Billy Lee Riley

Billy Lee Riley built a career as a rockabilly singer and multi-instrumentalist whose roots ran straight through Sun Records. Among the label’s most unrestrained and flamboyant performers—sharing that stage with Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Sonny Burgess—he stood out for sheer abandon. Skilled on harmonica, guitar, bass, and drums, he lent his talents to countless landmark Sun sessions as a sideman, while his own group, the Little Green Men, featuring guitarist Roland Janes and drummer J.M. Van Eaton, eventually served as the label’s de facto house band. Over the years Riley cut sides for several different imprints across an array of styles, proving particularly adept in the blues. Despite a lack of mainstream hits, his Sun-era tracks “Flying Saucer Rock ’n’ Roll” and “Red Hot”—both later given stiff covers by Robert Gordon—stand as enduring touchstones of the style. Riley passed away from cancer in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 2009 at the age of 75.