Billy "The Kid" Emerson obit

Billy “The Kid” Emerson (1925-2023)

 

He was not on the list.

William Robert Emerson, known during his recording career as Billy "The Kid" Emerson and more recently as Rev. William R. Emerson, was an American preacher and former R&B and rock and roll singer and songwriter, best known for his 1955 song, "Red Hot."

Emerson began recording after joining Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in the early 1950s. He recorded for various labels, including Sun, Chess, and Vee-Jay before forming his own, Tarpon Records, where he recorded Denise LaSalle and Matt "Guitar" Murphy. He has worked with blues musicians, such as Earl Hooker, Lonnie Brooks, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Robert Knighthawk.

Emerson, who was African American, was born in Tarpon Springs, Florida on December 21, 1925. He learned the piano in church, playing in various local bands. In 1943, he joined the United States Navy. After World War II he resumed playing around Tampa with acts such as Ivory Mitchell, the Billy Battle Band, and Alfonso Brown Band. Following a spell in one group where the members dressed as outlaws, he picked up the nickname "Billy The Kid".

Emerson received an athletic scholarship to attend Florida A&M University, but left to join the United States Air Force during the Korean War in 1952. While stationed in Greenville, Mississippi, he met bandleader Ike Turner, who recruited him into his Kings of Rhythm. Turner, a talent scout for Sun Records, arranged a session for Emerson. His first single, "No Teasing Around" / "If Lovin' Is Believing" was released in February 1954. He released another single backed by Turner on guitar before leaving his band and joining a group led by Phineas Newborn. He stayed with Sun as a songwriter, writing and recording "When It Rains, It Really Pours", later recorded by Elvis Presley, and "Red Hot", which later became a hit for both Billy Lee Riley and Bob Luman, and later for Robert Gordon and Link Wray, but was not a commercial success for Emerson himself.

In late 1955 he joined Vee-Jay Records in Chicago, making records such as "Every Woman I Know (Crazy 'Bout Automobiles)", released a year later but with little commercial success. The song was subsequently covered in 1965 by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs on their Wooly Bully album and by Ry Cooder on his 1980 album Borderline. Soon afterward Emerson joined Chess Records as the recording manager. On the Chess label he recorded "Holy Mackerel Baby" and a remake of "Woodchuck" which was an earlier Sun single. He also released a single with Willie Dixon's band.

As a songwriter, Emerson wrote dozens of songs for artists such as Junior Wells, Willie Mabon, Wynonie Harris, and Buddy Guy.

After recording for several smaller labels, he formed his own Tarpon Records in 1966, releasing Denise LaSalle's debut single as well as his own records. He also continued to play in clubs and on European blues tours.

In the late 1970s, Emerson decided to dedicate himself to his religion and compose gospel music. In 2005 he was reported as having a church in Oak Park, Illinois, as Rev. William R. Emerson.

In 2009, Bear Family Records released a 33-track compilation album of Emerson's Sun recordings, Red Hot: The Sun Years, Plus. The plus includes his Vee Jay and Chess singles.

Emerson was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Emerson received the 2017 Florida Folk Heritage Award at the Tarpon Springs Heritage Museum for his contributions as a songwriter, performer, and producer.