condolences.
After Bill's death, the Combo continued touring and recording under the same name for a number of years, led by their tenor saxophone player Ace Cannon, who continues a solo career to this day.
Bill Black's bass is today owned by ex-Beatle Paul McCartney who received the bass as a birthday present from his late wife Linda McCartney in the late 70's. The bass can be seen in the video clip to McCartney's song "Baby's Request". In the documentary film "The world tonight" Paul McCartney can be seen playing the bass and singing his version of "Heartbreak Hotel".
