Bill McElhiney
Encyclopedia
William K. "Bill" McElhiney (1915 – February 9, 2002) was a longtime musical arranger
and trumpeter who was based in Nashville, Tennessee
. He worked with many major talents, including Ray Charles
, Connie Francis
, Johnny Cash
, Floyd Cramer
, Johnny Tillotson
and Patsy Cline
.
Danny Davis
chose McElhiney to arrange for and help establish the sound of his "Nashville Brass". "Bill McElhiney and his Orchestra" released an album in 1963 (MGM
4135) entitled Bluegrass Banjo with Strings. The album featured Bob Johnson on the banjo
and included the traditional standard "Down Yonder
," which became a minor hit after being released as a single (MGM 13156). Perhaps the most familiar single piece of music McElhiney contributed to was "Ring of Fire
" by Johnny Cash
. McElhiney teamed with Karl Garvin to provide the signature trumpets so prominent in this song. Johnny Cash was inspired to add horns "Ring of Fire" after hearing Bob Moore's 1962 instrumental hit "Mexico" which featured the twin trumpets of Bill McElhiney and Carl Garvin.
In addition to the above four songs, McElhiney also made the musical arrangement for the song "Talk Back Trembling Lips
" which became a #7 Billboard hit for Johnny Tillotson
in 1963-64, although Ernest Ashworth sang the song originally in 1963. It was not Tillotson's highest ranking single recording though, as "Poetry In Motion
" was his biggest hit, in 1960, on Cadence Records
. "Talk Back Trembling Lips" was released on MGM Records as single # K13181. McElhiney did not arrange Ernest Ashworth's version. The song was written by composer John D. Loudermilk
, who was from Durham, North Carolina
.
Bill McElhiney succumbed to Alzheimer's disease
on February 9, 2002 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
.
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and trumpeter who was based in Nashville, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. He worked with many major talents, including Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
, Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...
, Johnny Tillotson
Johnny Tillotson
Johnny Tillotson is an American singer and songwriter. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored 9 top-ten hits on the pop, country and adult contemporary billboard charts including "Poetry In Motion" and the self-penned "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'"...
and Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
.
Danny Davis
Danny Davis (country musician)
Danny Davis was a band leader, trumpet player, vocalist and producer and founder/leader of the Nashville Brass.-Early life and career:...
chose McElhiney to arrange for and help establish the sound of his "Nashville Brass". "Bill McElhiney and his Orchestra" released an album in 1963 (MGM
MGM Records
MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...
4135) entitled Bluegrass Banjo with Strings. The album featured Bob Johnson on the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
and included the traditional standard "Down Yonder
Down Yonder
"Down Yonder" is a popular song with words and music by L. Wolfe Gilbert. It was first published in 1921. Four characters from Gilbert's 1912 lyric to "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" returned in this song...
," which became a minor hit after being released as a single (MGM 13156). Perhaps the most familiar single piece of music McElhiney contributed to was "Ring of Fire
Ring of Fire (song)
"Ring of Fire" or "The Ring of Fire" is a country music song popularized by Johnny Cash and co-written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore. The single appears on Cash's 1963 compilation album, Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash...
" by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
. McElhiney teamed with Karl Garvin to provide the signature trumpets so prominent in this song. Johnny Cash was inspired to add horns "Ring of Fire" after hearing Bob Moore's 1962 instrumental hit "Mexico" which featured the twin trumpets of Bill McElhiney and Carl Garvin.
In addition to the above four songs, McElhiney also made the musical arrangement for the song "Talk Back Trembling Lips
Talk Back Trembling Lips
"Talk Back Trembling Lips" is a 1963 song first recorded by Ernest Ashworth. The song became the most successful of Ernest Ashworth's career, becoming his only No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that October. The song spent 35 weeks on the country chart. The song also bubbled...
" which became a #7 Billboard hit for Johnny Tillotson
Johnny Tillotson
Johnny Tillotson is an American singer and songwriter. He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored 9 top-ten hits on the pop, country and adult contemporary billboard charts including "Poetry In Motion" and the self-penned "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'"...
in 1963-64, although Ernest Ashworth sang the song originally in 1963. It was not Tillotson's highest ranking single recording though, as "Poetry In Motion
Poetry in Motion (song)
"Poetry in Motion" is a UK number-one single of 1961, recorded by Johnny Tillotson.The song was written by Paul Kaufman and Mike Anthony , who said that the inspiration for it came from looking up from their work and seeing a procession of young ladies from a nearby school pass by on the sidewalk...
" was his biggest hit, in 1960, on Cadence Records
Cadence Records
Cadence Records was an American record company based in New York City. It was founded by Archie Bleyer, who had been the musical director and orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey in 1952...
. "Talk Back Trembling Lips" was released on MGM Records as single # K13181. McElhiney did not arrange Ernest Ashworth's version. The song was written by composer John D. Loudermilk
John D. Loudermilk
John D. Loudermilk is an American singer and songwriter.-Biography:Born in Durham, North Carolina, Loudermilk grew up in a family who were members of the Salvation Army faith and was influenced by the church singing. His cousins Ira and Charlie Loudermilk were known professionally as the Louvin...
, who was from Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
.
Bill McElhiney succumbed to Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
on February 9, 2002 in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Bay Saint Louis is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,209. It is the county seat of Hancock County...
.