Drummer who played with Elvis
Born: September 13, 1943;
Died: June 22, 2019
JERRY Carrigan, who has died aged 75, was a celebrated session drummer who can be heard on famed recordings by Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers, and many others.
Raised on Fats Domino and Little Richard, Carrigan began his career when he was just 13 years old, cutting a Nashville session with Little Joe Allen and the Off Beats.
A native of Florence, Alabama, he spent his early adult years at the notable FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he crafted a technique on sessions with early FAME breakouts Arthur Alexander and Jimmy Hughes.
In 1964, he played in the Muscle Shoals backing band that opened for the Beatles' first United States concert, at the Washington Coliseum in Washington, D.C.
He moved to Nashville in 1965, quickly becoming a go-to session drummer with excellent timing and an irreplaceable “big, fat snare” sound.
It may be impossible to play through country music’s most notable tracks of the 1960s and 1970s and not hear Carrigan’s percussion work. His drums landed on Kenny Rogers' The Gambler, Jerry Lee Lewis’ Middle Age Crazy, Charlie Rich’s Behind Closed Doors and the 1980 George Jones hit He Stopped Loving Her Today.
The list continues, with Carrigan credited for work with Kris Kristofferson, Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntyre, Charlie Pride, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton and numerous others.
The demand for Carrigan peaked in 1977 when he was playing 12 sessions a week.
He wasn’t just sought after in country music, either. Carrigan laid down work in pop and folk music of the time, playing for Tom Jones, Johnny Mathis and Joan Baez. He also helped craft jingles, offering his experience to McDonald’s, KFC and Coca Cola, among others.
The Nashville session musicians in the 70s had to be versatile and Carrigan worked on everything from big band music to composer Henry Mancini to JJ Cale and Tony Joe White.
Carrigan tracked on John Denver’s famed 1981 album Some Days are Diamond, opening a door to tour with the singer-songwriter from 1981 to 1989. He also shared the touring stage with Charlie McCoy, Porter Wagoner, Johnny Rivers and Ronny and the Daytonas.
The Country Music Hall of Fame honoured Carrigan in 2009 as part of the ongoing Nashville Cats series; The Alabama Music Hall of Fame inducted him in 2010.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum lists some of his other credits as Bobby Bare's Marie Laveau, Waylon Jennings's Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line, 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.
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