Lloyd Wells
Encyclopedia
Lloyd Wells is an American jazz
guitarist, now residing in Nashville, Tennessee
. He is best known for his work on The Merv Griffin Show
, The Tonight Show
with Johnny Carson
, Sesame Street
, The Electric Company
, The Ed Sullivan Show
, and later as arranger and Music Director at Opryland USA
theme park in Nashville. He also worked with Peggy Lee
and Rosemary Clooney
, and with the Glenn Miller
orchestra, under the direction of Buddy DeFranco
. He is an inductee of the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame.
Wells grew up in Laurel, Mississippi
, the same town where another notable jazz guitarist, Mundell Lowe
, grew up. He did his first professional work playing for square dances while still attending high school. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education.
In 1964, with encouragement from Mundell Lowe, Wells moved to New York City
, where he soon got work in the pit orchestras of Broadway shows. He remained in New York for 10 years, where he was a self-described "work-a-day guitar player." According to Wells, he "... made a decent living, bought a house, raised a family, lived in Manhattan for six years and then moved to Englewood, New Jersey
... Mundie (Mundell Lowe) opened a lot of doors for me. I did a lot of subbing. Mundie had The Merv Griffin Show
at the time and I did subbing there and then he had the Tonight Show band and I got to do a lot of subbing there." (Just Jazz Guitar magazine, November 2007, page 149.)
In 1973, Wells and his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he took a job as arranger and music director for Opryland USA
theme park, remaining in that position for 23 years. During that period, he wrote about 5,000 arrangements. Wells also did a lot of jingle work in studios in New York and Nashville.
Wells cites his most memorable jobs, naming two appearances at the White House
(with Tennessee Ernie Ford
) and playing on Sesame Street
and The Electric Company
form the top penthouse of Radio City Music Hall
.
Lloyd is a member of the W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars
, regularly performing at the annual W. C. Handy Music Festival
, performing alongside noted jazz musicians such as vibraphonist / drummer Chuck Redd
, drummer Bill Goodwin
, pianist / vocalist Johnny O'Neal
, pianist / vocalist Ray Reach
, bassist Neal Starkey
, trumpeter Ken Watters
, saxophonist Rick Bell and guitarist Mundell Lowe
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
guitarist, now residing in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. He is best known for his work on The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to September 26, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in...
, The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
with Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
, Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, The Electric Company
The Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
, The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, and later as arranger and Music Director at Opryland USA
Opryland USA
Opryland USA was an amusement park located in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally from 1972 until 1997...
theme park in Nashville. He also worked with Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
and Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
, and with the Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
orchestra, under the direction of Buddy DeFranco
Buddy DeFranco
Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco is an American jazz clarinet player.-Biography:DeFranco began his professional career just as swing music and big bands — many of which were led by clarinetists like Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman and Woody Herman — were fading in popularity...
. He is an inductee of the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame.
Wells grew up in Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...
, the same town where another notable jazz guitarist, Mundell Lowe
Mundell Lowe
Mundell Lowe is an American jazz guitarist.Lowe was born in Laurel, Mississippi on 21 March 1922. In the 1930s he played country music and Dixieland jazz. He later played with big bands and orchestras, and on television in New York City. In the 1960s, Lowe composed music for films and television...
, grew up. He did his first professional work playing for square dances while still attending high school. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education.
In 1964, with encouragement from Mundell Lowe, Wells moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he soon got work in the pit orchestras of Broadway shows. He remained in New York for 10 years, where he was a self-described "work-a-day guitar player." According to Wells, he "... made a decent living, bought a house, raised a family, lived in Manhattan for six years and then moved to Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
... Mundie (Mundell Lowe) opened a lot of doors for me. I did a lot of subbing. Mundie had The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to September 26, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in...
at the time and I did subbing there and then he had the Tonight Show band and I got to do a lot of subbing there." (Just Jazz Guitar magazine, November 2007, page 149.)
In 1973, Wells and his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he took a job as arranger and music director for Opryland USA
Opryland USA
Opryland USA was an amusement park located in suburban Nashville, Tennessee. It operated seasonally from 1972 until 1997...
theme park, remaining in that position for 23 years. During that period, he wrote about 5,000 arrangements. Wells also did a lot of jingle work in studios in New York and Nashville.
Wells cites his most memorable jobs, naming two appearances at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
(with Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
) and playing on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
and The Electric Company
The Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
form the top penthouse of Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
.
Lloyd is a member of the W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars
W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars
The W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars is a group of jazz musicians who play annually at the W. C. Handy Music Festival in Florence, Alabama. During the last week of July each year, these musicians travel from all over the United States to gather in Florence and perform in various combinations...
, regularly performing at the annual W. C. Handy Music Festival
W. C. Handy Music Festival
The W. C. Handy Music Festival is held annually in Florence, Alabama, sponsored by the Music Preservation Society, Inc., in honor of Florence native W. C...
, performing alongside noted jazz musicians such as vibraphonist / drummer Chuck Redd
Chuck Redd
Chuck Redd is an American drummer and vibraphonist. Chuck joined the Charlie Byrd Trio in 1980 at the age of 21. The same year, he joined the Great Guitars Chuck has done twelve European tours and five tours of Japan, with the Barney Kessel Trio, Ken Peplowski, Terry Gibbs and Conte...
, drummer Bill Goodwin
Bill Goodwin (jazz drummer)
F. Bill Goodwin is an American jazz drummer. Bill has been a professional drummer since 1959, and has performed with many jazz instrumentalists such as: Bill Evans, Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Jim Hall, George Shearing and Bobby Hutcherson, and singers such as June Christy, Joe Williams, Tony...
, pianist / vocalist Johnny O'Neal
Johnny O'Neal
Johnny O'Neal, born October 10, 1956 in Detroit, Michigan, is an American Neo-bop jazz pianist. His playing ranges from the technically virtuosic to the tenderest of ballad interpretations. Though unique in style, he is influenced by many jazz elders, including Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. He has...
, pianist / vocalist Ray Reach
Ray Reach
Raymond Everett Reach, Jr. is an American pianist, vocalist and educator residing in Birmingham, Alabama, now serving as Director of Student Jazz Programs for the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, director of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame All-Stars and President and CEO of Ray Reach Music and Magic City...
, bassist Neal Starkey
Neal Starkey
Neal Starkey is an American jazz bassist residing in Atlanta, Georgia. He has had a long and varied career, performing with many of the most notable names in jazz, including Kenny Barron, Eddie Harris, Sonny Stitt, Duke Pearson, Al Cohn, Charlie Rouse, Barney Kessel and many others. He is a...
, trumpeter Ken Watters
Ken Watters
Ken Watters is an American jazz trumpeter residing in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the brother of noted jazz trombonist, Harry Watters. Ken is a member of several noted performing groups, including Tabou Combo, , Natalie Cole Band, , the Magic City Jazz Orchestra, and the W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars...
, saxophonist Rick Bell and guitarist Mundell Lowe
Mundell Lowe
Mundell Lowe is an American jazz guitarist.Lowe was born in Laurel, Mississippi on 21 March 1922. In the 1930s he played country music and Dixieland jazz. He later played with big bands and orchestras, and on television in New York City. In the 1960s, Lowe composed music for films and television...
.
External links
- Just Jazz Guitar Magazine online
- Mundell Lowe and Lloyd Wells CD
- W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars at Bhamwiki.com