The Nashville A-Team

The Nashville A-Team was a nickname given to a group of session musicians in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, who earned wide acclaim in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. They backed dozens of popular singers, including Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Bob Dylan, Moon Mullican, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee, and others.^[1]

The Nashville A-Team's members typically had backgrounds in country music but were highly versatile. Examples of their jazz inclinations can be found in the Nashville All-Stars album with Chet Atkins titled After the Riot at Newport, the Hank Garland LP entitled Velvet Guitar, Tupper Saussy's Said I to Shostakovitch, Kai Winding's Modern Country, Gary Burton's Tennessee Firebird and Chester and Lester by Chet Atkins and Les Paul. The progressive country band Area Code 615 (band) was composed almost entirely of members of the Nashville A-Team.

In 2007, The Nashville A-Team was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.^[2]

Members

Notable members of "The Nashville A-Team" included:

Bassists: Bob Moore, Ernie Newton, Henry Strzelecki, Junior Huskey, Joe Zinkan, Norbert Putnam, Floyd "Lightnin' " Chance,^[3] Joe Osborn
Drummers: Buddy Harman, Jerry Carrigan, Farris Coursey, Doug Kirkham, Larrie Londin (1970s), Kenny Buttrey
Keyboardists: Floyd Cramer, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Owen Bradley, Bill Pursell, David Briggs, Steve Nathan
Guitarists: Chet Atkins, Grady Martin, Hank Garland, Ray Edenton (also mandolin, ukulele, and banjo), Harold Bradley, Velma Williams Smith, Paul Yandell, Pete Wade, Jerry Kennedy, Norman Blake, Jimmy Capps, Spider Wilson, Fred Carter Jr., Billy Sanford, Joe South, Wayne Moss, Jimmy Colvard, Chip Young
Fiddle: Tommy Jackson, Johnny Gimble, Buddy Spicher, Dale Potter, Vassar Clements, Brenton Banks
Steel guitar: Pete Drake, Jerry Byrd, Buddy Emmons, Ralph Mooney, Lloyd Green, Buck West, Shot Jackson, Jerry Kennedy, Maurice Anderson, Hal Rugg, Weldon Myrick, Little Roy Wiggins, Walter Haynes
Banjo: Earl Scruggs, Buck Trent, Sonny Osborne, Bobby Thompson
Mandolin: Jethro Burns
Saxophone: Boots Randolph
Percussion: Farrell Morris, Sam Bacco
Harmonica: Charlie McCoy (also keyboards, brass, percussion and guitar), Jimmy Riddle
Harp: Mary Alice Hoepfinger
Backing singers: The Jordanaires, The Anita Kerr Singers, The Nashville Edition

^ Sanjek, Russell. (1988), American Popular Music and Its Business: the first four hundred years, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504311-1
^ Gilbert, Calvin (November 7, 2007). "Unsung Heroes Honored at Musicians Hall of Fame Induction". CMT.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
^ Paul Kingsbury (1998), The Encyclopedia of Country Music, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-504311-1.

This page was last edited on 22 February 2024, at 10:46