Mike Leech (Memphis Boys)
Courtesy of Musicians Hall of Fame
By Thomas Semioli
Think you’ve never heard Mike Leech? Listen up!
Willie Nelson “Always On My Mind” https://youtu.be/fA-kdZ5dbYk
Elvis Presley “Suspicious Minds” https://youtu.be/RxOBOhRECoo
Dobie Gray “Drift Away” https://youtu.be/NIuyDWzctgY
Neil Diamond “Sweet Caroline” https://youtu.be/GmK5_lnQUbE
Courtesy Musicians Hall of Fame
A first-call Nashville and “Memphis Boys” session cat, Mike Leech anchored over 120 Top 10 hit records back in the days when folks purchased music on vinyl platters!
Akin to his peers including Tommy Cogbill, Duck Dunn, Bob Babbitt, and Jerry Jemmott – Leech plied his craft with a strong rhythm & blues feel.
His genre traversing list of session credits is astounding: Herbie Mann, John Prine, Tom Jones, Al Kooper, Joe Tex, Eric Clapton, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Kris Kristofferson, Charley Pride, Jerry Reed, Bobby Bare, Conway Twitty, George Strait, Waylon Jennings, Ferlin Husky, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, and The Statler Brothers…to cite a very, very select few.
A bassist, guitarist, and arranger, Leech was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007.
