NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) Reggie Young, 82, lead guitarist in the American Sound Studios Band (a.k.a. The Memphis Boys),[1] and is a leading session musician, has died, although details are still unclear.
Young spent six decades as a session musician, playing on tracks with Elvis Presley, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, The Box Tops and John Prine, among many others. His guitar work is indelibly tied to recordings like “Suspicious Minds,” “In The Ghetto,” “Luckenbach, Texas,” “Always on My Mind,” and “Lucille.” Other sessions include Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” and Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.”
He was an original member of Bill Black’s Combo, which The Beatles requested open for them during their first U.S. tour in 1964. The combo was Billboard Magazine’s No. 1 instrumental band three years in a row, 1960-1962. Young was a session player at Hi Studio in Memphis for much of the 60s, when he was recruited by Chips Moman to join American Studios and became a member of the Memphis Boys, which were responsible for 120 hit singles between 1967 and 1971.
Young was nominated for a Grammy and performed at the Kennedy Center in honor of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. He has been recognized as a “Nashville Cat” by the Country Music Hall of Fame.
