Bill Black

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Bill Black was an American bassist and bandleader, born on 17 September 1926 in Memphis, Tennessee, the eldest of nine children. His father played banjo and fiddle for the family. At fourteen Bill learned to play on a homemade instrument made from a cigar box with a plank and strings, and at sixteen he was playing honky-tonk on acoustic guitar in bars. After his military service he married in 1946 and worked in a factory in Memphis. He switched to the upright double bass, with a slapping technique modelled on Fred Maddox, and on stage he liked to play the clown: an exaggerated hillbilly with blacked-out teeth, a straw hat and dungarees.

Music and breakthrough

In 1952 he played with the guitarist Scotty Moore in clubs and on the radio, including in the band of Doug Poindexter. In July 1954 Sam Phillips of Sun Records asked them to accompany a still unknown singer, Elvis Presley. On 5 July 1954 they recorded songs at the Sun studios, and during a break Presley began to play around with That's All Right (Mama) by Arthur Crudup. Black and Moore joined in and Phillips set the tape rolling. The next day came Blue Moon of Kentucky, by Bill Monroe, which according to the sources Black kicked off, and which was then recorded in a fast version. That trio was called the Blue Moon Boys.

Influence

Later Black founded Bill Black's Combo. He is among the first rock 'n' roll musicians, and his slap bass gave Presley's early recordings their rhythm and their sharp, bouncing character. Black died on 21 October 1965.

Listening