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Home , Earl Poole Ball, Floyd Cramer

Bouncing off the EARL POOLE BALL Douglas McPherson cues up an interview with the man who played piano with for 20 years, and a gal- cushions

e turned down or it will make it the chance worse, because Hto play piano I’ll be out of with Elvis and went to the picture for work for Johnny Cash long periods of instead. But only after a time. So I called marriage counsellor told Johnny and I him to get a divorce. ended up going Er, what, who...? to work for him Shoot. Let’s back for the next 20 up, and look at that years.” sequence of events more slowly. marriage? To take the Elvis Ball bursts out Ball reveals he was at a recording session ended it! And with guitarist James that’s what Burton, when the needed to have latter announced he’d happened.” just landed the job of Ball has trusted session with a psychologist to try his life to fate or, as he puts it, the me if I’d like to go and work with universe, for more than half a century. them in Las Vegas and, at the time, marriage together. My wife was It’s taken him on a musical odyssey I thought Elvis is gonna go to Vegas supposed to come with me, but she from Mississippi to California to for six weeks and that will be the end wouldn’t go and the psychologist said, Nashville and Austin, and seen of that. I’d just been hired by Capitol ‘You know what? If your woman’s him play and make records with an as a producer, which I’d always not shown up here, you should get a encyclopaedia of hit-makers including wanted to do, and so I said, ‘Well, divorce.’” James, I guess I can’t go on the road That’s not what you expect to hear with Elvis.’” from a marriage counsellor, but the Having now made an guy was serious. Elvis went on the road for many, many Pianography years and it would have paid very, made myself available to the universe very well!” and it kept putting people in my path As for Cash... have a lot of money?’ No. He said, who were good people - people of ‘Well, I suggest you get a divorce!’” accomplishment that I could learn he offered me a job. I thought about it Ball didn’t take the counsellor at from. I think if you get out and get for a year, because I really wasn’t sure his word, but he did take up the job of if I wanted to go on the road. But he Cash’s piano man. reaching out like that, then the kept offering the job to me. universe takes care of you. Well, it will either make my marriage better took care of me.”

56 PEOPLE - MARCH 2014 MARCH 2014 - COUNTRY MUSIC PEOPLE 57 Facing page, clockwise from top left: With his band band - The Sessionaires - at the Aces Club - City of Industry, CA 1965 one and Mickey showed me how to Ball with Minnie Pearl and Ken Curtis from Gun- hook it up. He also showed me how movie he didn’t wear a hat, but when smoke after winning Piano Player Of The Year at the to put on strings when I’d break one it came out everyone started wearing 1967 Academy of Country Music Awards. and helped me get the piano in some hats, so he had to get him a hat! He Earle and Johnny Cash in rehearsal. Backstage with Chuck Berry in the mid-70s. semblance of tune.” toured with a hat on!” With his band at the Houston, Texas-Silver Dollar From Houston, Ball headed to Los Lounge-Old Galveston Highway -1962 single, Married, Going Steady, Angeles where he found himself host This page: Ball with the Cash family. Engaged, which was released by a of a regular jam session at a club label run by Kenny Rogers’ brother. called The Aces. Among the musicians The record wasn’t a hit. But who would drop in and play was the material, so I gave him a song called yet to be famous, let alone legendary, Lost Love and he took it to Nashville and recorded it.” overshadowed by his cousin’s fame? , which is person and I think he was smart now regarded as a seminal release in was Jerry Reed, Ray Stevens...” He enough to know being related to Jerry the development of country-rock. Ball really has worked with everybody. Lee was a plus for him,” Ball recalls. reprised his role as session pianist on Feeling his career was underway, Ball headed for the bright lights of sit in with Mickey many times, at subsequent band . It was Houston, Texas, where he sold sewing whatever club Mickey was playing, another disc credited as among the machines in a department store by so that increased Mickey’s drawing in the 1950s ranged from Jerry Lee melodies. He had a piano and an old power. But when he was able to break Tin the small town of Foxworth, Lewis to . reel-to-reel tape recorder. So I’d go Lounge by night. through with his own movie (Urban Mississippi, when his mother decided over to his house and accompany him His mentor was Jerry Lee Lewis’ Cowboy) I think he was happy he no country-rock after his tragically early her 8-year-old son should have piano on his demos.” longer had to sound like Jerry Lee to death in 1974? lessons. on so many country sessions, Among the recipients of Zeno’s draw a crowd.” although I didn’t know it was him. songs was singer and sometime of country hits he would achieve in Warming to his theme, Ball adds, did, either. I’ve talked about this with parties if I learned to play piano. I the 70s, but he was a big club draw in some friends of mine and we all think thought that sounds good. So I started who is best remembered by country Houston. they’d made the movie. I hadn’t seen taking piano lessons from my aunt. watched his TV show all the time and fans for writing You Are My Sunshine. it, but something about it told me it and laughing at all this. We never thought, well, mixing comedy with was going to be a big hit. I told him he knew this guy who has become what start playing popular music. I noticed playing, that’s good - I might want to again and invited Zeno and me to go play. He’d invite me on stage to play a was going to get busier than he’d ever he has in a lot of people’s minds. But that when my aunt was playing in do that one day.” couple of tunes and, because he could been and he said, ‘That’d be nice, but we’re all glad for it.” church she used a lot more notes and The young Ball used his newly raise money for his political campaign. see I was determined to try to make it probably ain’t gonna do anything.’ chord progressions than were in the honed piano chops in collaboration I used to listen to the radio a lot and something out of music, he took an Little did he know!” hymn book, so I had her teach me I knew all his classics like Nobody’s interest in helping me. Urban Cowboy, which starred he wanted to do. He knew his country how to do that, which led me to being who lived in nearby Columbia, Darlin’ But Mine. So we’d go out to John Travolta and was shot largely at music and loved it, and I always able to play the songs of the day, and Mississippi. admired that about him. We’d get country music in particular.” had out on the bayous. I’d back him a while. I think I was pounding it phenomenon that took country music together and chat once in a while. I’d instruments, but he could sing his up on his songs and Zeno was MC. too hard, because I didn’t have an to a whole new audience.

58 COUNTRY MUSIC PEOPLE - MARCH 2014 MARCH 2014 - COUNTRY MUSIC PEOPLE 59 Left: Earl, Bobbie Nelson & Pinetop Perkins - Photo by Winker Withaneye Right: 1965 B&W taken at City of Industry, CA Below: W.S. Holland, Rev. Billy Graham. Earl. Johnny Cash songs in the show and he had a lot Ball, meanwhile, was encouraged of Christian people who would come to move to Austin by a Cash disciple to see him. He was doing the Billy 70s, the piano man has become a play on one with him. that wagon and got back into taking Ball and the Cosmic Americans, the medication. I think getting into it for Lucky Tomblin Band, Heybale and the pain was what happened. He went Bluze Band. to Betty Ford a couple of times. He meant to be straight, but it was really recording in his own right, he hard for him. He had that bug for Pianography, altered consciousness that a lot of us won’t be his last. did.” What was being around Cash like for the band at that point? Ball Saturday night and Sunday morning.” answers emphatically and without Ball’s advice to a young musician hesitation. contemplating his own musical lot. I’d taken speed and used to drink you get, whether it’s a little money

club in Hollywood on Monday nights. with that, because I’m not young and post-production contribution to a song I’d go over to his house and it was pretty anymore.” he didn’t produce - Haggard’s three- like, drink a little whiskey, smoke a Ball reconsiders that statement then week chart-topper Carolyn. little grass and let’s play some music.” pretty to begin with!” road and said it needs one more thing, Among the albums Ball produced becoming an artist. In 1967, he was Cash’s recorded another single, Second a good record, but unfortunately it thought, now here’s a challenge! But I And San Antone, which is included didn’t have a hit single on it,” - and on Pianography. A black and white ’s near-chart-topper the bars in Houston. I called him and publicity picture of the young singer- A Tribute To The Best Damn Fiddle he said, ‘I’d love to do that. Merle’s pianist adorns the back cover of the Player In The World (or, My Salute To always helped me. When things new release. Bob Wills). weren’t happening for me, I would send him a couple of my records and Aces parking lot,” he points out. he’d have his staff mail them out to By the late 60s, however, Ball was in increasing demand as a session create their own songs, so you don’t was recording on such and such day. I musician for West Coast-based took over a multi-track machine and I is capable of leading the band and think we got it second take.” a lot. I gave up on all that about 1982 or lots of money. Take some form burgeoning TV career, playing piano Rick Nelson. His studio work led to telling who to play what when. of musical education. Know your in Red McCaffrey’s Supermarket him becoming an associate producer career, Ball was nevertheless tempted substance would have for someone. musical theory. And, if at all possible, Showtime. working with Ken Nelson at Capitol, in the booth and if a string was out on tour with Cash from the mid-70s But it was still scary. We had this get a college degree in something you and then a producer in his own right, on someone’s guitar he could tell you until the man in black’s retirement really good guy called Johnny... then could do that will actually pay you the TV and let me into their homes to which one it was - which is better than from the road due to ill-health in the we had Cash. Sometimes it would be money in case the music thing never buy cosmetics and scent,” he recalls where he helmed three number ones I could do. But his most outstanding late 90s. Were they wild days? Johnny and sometimes it would be happens. Have your dreams, but also by . ability was being a diplomat with his Cash.” get real.” ladies liked to buy some of the good- artists - giving them room to create, he was post-wild days. His son was smellin’ stuff...” I realised, maybe I’m not supposed could.” never required. Even when he was a CMP to be an artist. Maybe I’m supposed Both Johnny and Merle knew what hard to be a good daddy and live When Cash died in 2002 he left Ball teenager in Mississippi, supplementing to be a record producer and session they wanted.” cleanly. He went to church with a white baby grand piano as a token of Earle Poole Ball: Pianography is player, and maybe I should be happy Ball is particularly proud of his thanks for his two decades of service. cosmetics door to door, he had a available from www.earlpooleball.com

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