From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Mon Oct 14, 2002  1:13 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Bill Justis
 
BILL JUSTIS

Born William E. Justis, Jr., 14 October 1926, Birmingham, Alabama
Died 15 July 1982, Nashville, Tennessee

Saxophonist / bandleader / arranger / producer.
Bill Justis grew up in Memphis and studied English and music at Tulane
University. In 1951 he started a dance band, which became very popular
locally. Beginning as a trumpeter, Justis took up the sax just before the
advent of rock 'n' roll. Upon reading how much money Buck Ram had made
out of rock 'n' roll, Justis thought "That's for me!", bought $ 80 worth of
R&R hits, and set his sights on stardom.
Having "learned" rock 'n' roll, Justis was soon hired by Sam Phillips, who
gave him the official title of Musical Director of Sun Records. In May 1957,
Justis decided that he would try to record an instrumental rock 'n' roll tune.
Together with guitarist Sid Manker, he wrote "Raunchy", a word that was
seen as the apex of hip teenage jargon at the time. The melody was based
on an old southern tune called "Backwoods". It went to # 2 on the pop and
# 1 on the R&B charts in late 1957 ; cover versions by Ernie Freeman and
Billy Vaughn also made the Top 10. It was the first instrumental R&R hit
("Honky Tonk" was more R&B than R&R), paving the way for such artists as
Duane Eddy, the Champs and Johnny and the Hurricanes.
Justis followed "Raunchy" with a series of less successful, but often very good
instrumentals, of which only "College Man" charted (# 42). The "Bill Justis
Orchestra" was basically the Sun rockabilly rhythm section of 1957 : Jimmy
Van Eaton on drums, Billy Riley on bass, Sid Manker on guitar and Jimmy
Wilson on piano. There was usually a second saxophonist, Sid Lapworth or
Vernon Drane.
Bill did arrangements for many Sun recordings, including those by Jerry Lee
Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. He also brought Charlie Rich to Sun.
In March 1959, Jack Clement and Bill Justis were fired by Sam Phillips, for
"insubordination". Each started his own label, Justis founded Play-Me Records,
but found the road that Phillips had travelled to be a hard one. He moved to
Nashville in 1961, joined Mercury Records as an arranger and producer and
became one of the label's key Nashville staff members. Mercury had Justis
record a series of instrumental albums that were steady sellers. Between 1962
and 1966 he usually had at least one of his arrangements on the pop or country
charts. Over the years his clients have included Brook Benton, Ray Charles,
Fats Domino, Willie Nelson, Bobby Vinton, Roy Orbison, Bobby Goldsboro,
Brenda Lee and countless others. Justis also provided the music for several
films, including "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977). He remained in Nashville
until his death from cancer in 1982.

CD: Raunchy : The Very Best Of Bill Justis (Collectables)
Or (same 19 Phillips International tracks): Bill Justis : Rockin' Maestro
(Sun 662073). A French release, now deleted.
The CD "706 Union Instrumentals" (Charly CPCD 8302) includes six
Justis tracks, among which the previously unreleased "Scuttlebut" and
"Scroungieville".