Billy Cox

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Billy Cox

Billy Cox (born October 18, 1941 in Wheeling , West Virginia ) is an American bassist . He gained fame in particular through his collaboration with Jimi Hendrix . Since his death, Cox has mainly worked as a studio musician and bassist in selected Hendrix tribute bands .

Childhood and youth

Billy Cox was born in Wheeling, West Virginia and raised in Pittsburgh . His mother was a pianist and his uncle, a saxophonist , had played with Duke Ellington . During his school days he tried his hand at various instruments. Under the influence of musicians like Ray Brown and Charles Mingus , he finally chose the double bass and played in the school orchestra and in extra-curricular jazz projects. In 1961 he began military service in the US Army .

Musical collaboration with Jimi Hendrix

Both Cox and Jimi Hendrix were stationed at Fort Campbell as soldiers . There they met in a practice room, where Cox heard Hendrix play the guitar for the first time. Hendrix's guitar playing impressed Cox in such a way that, after leaving the Army two months after Hendrix, he immediately contacted him. The musicians formed the King Kasuals , an RnB band with whom they performed in clubs in the United States on the so-called Chitlin 'Circuit . In the mid-1960s, Hendrix was supposed to form a band in London called The Jimi Hendrix Experience and asked Cox too. However, he declined the offer because he felt burned out from the extensive live tours and the financial risk was too great for him. Noel Redding took his place .

Cox and Hendrix met again in 1969 when Hendrix formed a new band called the Band of Gypsys . In addition to Hendrix and Cox, drummer Buddy Miles was part of the cast of the group. This is considered to be the first so-called power trio , which consisted exclusively of colored musicians. A little later the reformed Jimi Hendrix Experience emerged from this band , of which Cox remained until Hendrix's death in September 1970.

Cox can also be heard on the posthumously released Jimi Hendrix albums South Saturn Delta , Live at Woodstock , Live at the Fillmore East and a reconstructed version of First Rays of the New Rising Sun. Well known is his appearance at the Woodstock Festival with Gypsy Sun and Rainbows under the guidance of Jimi Hendrix and the Cry of Love tour with Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell in 1970.

The time after Hendrix

After Jimi Hendrix's death, Billy Cox released his solo album in 1971, entitled Nitro Function , on which Char Vinnedge and Robert Tarrant can be heard. In the following years he worked as a studio and session musician and played with several other bands and musicians, including the Charlie Daniels Band . Cox relocated to Nashville , where he participated in a local Hendrix tribute in 1985. The response was so positive that he formed a band called Gypsy Suns and Rainbows . The highlight was in 1986 a joint appearance with Stevie Ray Vaughan , in which the two musicians played Come On Part 1 and Voodoo Child (Slight Return) together. For Vaughan, this performance was the highlight of his then-ongoing tour.

In 1998 Billy Cox formed the Gypsy Sun Experience with drummer Mitch Mitchell and guitarist Gary Serkins , with which he made a number of appearances. In 1999 he took part in the recordings for the album Midnight Daydream by Bruce Cameron alongside Mitchell, Buddy Miles , Jack Bruce and others . In 2006 he released a new album with his rhythm partner Buddy Miles, which also includes new recordings of some songs by Jimi Hendrix. In October and November 2008 he took part in 19 shows at the Hendrix Experience .

Equipment

During his time with Hendrix, Billy Cox used Precision - and live jazz basses in the studio , as he said the latter were more popular with the band. He used Marshall on amplifiers . Today he plays the "Billy Cox Freedom Bass", which the guitar company Cort has dedicated to him, on Ampeg SVT amplifiers.

Discography

The discography only lists solo albums.

  • 1971: Nitro Function
  • 2006: Billy Cox & Buddy Miles: The Band of Gypsys Return
  • 2008: Coast Tales
  • 2011: Old School Blue Blues

literature

  • Michael Heatley: Jimi Hendrix Gear: The Guitars, Amps & Effects that Revolutionized Rock 'n' Roll . Voyageur Press, Minneapolis MN 2009, ISBN 978-1-61060-421-5 .

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e Michael Heatley: Jimi Hendrix Gear. P. 22.
  2. ↑ A power trio is a rock 'n' roll band that only consists of a guitarist, bassist and drummer.
  3. ↑ a b c Michael Heatley: Jimi Hendrix Gear. P. 23.
personal data
SURNAME Cox, Billy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American bass player
DATE OF BIRTH October 18, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Wheeling , West Virginia