Born on This Day in 1936, the Underrated Session Musician Who Jammed With Presley, Nelson, and Cash

Can a musician really be considered “underrated” if they performed and recorded with the biggest names in country, rock, and folk? Considering most might not know the name Reggie Young, I’ll go ahead and say “yes” to that question. 

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On this very day, December 12, in 1936, Young was born in Caruthersville, Missouri. And he would go on to be one of the most lucrative and talented session musicians of all time, as well as a core member of the American Sound Studio house band known as The Memphis Boys.

The Legacy of Reggie Young Lives On

Reggie Young, born Reggie Grimes Young Jr. in 1936, started off his music career with a bang. His very first band was Eddie Bond & The Stompers, a rockabilly group that actually toured with the likes of Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins in the mid-1950s.

It was an upward trajectory for Young from there. He performed on the radio regularly in the late 1950s, joined a number of bands, and even scored a few instrumental hits in America in the late 50s and early 60s, namely “Smojie, Pts. 1 &2” and “Don’t Be Cruel”.

After joining The Memphis Boys, Young (as part of the band) enjoyed 120 hit songs across genres in the late 60s to early 70s, from pop to country to rock.

Listing every major artist Young played the guitar for would take quite a while, considering how successful he was during his career. However, a few names are noteworthy: Elvis Presley, Jimmy Buffett, The Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings), John Prine, Joe Cocker, Dionne Warwick… the list goes on.

Reggie Young would later score a Grammy nomination and inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum. Later in his life, he would collaborate with his wife, cellist Jenny Lynn Young, on the album Be Still in 2008. The record would technically be Young’s first solo album.

Reggie Young passed away after a long life well-lived in 2019 at the age of 82. He continued to make music right until the end of his life. And I truly wish more people outside of music historians and country/folk audiophiles would remember who he was and his impact on the music world.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images