Reggie Young

Reggie Young worked as a session guitarist across seven decades, his path tracing a compact history of Southern soul itself. Born and raised in Memphis, he absorbed Delta blues influences through Dewey Phillips’ Red Hot & Blue broadcasts, absorbing the styles of Ike & Tina Turner alongside a teenage Elvis Presley. As a white musician captivated by Black sounds, he helped define the sonic identity of several landmark Southern facilities—Goldwax, American, and Rick Hall’s FAME studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. His first significant opportunity arrived when he joined Eddie Bond and the Stompers; after local disc jockey Sleepy Eyed John caught their act, the group cut “Rockin’ Daddy” for Mercury Records. The single succeeded, sending the twenty-year-old Young on the road with Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison. He later relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana, where limited funds did not prevent him from forming lasting ties with Jerry Kennedy, D.J. Fontana, and Billy Sandford—connections that later eased his 1970s transition to Nashville.

Back in Memphis, Young performed with former Elvis bassist Bill Black in the Bill Black Combo. Their 1959 instrumental “Smokie” became a major success and earned the group an opening slot on a Beatles tour. During the mid-1960s he contributed sessions at Royal Studio in Memphis, FAME in Muscle Shoals, and Atlantic’s New York facility, adding guitar parts to recordings by Don Covay and Solomon Burke. He also served as a core member of the Goldwax house band, supporting James Carr and O.V. Wright. Those Goldwax ties led him to Chips Moman’s American Studios, where he joined Gene Chrisman on drums, Bobby Wood and Bobby Emmons on piano, and either Mike Leech or Tommy Cogbill on bass.

Between 1967 and 1971 that American lineup produced 120 hit records. They backed Elvis Presley’s return with “Suspicious Minds” and “In the Ghetto,” and accompanied Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett, Neil Diamond, and the Sweet Inspirations. In 1972 Young relocated to Nashville, linking up with fellow FAME veterans David Briggs and Norbert Putnam at Quadrophonic Studios. From 1972 to 1979 his workload grew so heavy that he began charging double scale to limit bookings. Seeking relief from studio fatigue, he toured with the Highwaymen—Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings—marking his first European appearances since the Bill Black Combo’s early-1960s travels. After years supporting others, Young issued his debut solo album, the instrumental Forever Young, in 2017. Ace Records followed in 2019 with the retrospective Reggie Young: Session Guitar Star. He passed away at his Nashville home on January 17, 2019, at the age of 81.