Emory Gordy (Elvis Presley, Gram Parsons, Steve Earle)

By Thomas Semioli

 

A session legend, producer, composer and first-call bassist / sideman- it would be easier to list artists whom Emory Lee Gordy Jr. hasn’t’ anchored on stage and on record! 

 

Emory’s musical skills were evident as a child in his native Atlanta, Georgia. By the time he was in high school he was a multi-instrumentalist working in ensembles spanning Dixieland Jazz to Top 40 to garage rock. A music student at Georgia State, Gordy’s career in the studio began in 1964, collaborating with Tommy Roe, Lou Christie, Rufus Thomas, and Joe South, among others. He moved to Los Angeles in 1970, working sessions as a bassist, producer, and engineer for such artists as Debbie Reynolds, Liberace, and Neil Diamond.

 

In ’72 Gordy anchored Elvis’ TCB Band. In the mid-70s he co-founded Emmylou Harris Hot Band while continuing his studio work with Billy Joel, Tom Petty, and Rosanne Cash, John Denver, and Rodney Crowell to cite a very select few.

 

In ’83 Gordy gave up the road full time and turned to production, helming such sides as Steve Earle’s Exit 0 and Guitar Town, along with releases by Vince Gill, and his wife Patty Loveless. Nowadays Gordy lives in semi-retirement and occasionally works a session or one-off performances in Nashville or his home in Atlanta.  Gordy and Loveless are members of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

 

Emory Gordy Jr. Sound & Vision…

 

Elvis Presley: “Burning Love” https://youtu.be/zf2VYAtqRe0

 

Elvis Presley: “Separate Ways”  https://youtu.be/zeUSTbdaiZk

 

Gram Parsons: “Return of the Grievous Angel” https://youtu.be/h_Iz0iVvhEc

 

Emmy Lou Harris Hot Band Old Grey Whistle Test 1977: https://youtu.be/lpNMrugveLE

 

Rodney Crowell “Ain’t No Money” https://youtu.be/tfwGTMJW5XY

 

Rosanne Cash “Ain’t No Money” https://youtu.be/AgqxbnogP3E

 

Neil Diamond  “Longfellow Serenade” https://youtu.be/4XRGMaI46zw

 

Linda Ronstadt “Dark End of the Street” https://youtu.be/PKBvG8XJrSU

 

Tom Petty “Strangered in the Night” https://youtu.be/gC9FDx3HISw

 

Patty Loveless “A Little Bit In Love” https://youtu.be/T-5MN8JuEhc

 

Bob Glaub (Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne)

Courtesy of Ampeg Com

 

The consummate studio cat, Bob Glaub’s body of work embraces blues, folk, pop, country, jazz, and rock and permutations thereof.

 

His astounding list of record credits span Patti Smith, Rod Stewart, Nicolette Larson, Gladys Knight, Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks, Jon Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Natalie Merchant, Donna Summer, Bob Seger, Eddie Money, John Fogerty, CSN &Y, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt, Randy Newman, Lucinda Williams, and Carole King to cite a very very select few.

 

Producers and artists depend on Glaub because he delivers exactly what is needed as a supportive player – a warm tone, melodic interplay, and pocket grooves.  Lakland created a Bob Glaub signature bass which is modeled after his 1964 Fender Precision.

 

Bob Glaub Sound & Vision…

 

Tony Senatore’s rendition of  Bob’s brilliant passage Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender” https://youtu.be/2nbIKdJenzE

 

Rita Coolidge “I’d Rather Leave While I’m In Love” https://youtu.be/yCaq9BOe5Yc

 

Warren Zevon “Excitable Boy”  https://youtu.be/fZokPAuhD6k

 

Stevie Nicks “Gold & Braid” https://youtu.be/rtSFGsG7yiE

 

Bob Dylan “Seeing the Real You At Last” https://youtu.be/-Dy0UgPt_tM

 

Rod Stewart “Lost In You” https://youtu.be/aEFZ2hHn40w

 

Neil Diamond “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” https://youtu.be/g4Ig2Rwls3U

 

Eddie Money “Let’s Be Lovers Again” https://youtu.be/WKX3Lc5uXys

 

Patti Smith “Going Under” https://youtu.be/xXi40UG-AAE

 

Linda Ronstadt “Girls Talk” https://youtu.be/AIlMetJm14E   

 

Mike Leech (Memphis Boys, Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Willie Nelson

A first-call Nashville and “Memphis Boys” session cat, the late, great Mike Leech anchored over 120 Top 10 hit records…and scores of album tracks in a career spanning almost fifty years. 

 

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.

 

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