Jack Earls

Last updated

Jack Earls (born August 23, 1932, died June 12, 2023)Woodbury, Tennessee) [1] was an American country and rockabilly singer.

Contents

Personal background

Earls grew up on a farm in Manchester, Tennessee in a family of seven children. He sang as a child and began playing guitar at 16; at 17 he moved to Memphis and formed his first band there in 1949. In 1950, he married and had children, and his music-making was temporarily sidelined. [1]

Career

In 1954, he formed a new band featuring guitarist Johnny Black (Bill Black's brother). This band recorded a demo at Sam Phillips's recording studio in mid-1955, "A Fool For Lovin' You" (written by Earls himself). Phillips expressed interest but told him he'd need to find a new backing band. Earls had Black move to upright bass, and Warren Gregory took up lead guitar; Danny Wahlquist joined on drums. Their next recording session for Phillips resulted in the songs "Slow Down" and "Hey Jim". Phillips released "Slow Down" on his own Sun Records under the name Jack Earls & the Jimbos, and the song became a regional hit, though Earls was unable to tour behind the record due to family obligations. Earls recorded several further songs for Sun, but none of them were released until many years later.[ citation needed ]

Earls' contract with Sun expired in what he says to be around September 1966, and despite being contacted by Meteor and King, Earls declined to record, though he did occasionally perform in Memphis until he and his family moved to Detroit in 1963. There he worked for Chrysler Motors, taking a job working as a truck driver. [1] He recorded a few further singles in the 1970s for Olympic Records, none of which attracted attention at the time but have since been re-released on Bear Family Records.[ citation needed ]

In the 1990s, Earls noted the growing interest in rockabilly in Europe, and traveled to England, where he became a star on the country revival circuit. Subsequently his output was re-released on Bear Family Records, and he toured Europe and America into the 2000s. [1]

Recordings

YearTitleRecord Label
1956Slow Down / A Fool For Lovin’ YouSun Records
1975She Sure Can Rock Me / Crawdad HoleOlympic Records
1976 Roll Over Beethoven / Take Me To That PlaceOlympic Records
1976Call Me Shorty / Mississippi ManOlympic Records
1976Flip Flop and Fly / Rock BopOlympic Records
1998My Little Mama / Game Of LoveEnviken Records
2001Take Me To That Place / Come On Little Mama (with Ray Harris)Norton Records
1999EP
  • Slow Down
  • Rock Bop
  • Be-Bop-A-Lula
  • I Started Rockin’ A Long Time Ago
Stomper Time Records

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Perkins</span> American guitarist (1932–1998)

Carl Lee Perkins 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, beginning in 1954. Among his best-known songs are "Blue Suede Shoes", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotty Moore</span> American guitarist (1931–2016)

Winfield Scott Moore III was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockabilly</span> Early style of rock and roll music

Rockabilly is an early style of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blues, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of bluegrass with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to country music that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Black</span> American bassist (1926–1965)

William Patton Black Jr. was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill Black's Combo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun Studio</span> Historic recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business. Sun Studio is perhaps most famous for its role in the early years of Elvis Presley’s career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tennessee Three</span> Backing band for Johnny Cash

The Tennessee Three was the backing band for singer Johnny Cash for nearly 25 years; he was known especially for his country/rockabilly 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."

"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1945 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, the Blue Grass Boys. The song has since been recorded by many artists, including Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney. "Blue Moon of Kentucky" is the official bluegrass song of Kentucky.

Luther Monroe Perkins, Jr. 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 music. His creatively simple, sparsely embellished, rhythmic use of Fender Esquire, Jazzmaster and Jaguar guitars is credited for creating Cash's signature "boom-chicka-boom" style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Burlison</span> American rockabilly guitarist

Paul Burlison was an American pioneer rockabilly guitarist and a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. Burlison was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, where he was exposed to music at an early age. After a stint in the United States Military, Burlison teamed up with Johnny and Dorsey Burnette to form The Rock and Roll Trio. The band released several singles, but failed to attain chart success. Paul is sometimes credited with being the first guitarist to intentionally record with a distorted electric guitar on the 1956 recordings, "Lonesome Train on a Lonesome Track" and "Honey Hush." The Trio disbanded in the fall of 1957 and Burlison moved back to Tennessee to start a family. There he started his own electrical subcontracting business which he ran faithfully for twenty years, taking a break when the Trio reunited in the early 1980s. He released his only solo album in 1997, which received positive reviews. Burlison remained active in the music scene until his death in 2003.

The Rock and Roll Trio were an American rockabilly group formed in Memphis, Tennessee, during the 1950s. They were also known as "Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio" and the "Johnny Burnette Trio". The members of the Trio were Dorsey Burnette, his younger brother Johnny, and a friend Paul Burlison. Dorsey and Johnny Burnette were both natives of Memphis, having been born there in 1932 and 1934 respectively. Paul Burlison was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, in 1929, but moved to Memphis with his family in 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Smith (singer)</span> American singer-songwriter

Warren Smith was an American rockabilly and country music singer and guitarist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Lee Riley</span> American singer-songwriter

Billy Lee Riley was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. His most memorable recordings include "Rock With Me Baby", "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll" and "Red Hot".

Malcolm Yelvington was an American rockabilly and country musician. Born in Covington, Tennessee, he released a record on Sun Records in 1956, just after Elvis Presley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Blue Moon Boys</span> American rock and roll band

The Blue Moon Boys were an American rock and roll band that was formed by Elvis Presley, lead guitarist Scotty Moore and double bass player Bill Black. The group members were introduced by Sun Studio owner Sam Phillips in 1954, except for D.J. Fontana, who joined the group during a Louisiana Hayride tour in 1955. The Blue Moon Boys were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007. The band was named after Bill Monroe's song "Blue Moon of Kentucky".

Brad Suggs is a singer and songwriter, but best known as a guitarist that contributed greatly to the legacy of Phillips' Sun and Phillips' International labels. His name is widely unknown although he appeared on more than eight Sun and Phillips International records.

Wiley Laverne "Mack" Self was an American rockabilly singer, songwriter and musician, who recorded for Sun Records in the 1950s and was a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

The Snearly Ranch Boys were a band that formed around 1950 in Memphis, Tennessee. The band was a launching platform for many of the musicians who contributed to the Memphis music scene that revolved around Sam Phillips and Sun Records. Members of the Snearly Ranch Boys included Bill Black, Jim Stewart, Jerry Lee Lewis, Reggie Young, Ace Cannon, Barbara Pittman, and Johnny Benero. A later version of the Ranch Boys centering on steel guitarist, Stan Kesler and drummer, Clyde Leoppard, who became a part of the Sun Studio session band, recording for numerous Sun artists.

Roland E. Janes was an American rockabilly guitarist and record producer, who was active at Sun Records between 1956 and 1963.

The Jesters were an American garage rock band from Memphis, Tennessee who were active between 1963-1964 and 1965–1967. They became one of the most popular groups in the Memphis area during the time. Led by Teddy Paige, they were unique amongst garage bands of the time in that they did not display any of the musical influences of the Beatles and the British Invasion, but reflected rather the a style of early rock and roll, rockabilly, and blues. Their work has attracted the interest of garage rock enthusiasts in recent years.

Joseph Edward Baugh Jr., known as Smokey Joe Baugh or simply Smokey Joe, was an American rockabilly and country singer and pianist.

References