BILLY RILEY ROCK-A-BILLY 78 ROCK WITH ME BABY / TROUBLE BOUND US SUN 245 E+

	£		220
	$		292

ORIGINAL US SUN CLASSIC 

WONDERFUL ROCK-A-BILLY 78 FROM BILLY RILEY IN REALLY EXCELLENT CONDITION

TROUBLE BOUND

b/w     ROCK WITH ME BABY

TWO FANTASTIC ROCK-A-BILLY SIDES ON THIS ORIGINAL SUN 78!

Born in Pocahontas, Arkansas, the son of a sharecropper, Riley learned to play guitar from black farm workers. After 4 years in the Army, Riley first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1955 before being lured to Sun Studios by Sam Phillips. He recorded “Trouble Bound” for Jack Clement and Slim Wallace. Sam Phillips obtained the rights and he released “Trouble Bound” b/w “Rock With Me Baby” September 1,1956 (Sun 245). His first hit was “Flyin’ Saucers Rock and Roll” b/w “I Want You Baby” released February 23,1957 (Sun 260) after which he recorded “Red Hot” b/w “Pearly Lee” released September 30,1957 (Sun 277) both with backing piano by Jerry Lee Lewis.

Considered good looking and with wild stage moves, Riley had a brief solo career with his backing band “The Little Green Men”. Riley and his Little Green Men were the main Sun studio band. They were Riley, Roland Janes, J.M. Van Eaton, Marvin Pepper, and Jimmy Wilson, later joined by Martin Willis.

In 1960, he left Sun, and started Rita Record label with Roland Janes. They produced the national hit record “Mountain Of Love” by Harold Dorman. He later started two other labels Nita and Mojo.

In 1962, he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a session musician with Dean Martin, the Beach Boys, Herb Alpert, Sammy Davis Jr. and others, as well as recording under various aliases.

In the early seventies, Riley quit music to return to Arkansas to begin his own construction business. In 1978 “Red Hot” and “Flyin’ Saucers Rock ‘n’ Roll” were covered by Robert Gordon and Link Wray respectively, which led to a one-off performance in Memphis in 1979, the success of which led to further recording at Sun Studio and a full-time return to performing.

The Rockabilly Hall of Fame reported in summer 2009 that Riley was in poor health, with stage four colon cancer. His last public performance was in June 2009 at the New Daisy Theatre on Beale Street in Memphis, when he took part in Petefest 2009, honoring the historian Pete Daniel, who had befriended Riley while helping launch the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum. Supported by a walker, Riley rocked out on "Red Hot" and other old hits. He died of colon cancer on August 2, 2009, in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

In 2015, Bob Dylan offered this tribute to Riley, thanking MusiCares for their support in Riley's last years:

He was a true original. He did it all: He played, he sang, he wrote. He would have been a bigger star but Jerry Lee came along. And you know what happens when someone like that comes along. You just don't stand a chance. So Billy became what is known in the industry—a condescending term—as a one-hit wonder. But sometimes, just sometimes, once in a while, a one-hit wonder can make a more powerful impact than a recording star who's got 20 or 30 hits behind him. And Billy's hit song was called "Red Hot," and it was red hot. It could blast you out of your skull and make you feel happy about it. Change your life.

DISC DETAILS: 

US  SUN 245  10" 78rpm   SHELLAC

SIDE 1:-  TROUBLE BOUND

SIDE 2:-  ROCK WITH ME BABY

CONDITION - REALLY EXCELLENT  E+

TWO SUPERB ROCK-A-BILLY SIDES 

on an original US SUN 78!

DON'T MISS OUT -  BUY NOW!

THIS 78 COMES FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE PETER FEAST  

A GREAT COLLECTIOR OF ROCK-A-BILLY, COUNTRY, RHYTHM & BLUES, AND ROCK & ROLL RECORDS

10" 78 RPM RECORDS NEED CAREFULLY PACKING, AND WE CLAIM TO HAVE THE BEST PACKAGING IN THE WORLD FOR DISPATCHING THEM!

THE GREG'S GREAT'S SYSTEM CONSISTS OF A SPECIALLY DESIGNED INNER BOX MADE OUT OF 1" THICK POLYSTYRENE, WHICH THEN GOES INSIDE A CORRUGATED STIFF OUTER CARDBOARD CARTON. THE BOXES CAN TAKE UP TO 21 RECORDS,

WE SEND OUT ON AVERAGE ABOUT 30 PARCELS A WEEK AND DISPATCH IS NORMALLY DONE ONCE A WEEK.