Bobby Wood Turns 70 Today

Happy Birthday Bobby Wood -- from the 'Back in Memphis' Blog:

http://backinmemphis.blogspot.com/2011/01/bobby-wood-turns-70-today.html

From the site (some of the material below from Pamela Decker's article found here):

Happy Birthday Bobby Wood! We appreciate all your contributions to American music! May all your birthday wishes come true!

Bobby Wood is a session musician and songwriter most famous for his work as the Memphis Boys keyboardist. Born in a community just south of New Albany, Mississippi, Wood was one of six children in a musical family that delighted crowds as the Wood Family Gospel Group. After studying classical music through mail-order lessons, Bobby decided that genre wasn’t for him. He then mastered and went on to train others in the American folk music tradition of shape notes.

For Bobby, the organ was his forte. From years of singing with his family, he developed amazing vocal abilities. Already an accomplished musician by his late teens, he set forth on Bankhead Highway to Memphis where he became Sun Studio producer Stan Kesler’s protege.

In 1964, Bobby released a song on Joy Records “If I’m a Fool (For Loving You)” and shortly after Wood joined Reggie Young, Bobby Emmons, Tommy Cogbill, Mike Leech and Gene Chrisman to create a famous group of studio musicians who later became known as the Memphis Boys. Over the years, the Memphis Boys backed numerous artists such as Dusty Springfield, Neil Diamond, Wilson Pickett, The Box Tops, B.J. Thomas, the Sweet Inspirations, Dionne Warwick, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Merrilee Rush, Sandy Posey, Billy Swan, Joe Tex, Herbie Mann, James and Bobby Purify and many others. Of all the hit records that the Memphis Boys recorded, they will always be best known as the musicians that brought Elvis back to prominence in 1969 backing Elvis on records such as “Kentucky Rain” and “In the Ghetto” and Elvis’s biggest record of all time “Suspicious Minds”.

Bobby was inducted into The Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007 as a member of The Memphis Boys.

1999 Interview with Dan Penn -- Good Stuff!

From New Zealand journalist / producer Chris Bourke -- nice job Chris!

http://chrisbourke.blogspot.com/2011/01/sumpin-real-funky.html

Chips at Dothan Civic Center -- September 2010

Go here and search for Dothan Civic Center to see some great videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJay55#g/search

Here's one of Chips and Bobby Emmons talking about Lukenbach, Texas:

Chips Moman Bio on You Tube

You Tube Video of American Sound Studio

Dan Penn and Bobby Emmons Live at the Bluebird Cafe

Listen here:

http://wpln.org/?p=23124

Gene Chrisman « Musicians Hall Of Fame

Brief video salute to Gene from the Nashville Musician's Hall of Fame. Wish it had been longer!

http://musicianshalloffame.com/blog/?page_id=1010

And here's a salute to Reggie --

http://musicianshalloffame.com/blog/?page_id=1014

Bobby Wood also!

http://musicianshalloffame.com/blog/?page_id=998

Story of the origin of these videos is here:

http://musicianshalloffame.com/blog/?p=539

Forthcoming Dan and Spooner Collection

Link: http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2011/01/preview-sweet-inspiration-songs-of-dan.html

Songwriter Red West on From Elvis in Memphis

From an interview with Red (link below):

Elvis didn't listen much to his own music but he really loved his From Elvis In Memphis album, the one he did with Chips Moman; that was an album full of great songs and Suspicious Minds by my buddy Mark James. Elvis was so sick of this movie crap that he'd been recording and it was not doing his career any good. When he cut that album it (The session) was just loaded hits, In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, Don't Cry Daddy, Kentucky Rain. He brought the demos when he was doing the Change of Habit film with Mary Tyler Moore. He wore Suspicious Minds out. When his albums were released he would listen to them and think about them and wonder if he had done this or that or the other. But the one he played more than any was that Memphis album.

http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/red_west_writing_for_the_king.shtml

Amber Brooke Taylor singing at Leipers Fork, TN with Legendary Guitarist "Reggie Young"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJshA8nBW70