Bill Justis
William Everett "Bill" Justis Jr. (born October 14, 1926 in Birmingham , Alabama , † July 15, 1982 in Nashville , Tennessee ) was an American saxophonist , orchestra conductor, songwriter , arranger and record producer. With his composition Raunchy he had a worldwide success.
Musical career
Justis grew up in Memphis (Tennessee) , where she studied music at Christian Brothers College and Tulane University in New Orleans . He learned to play the trumpet and saxophone and performed with jazz bands and at dance events while still a student. In Memphis he made the acquaintance of Sam Phillips , owner of the record company Sun Records . He hired Justis as arranger, who worked on the production of records for Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis .
In 1957 Justis put together his own orchestra, in which he played the tenor saxophone and also involved two guitarists, a bass player, a pianist and a drummer. On June 5, 1957, a first single was produced with the orchestra in the Sun Studio Memphis . It was released by the Phillips International record company and contained the instrumental titles Raunchy and The Midnight Man . The artist name was "Bill Justis and His Orchestra". The title Raunchy , composed by Justis in collaboration with Sid Manker, became an international hit. In the US music magazine Billbord , the instrument took first place ( Rhythm and Blues ), two ( Hot 100 ) and six ( Country ). Raunchy was number one in Canada and number eleven in the UK. Numerous orchestras have adopted the title in their repertoire, such as Billy Vaughn , Ernie Freeman and Bill Black . Also on the second single at Phillips Int. published in 1958 two titles composed by Justis. The piece College It also reached the Hot 100 (42). The two successful titles prompted Phillips to produce his first long-playing record with Bill Justis in 1958. With the vocal song The Ways of a Woman in Love , Justis wrote another successful track in 1958, which was sung by Johnny Cash and reached number two (Country) and 24th (Hot 100) on Billboard.
Until 1959, Justis was an arranger at Sun and contracted with his orchestra at Philips. After that, there were disagreements at Sun, and Justis founded his own record company with Play Me. There he released two singles he had recorded himself, after two years he gave up the company again. In 1963 Justis went to Nashville, where he got a contract as arranger and producer with Mercury Records . There he worked with Ray Charles , Roy Orbison and Bobby Vinton, among others . He himself got the opportunity to publish his own orchestral recordings at the Smash Records sub-label .
In 1966 Justis made his first attempt to gain a foothold in Los Angeles as a film musician. He was unsuccessful and returned to Nashville in 1972. There the film producer Jack Clement gave him the opportunity to write the music for the film Dear Dead Delilah . Further film scores followed in 1977 for Smokey and the Bandit ( Ein auskochtes Schlitzohr ) and 1978 Hooper ( Um Kopf und Kragen ) . In 1981 he and his orchestra provided the film music for the film Take This Job and Shove It ( A whiz kid scratches the curve ) .
Bill Justis died of cancer in Nashville in 1982 at the age of 55.
US chart successes
Interpreter
| Started | title | Hot 100 | Country | R&B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/1957 | Raunchy | 2. | 6th | 1. |
| 03/1958 | College Man | 42. |
Songwriter
| year | title | Interpreter | Hot 100 | Country | R&B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/1957 | Raunchy | Bill Justis | 2. | 6th | 1. |
| 11/1957 | Raunchy | Ernie Freeman | 4th | 11. | 1. |
| 12/1957 | Raunchy | Billy Vaughn | 10. | ||
| 03/1958 | College Man | Bill Justis | 42. | ||
| 08/1958 | The Ways of a Woman in Love | Johnny Cash | 24. | 2. |
US discography
Vinyl singles
| From page | Catalog no. | published |
|---|---|---|
| Phillips Int. | ||
| Raunchy / The Midnight Man | 3519 | 9/1957 |
| College Man / The Stranger | 3522 | 3/1958 |
| Wild Race / Scroungie | 3525 | 3/1958 |
| Cattywampus / Summer Holiday | 3529 | 6/1958 |
| Somehow Without You / The Picture | 3533 | 9/1958 |
| Bop Train / String Of Pearls-Cha Hot Cha | 3535 | 10/1958 |
| Flea Circus / Cloud Nine | 3544 | 7/1959 |
| Play me | ||
| Sloochie / Teensville | 3519 | 1959 |
| Blowing Rock / Boogie Woogie Rock | 1119 | 1960 |
| smash | ||
| Tamoure / I'm Gonna Learn To Dance | 1812 | 3/1963 |
| Sunday In Madrid / Satin And Velvet | 1851 | 9/1963 |
| Lavendar Sax / Fia, Fia | 1902 | 4/1964 |
| How soon? / Ska-ha | 1955 | 11/1964 |
| Alley Cat / Green Onions | 1401 | 2/1965 |
| The Last Farewell / Late Game | 1977 | 3/1965 |
| monument | ||
| So Until I See You / Yellow Summer | 956 | 7/1966 |
| Sea Dream / Touching, Feeling, Dreaming | 8699 | 4/1976 |
| Bell | ||
| Electric Dreams / Dark Continent Contribution | 921 | 1970 |
| MCA | ||
| Foxy Lady / Orange Blossom Special | 40810 | 9/1977 |
LPs
| title | Catalog no. | published | Top 200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud Nine | Phillips Int. 1950 | 1958 | |
| Alley Cat - Green Onions | Smash 67021 | 9/1962 | 94. |
| Telstar - The Lonely Bull | Smash 67030 | 1/1963 | 89. |
| Cast Your Fate to the Wind | Smash 67031 | 2/1963 | |
| Tamouré pipeline | Smash 67036 | 8/1963 | |
| 12 other instrumental hits | Smash 67043 | 2/1964 | |
| Dixieland folk style | Smash 67047 | 8/1964 | |
| More instrumental hits | Smash 67065 | 2/1965 | |
| A Taste Of Honey / The In Crowd | Smash 67077 | 1/1966 | |
| The Eternal Sea | Monument 18078 | 5/1967 | |
| Voices in Love | Monument 18108 | 1969 | |
| Raunchy | Sun Int. 109 | 1969 |
Web links
- Biography at www.rockabilly.nl
- Discography at countrydiscoghraphy2.blogspot.de
- Chart positions at www.musicvf.com
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Justis, Bill |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Justis, William Everett Jr. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American saxophonist, orchestra conductor, songwriter, arranger and record producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 14, 1926 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham , Alabama |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 15, 1982 |
| Place of death | Nashville , Tennessee |