CHATTANOOGA (CelebrityAccess) – Alabama-born drummer Jerry Carrigan, who was in the first rhythm section for FAME Studio in Muscle Shoals and later an in-demand session player in Nashville, Tennessee, has passed away at the age of 75, reports The Associated Press.
As a teenager, Carrigan and his friends David Briggs (piano) and Norbert Putnam (bass), helped to create the Muscle Shoals sound under the guidance of producer Rick Hall, according to AP. After playing on some of the earliest FAME records and performing in the Muscle Shoals backup band that opened for The Beatles on their first U.S. concert in 1964, the three Alabama musicians relocated to Nashville where they became in-demand session players, commonly referred to as The Nashville Cats.
To top Nashville producers such as Larry Butler, Owen Bradley, Chet Atkins, and Billy Sherrill, Carrigan became their go-to man behind the kit as part of Nashville’s A-Team.
Carrigan’s credits include: Bobby Bare’s “Marie Laveau,” Waylon Jennings’s “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line,” George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Middle Aged Crazy,” Jerry Reed’s “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot,” Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors,” Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” Ray Stevens’ “Everything Is Beautiful,” and Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie.” He also played on recordings by Elvis Presley, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Joe White, Al Hirt, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Tom Jones, Henry Mancini, Joan Baez, Don McLean, and many more.
