R.I.P. – Billy Lee Riley

August 16th, 2009

Rock’n'roll legend Billy Lee Riley died earlier this month. He was 75.

Riley helped pioneer rock’n'roll as a member of Sam Phillips’ stable at Sun Studios from 1956-1960. Oddly enough, he never recorded an album of his own while at Sun but he did release numerous singles. Despite being second fiddle to Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, Riley and his The Little Green Men, were Sun’s house band. Ergo, you have probably heard him playing on hits by other artists even if you didn’t know it.

Many people associate Riley with “Flying Saucer Rock’n'Roll” but I think the first song I ever heard by him was “Red Hot”.

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