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Today we celebrate the 80th birthday of Scotty Moore, who as the guitarist in Elvis Presley’s original band is one of the most innovative and influential figures in rock ‘n’ roll.

Winfield Scott Moore III was born on December 27, 1931 near Gadsden, Tennessee and began playing guitar as a child. After serving in the Navy from 1948 to 1952, he formed a country band called “The Starlite Wranglers” which also featured future Elvis bassist Bill Black. Everything would change in July 1954 when Sun Records owner, Sam Phillips, asked Scotty to work with an enthusiastic young singer called Elvis Presley.

Left to right: Elvis Presley, Bill Black, Scotty Moore & Sam Phillips at Sun Records

On July 5, 1954, Scotty was involved in one of the most important moments in rock ‘n’ roll history while at an informal session at Sun with Elvis and Bill Black. Here’s how Scotty remembered the incident when speaking to author Jerry Hopkins in 1971:

It was Elvis’ energy and instincts that brought a new dimenion to the Crudup tune, but Scotty’s subtle yet driving guitar work, and Bill Black’s throbbing bass were hugely important in bringing the whole thing together and producing a sound that would enthrall local teens at the time and continues to enthrall listeners today.

Elvis Presley – “That’s All Right”

Phillips convinced Dewey Phillips (no relation) to play the song on his “Red, Hot and Blue” radio show in Memphis and the local response was such that the young Elvis was rushed to the studio to be interviewed on the show – he’d been so nervous at the prospect of the song being played, that he had to be tracked down hiding out at the movies.

The response to “That’s All Right” meant that a B-side was required. For the A-side, the trio had added country elements to a blues song, but for the flip they would add blues elements to Bill Monroe’s country hit “Blue Moon of Kentucky.” The results were on a par with the A-side and it was evident that something special was happening.

Scotty’s pioneering rockabilly style would feature on many classic Elvis recordings over the next few years, including “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” “Baby Let’s Play House,” “I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone,” “Mystery Train,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Too Much,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” “Jailhouse Rock” and many more.

Elvis Presley – “Baby Let’s Play House”

Elvis Presley – “Blue Suede Shoes”

Scotty also played hundreds of concerts with Elvis in the early barnstorming days and appeared in the classic movies Loving You, Jailhouse Rock and King Creole, each time as a member of Elvis’ band. He’d continue to play at Elvis sessions throughout the 1960s, and the pair ended their professional relationship on a high in 1968 as Scotty backed Elvis on the acclaimed so-called “sit down” segment of his 1968 television special.

The next 20 years saw Scotty working in the studio for the most part, engineering records such as Ringo Starr’s “Beaucoups of Blues” and Carl Perkins’ “EP Express,” and also engineering television shows for the likes of Bob Hope, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Dolly Parton.

Fans got a chance to see Scotty live on stage for the first time since 1968 when he joined Carl Perkins at the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis as part of the “Good Rockin’ Tonight” show in 1992. This welcome return to the stage continued with a number of tours and appearances at special events, including the 1994 Elvis tribute at the Pyramid in Memphis.

Scotty has also been involved in a number of reunion/tribute recording projects, including “All the Kings Men” in 1997 which featured artists such as Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Jeff Beck, and members of the Bill Black combo.

In 2004, some of rock music’s finest gathered in London’s Abbey Road studios to pay tribute to and play alongside Scotty Moore. The artists assembled included Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, Dave Gilmour, Bill Wyman and Albert Lee. Here’s one of the highlights from that night.

Scotty Moore and Eric Clapton – “Mystery Train”

Recognising that arthritis was compromising his ability to play guitar, Scotty Moore made his farewell live performances in the two “Last Man Standing” shows during the 2007 Elvis Week at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Scotty played alongside “The Mighty Handful,” which featured some of the all time great session musicians, including Bob Moore and Boots Randolph, who had played with Scotty on Elvis recording in the 1960s. Scotty also produced the two-volume “Might Handful” CDs.

Scotty celebrated his 80th birthday earlier this month with a party at the Gibson Memphis Showcase. Among those in attendance were Elvis’ ex-wife Priscilla Presley and Gibson Guitar President David Berryman, who presented Scotty with a Gibson Custom ES-295 replica of the guitar that he had played throughout his career.

Scotty Moore was an integral part of Elvis’ early band and one of the real pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll guitar. Twentieth century popular music would have been very different without his contribution.

Happy Birthday Scotty and thanks for all the fine music.

For those who want to know more about Scotty, the excellent out-of-print “That’s Alright, Elvis: The Untold Story of Elvis’s First Guitarist and Manager, Scotty Moore” has recently been made available on Kindle by author James L. Dickerson. The 1997 book is Scotty’s account (as told to Dickerson) of his long career, including his time playing guitar for Elvis Presley.

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