![]() ![]() The American house band cut Elvis' comeback records such as Suspicious Minds and In the Ghetto, and played with Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett, Neil Diamond, and the Sweet Inspirations, among others. What followed between the period of 19 was an unparalleled run of 120 hit records recorded at American, primarily with the above-mentioned musicians. It was from his association with Goldwax that led Young to become part of the house band at Chips Moman's American Studios along with Gene Chrisman on drums, Bobby Wood and Bobby Emmons on piano, and Mike Leech or Tommy Cogbill on bass. Young was also a member of the Goldwax Records house band, backing up stars like James Carr and O.V. Throughout the mid-'60s Young also did session work at Royal Studio in Memphis, FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and in New York at the Atlantic Records recording facility where he added guitar to releases by Don Covay and Solomon Burke. The group had a smash instrumental hit with 1959's "Smokie," parlaying their success into a tour with the Beatles. When Young returned to Memphis he began playing with former Elvis bassist Bill Black in the Bill Black Combo. Fontana, and Billy Sandford, all of whom would help him when he finally made the move to Nashville in the '70s. Though he had little or money, the Shreveport scene was strong at the time and Young befriended fellow musicians Jerry Kennedy, D.J. After the tour, Young moved to Shreveport, Louisiana to further his career. Young got his first real break as the guitarist in Eddie Bond and the Stompers when a local DJ named Sleepy Eyed John heard their music and asked the group to record a song called "Rockin' Daddy." The record became a hit on Mercury Records and, at the age of 20, Young found himself touring alongside Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison. Like many key figures in Southern soul, Young was a white kid drawn to the sound of Black music and, later, his musicianship figured prominently in shaping the reputation of many southern studios including Goldwax, American, and Rick Hall's FAME studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Raised in Memphis and influenced by the Delta blues, Young's musical education came at the hands of Dewey Phillips' Red Hot & Blue radio show, where he soaked up the sounds of Ike & Tina Turner and a young Elvis Presley. A session musician whose career spanned seven decades, Reggie Young's story is, in many ways, a miniature version of the story of Southern soul music.
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