PRODUCER
What happened in the little room at left changed the world. And sitting behind the glass, Jack Clement was recording the proceedings - Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, Carl Perkins and a host of others revered by rockabilly fans all over the world - Billy Lee Riley, Warren Smith, Sonny Burgess - even the day another Sun alumnus dropped by for what turned out to be an impromptu session that surfaced decades later as the "Million Dollar Quartet" (below).
Relocating to Nashville in the early '60s to work for Chet Atkins, Cowboy became, although they didn't have a name for it in those days, the town's first "independent producer". And while the rest of the Old South was convulsed by the civil rights movement, Cowboy put out gold record after gold record by Charley Pride. In 1968, Townes Van Zandt cut his first record with him.
In 1975, a year before "Wanted! The Outlaws" changed the face of country music, Jack recorded "Dreaming My Dreams", Waylon Jennings' first Number One record which contained 2 out of the all-time top 3 Outlaw Country songs (according to AMG).
Jack and Waylon on album back cover
Even Satchmo came to town to make an album called "Louis 'Country and Western Armstrong'" (review)
Nashville cats standing from left: Larry Butler, Jack, Armstrong, Willie Ackerman, Henry Strzelecki, Stu Basore; seated, Billy Grammer, Jack Eubanks. (Photo courtesy of Trey Ackerman.)
Little wonder that the world's hottest rock band, U2, sought Jack out to revisit the original Sun Studios for some sides on their 1988 rockumentary "Rattle and Hum"
As you can see from the list linked below, much of Cowboy's work has been reissued on CD .
(partial list of productions, alphabetically by artist)
