Tennessee Three
Encyclopedia
The Tennessee Three was the backing band for country music
and rockabilly
singer Johnny Cash
for nearly 25 years, until Cash's reorganizing of the group and naming it The Great Eighties Eight
in 1980.
The group provided the unique backing that would come to be recognized by fans as "the Johnny Cash sound."
. In 1953, while the younger Cash was stationed in Germany
with the US Air Force, Luther Perkins
joined the staff at Automobile Sales, where he met co-workers Marshall Grant
and A.W. 'Red' Kernodle. Grant, Kernodle and Perkins began bringing their guitars to work, and would play together when repair business was slow.
When Johnny Cash moved to Memphis after returning from Germany in 1954, Roy Cash introduced him to Grant, Kernodle and Perkins. The four began to get together in the evenings at Perkins' or Grant's home and play songs. It was during this time that they decided to form a band, with Grant moving to an upright bass, Kernodle to a six-string steel guitar
, and Perkins buying a Fender Esquire
electric guitar
Perkins' performance style on the Fender resulted in the band's famous steady, simple "boom-chicka-boom" or "freight train" rhythm.
By 1955, Cash and his bandmates were in the Memphis studio of Sun Records
, to audition for owner Sam Phillips
. Kernodle was so nervous that he left the session, not wanting to hold back the group. The band presesented themselves as the "Tennessee Three", but Phillips suggested that they call themselves Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two.
In 1960, drum
mer W.S. Holland joined the group, which was then renamed The Tennessee Three. Holland has been credited as one of the first country drummers. In the early 1950s, he had collaborated with Cash on recordings, as well as having played with Carl Perkins
(no relation to Luther Perkins) and the "Perkins Brothers Band".
Luther Perkins died from injuries sustained in a house fire in August, 1968, after reportedly having fallen asleep with a lit cigarette. Bob Wootton
filled in as the group's guitarist at a performance the following month, and continued Perkins' unique "boom-chicka-boom" sound as a full member of the Tennessee Three in time for the landmark February 1969 performance at San Quentin State Prison
when Cash's live album was recorded.
In 1971, the group recorded an instrumental album dedicated to Perkins: The Tennessee Three: The Sound Behind Johnny Cash.
Marshall Grant was fired by Cash in 1980, and Cash chose to discontinue using the name, "The Tennessee Three", ostensibly for legal reasons (Grant had filed a lawsuit against Cash, which was settled out-of-court years later). The band was called The Great Eighties Eight
after Grant left. Since that time, others joined the group, with Wootton and Holland remaining off-and-on as the group's anchors.
In September 1989, Cash hired Kerry Marx and Steve Logan as guitarist and bassist, respectively, and renamed the group The Johnny Cash Show Band.
By the early 1990s the band consisted of Bob Wootton (guitar), W.S. Holland (drums), Dave Roe (upright bass), John Carter Cash
(rhythm guitar) and Earl Poole Ball (piano). This was the final configuration of the Johnny Cash Show Band until Cash's death in 2003. The group made its final appearance backing Cash (with Marshall Grant in a surprise appearance on string bass) on April 6, 1999, while taping a TNT television special in New York City.
In 2006, the group's career was revived by then-manager Trevor Chowning
, and they recorded and released a tribute album to Johnny Cash titled "The Sound Must Go On."
In August 2007, the band make their first appearance in Scotland since the 1990s at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Inverness-shire. A planned Tennessee Three concert in January 2008 commemorating the 40th anniversary of Cash's Folsom Prison performance was scrapped after disputes between prison managers and the concert promoter.
In January 2008, Wootton announced on his mySpace page that Holland had decided no longer to tour with Wootton, and formed the "W.S. Holland band". In an interview, Wootton said that Holland decided to dissolve the partnership after Wootton backed out of playing the Folsom anniversary concert.
Wootton continued his 2008 touring as the Tennessee Three with drummer Rodney Blake Powell, upright bassist Shawn Supra, Vicky and Scarlett Wootton to appreciative crowds across the globe. The band continued to tour throughout 2009, with the addition of upright bassist Lisa Horngren and drummer Derrick McCullough.
, the band
members were portrayed by the following actors. True to their supposed characterizations described earlier, Perkins was played as stiff and expressionless onstage, while Grant was played as animated and gregarious:
The film contains a subtle foreshadowing of Perkins' fate, in a brief scene in which Perkins falls asleep with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Cash retrieves the cigarette and stubs it out. Cash later suggested that this was how Perkins's house had caught fire.
Promotion for the DVD release of Walk the Line by FOX Television included a history-making screening of the film at Hollywood's famed Arclight Cinema wherein actors in the film and their real-life counterparts performed a set of Cash's music prior to the screening. Original Tennessee Three members, Bob Wootton
and W. S. Holland
were among those to perform as well as serve on a speaking panel after the film. Also in attendance was Jane Seymour
, wife of the film's producer, James Keach
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
singer 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...
for nearly 25 years, until Cash's reorganizing of the group and naming it The Great Eighties Eight
The Great Eighties Eight
The Great Eighties Eight was Johnny Cash's band during the 1980s. It was formed after longtime bass player Marshall Grant left the Tennessee Three, and Cash extended his band. The people and number of people changed frequently throughout the 1980s and by 1981 only seven people remained, making the...
in 1980.
The group provided the unique backing that would come to be recognized by fans as "the Johnny Cash sound."
History
Roy Cash, Sr., older brother of Johnny Cash, was service manager at an Automobile Sales Company dealership in Memphis, TennesseeTennessee
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...
. In 1953, while the younger Cash was stationed in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
with the US Air Force, Luther Perkins
Luther Perkins
Luther Monroe Perkins was an American country music guitarist and a member of the Tennessee Three, the backup band for singer Johnny Cash. Perkins was an iconic figure in what would become known as rockabilly music...
joined the staff at Automobile Sales, where he met co-workers Marshall Grant
Marshall Grant
Marshall Garnett Grant was the upright bassist and electric bassist of singer Johnny Cash's original backing duo, the Tennessee Two, in which Grant and electric guitarist Luther Perkins played. The group became known as The Tennessee Three in 1960, with the addition of drummer W. S. Holland...
and A.W. 'Red' Kernodle. Grant, Kernodle and Perkins began bringing their guitars to work, and would play together when repair business was slow.
When Johnny Cash moved to Memphis after returning from Germany in 1954, Roy Cash introduced him to Grant, Kernodle and Perkins. The four began to get together in the evenings at Perkins' or Grant's home and play songs. It was during this time that they decided to form a band, with Grant moving to an upright bass, Kernodle to a six-string steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
, and Perkins buying a Fender Esquire
Fender Esquire
The Fender Esquire is a solid body electric guitar manufactured by Fender, and was the first guitar sold by Fender in 1950. Shortly after its introduction a two-pickup version named the Broadcaster was introduced while the single pickup version retained the Esquire name...
electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
Perkins' performance style on the Fender resulted in the band's famous steady, simple "boom-chicka-boom" or "freight train" rhythm.
By 1955, Cash and his bandmates were in the Memphis studio of Sun Records
Sun Records
Sun Records is a record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27, 1952.Founded by Sam Phillips, Sun Records was known for giving notable musicians such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash...
, to audition for owner Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips
Samuel Cornelius Phillips , better known as Sam Phillips, was an American businessman, record executive, record producer and DJ who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s...
. Kernodle was so nervous that he left the session, not wanting to hold back the group. The band presesented themselves as the "Tennessee Three", but Phillips suggested that they call themselves Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two.
In 1960, drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
mer W.S. Holland joined the group, which was then renamed The Tennessee Three. Holland has been credited as one of the first country drummers. In the early 1950s, he had collaborated with Cash on recordings, as well as having played with Carl Perkins
Carl Perkins
Carl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
(no relation to Luther Perkins) and the "Perkins Brothers Band".
Luther Perkins died from injuries sustained in a house fire in August, 1968, after reportedly having fallen asleep with a lit cigarette. Bob Wootton
Bob Wootton
Bob Wootton is an American guitarist. He joined Johnny Cash's backing band, the Tennessee Three, after original lead guitarist, Luther Perkins, died in a house fire.- Biography :...
filled in as the group's guitarist at a performance the following month, and continued Perkins' unique "boom-chicka-boom" sound as a full member of the Tennessee Three in time for the landmark February 1969 performance at San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
when Cash's live album was recorded.
In 1971, the group recorded an instrumental album dedicated to Perkins: The Tennessee Three: The Sound Behind Johnny Cash.
Marshall Grant was fired by Cash in 1980, and Cash chose to discontinue using the name, "The Tennessee Three", ostensibly for legal reasons (Grant had filed a lawsuit against Cash, which was settled out-of-court years later). The band was called The Great Eighties Eight
The Great Eighties Eight
The Great Eighties Eight was Johnny Cash's band during the 1980s. It was formed after longtime bass player Marshall Grant left the Tennessee Three, and Cash extended his band. The people and number of people changed frequently throughout the 1980s and by 1981 only seven people remained, making the...
after Grant left. Since that time, others joined the group, with Wootton and Holland remaining off-and-on as the group's anchors.
In September 1989, Cash hired Kerry Marx and Steve Logan as guitarist and bassist, respectively, and renamed the group The Johnny Cash Show Band.
By the early 1990s the band consisted of Bob Wootton (guitar), W.S. Holland (drums), Dave Roe (upright bass), John Carter Cash
John Carter Cash
John Carter Cash is an American Country music-singer, author, songwriter and producer. He is the only son of Johnny and June Carter Cash.-Biography:...
(rhythm guitar) and Earl Poole Ball (piano). This was the final configuration of the Johnny Cash Show Band until Cash's death in 2003. The group made its final appearance backing Cash (with Marshall Grant in a surprise appearance on string bass) on April 6, 1999, while taping a TNT television special in New York City.
In 2006, the group's career was revived by then-manager Trevor Chowning
Trevor Chowning
Trevor Chowning is an American pop artist known for his extensive use of unique materials and strange objects in his work. Paintings have featured precious metals such as gold or silver leaf, and have included everything from antique hummingbird feathers, genuine diamonds, animal bones and obsolete...
, and they recorded and released a tribute album to Johnny Cash titled "The Sound Must Go On."
In August 2007, the band make their first appearance in Scotland since the 1990s at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Inverness-shire. A planned Tennessee Three concert in January 2008 commemorating the 40th anniversary of Cash's Folsom Prison performance was scrapped after disputes between prison managers and the concert promoter.
In January 2008, Wootton announced on his mySpace page that Holland had decided no longer to tour with Wootton, and formed the "W.S. Holland band". In an interview, Wootton said that Holland decided to dissolve the partnership after Wootton backed out of playing the Folsom anniversary concert.
Wootton continued his 2008 touring as the Tennessee Three with drummer Rodney Blake Powell, upright bassist Shawn Supra, Vicky and Scarlett Wootton to appreciative crowds across the globe. The band continued to tour throughout 2009, with the addition of upright bassist Lisa Horngren and drummer Derrick McCullough.
Current members
- Bob WoottonBob WoottonBob Wootton is an American guitarist. He joined Johnny Cash's backing band, the Tennessee Three, after original lead guitarist, Luther Perkins, died in a house fire.- Biography :...
- electric guitar (1968—present) - Lisa Horngren - bass (2005–present)
- Vicky Wootton - support vocals and acoustic guitar (2009-present)
- Scarlett Wootton - support vocals and acoustic guitar (2009-present)
- Montana Wootton - support vocals and acoustic guitar (2009-present)
- Derrick McCullough - support vocals and drums (2009–present)
Former members
- Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn 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...
- lead vocals & guitar (1954–2003) - Marshall GrantMarshall GrantMarshall Garnett Grant was the upright bassist and electric bassist of singer Johnny Cash's original backing duo, the Tennessee Two, in which Grant and electric guitarist Luther Perkins played. The group became known as The Tennessee Three in 1960, with the addition of drummer W. S. Holland...
- bass (1954–1980) - Luther PerkinsLuther PerkinsLuther Monroe Perkins was an American country music guitarist and a member of the Tennessee Three, the backup band for singer Johnny Cash. Perkins was an iconic figure in what would become known as rockabilly music...
- electric guitar (1954–1968) - W.S. Holland - drums (1960—2008) (Johnny Cash himself stated during a performance that Holland was "my drummer since 1959.")
- Carl PerkinsCarl PerkinsCarl Lee Perkins was an American rockabilly musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, beginning during 1954...
- electric guitar (1966–1974) (played second guitar with the band and lead in August 1968 after Luther died) - Larry Butler - piano (1972)
- Bill Walker - piano (1973)
- Larry McCoy - piano (1973–1976)
- Jerry Hensley - electric guitar (1974–1982)
- Tommy Williams - fiddle (1974)
- Gordon TerryGordon TerryGordon Terry was an adept American bluegrass and country music fiddler and guitarist. He was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the Fiddlers Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
- fiddle (1975–1976) - Earl Poole Ball - piano (1977–1997)
- Jack Hale Jr - trumpet (1978–1989) (Tennessee Trumpets)
- Bob Lewin - french horn (1978–1989) (Tennessee Trumpets)
- John Carter CashJohn Carter CashJohn Carter Cash is an American Country music-singer, author, songwriter and producer. He is the only son of Johnny and June Carter Cash.-Biography:...
- vocals, rhythm guitar, (1988–2003) - Dave Roe - bass (early 1990's-2003)
- Rodney Blake Powell - drums (2008–2009)
- Shawn Supra - upright bass (2009)
Walk the Line
In the 2005 film biography of Johnny Cash, Walk the LineWalk the Line
Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold and based on the early life and career of country music artist Johnny Cash...
, the band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
members were portrayed by the following actors. True to their supposed characterizations described earlier, Perkins was played as stiff and expressionless onstage, while Grant was played as animated and gregarious:
- Luther Perkins - Dan John MillerBlanche (band)Blanche is an American alternative country band from Detroit, Michigan. Their music is based in Americana, early country, and folk blues, with a touch of haunting Southern Gothic stylings and garage rock mentality. Blanche is known for wearing vintage fashion of the early to mid-20th century.The...
- Marshall Grant - Larry BagbyLarry BagbyLarry Bagby is an American actor and a musician.Bagby was born Lawrence Bagby III in Marysville, California. His father was a member of a dance band. Bagby's most notable roles include:...
- W.S. Holland - Clay Steakley
The film contains a subtle foreshadowing of Perkins' fate, in a brief scene in which Perkins falls asleep with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Cash retrieves the cigarette and stubs it out. Cash later suggested that this was how Perkins's house had caught fire.
Promotion for the DVD release of Walk the Line by FOX Television included a history-making screening of the film at Hollywood's famed Arclight Cinema wherein actors in the film and their real-life counterparts performed a set of Cash's music prior to the screening. Original Tennessee Three members, Bob Wootton
Bob Wootton
Bob Wootton is an American guitarist. He joined Johnny Cash's backing band, the Tennessee Three, after original lead guitarist, Luther Perkins, died in a house fire.- Biography :...
and W. S. Holland
W. S. Holland
W. S. "Fluke" Holland is a drummer who worked extensively with numerous rock and roll musicians, beginning with Carl Perkins, but became well known as the drummer in singer Johnny Cash's succession of backing bands: The Tennessee Three, The Great Eighties Eight, and The Johnny Cash Show Band...
were among those to perform as well as serve on a speaking panel after the film. Also in attendance was Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
, wife of the film's producer, James Keach
James Keach
James Keach is an American actor, producer, and director. He is the younger brother of actor Stacy Keach, Jr., and son of actor Stacy Keach, Sr.-Background:...
.