Billy Cox
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Billy Cox | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | William Cox |
Born | Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. | October 18, 1941
Genres |
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Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | |
Years active | 1961–present |
Labels | |
Website | bassistbillycox |
William "Billy" Cox (born October 18, 1941[1]) is an American bassist, best known for performing with Jimi Hendrix. Cox is the only surviving musician to have regularly played with Hendrix: first with the experimental group that backed Hendrix at Woodstock (informally referred to as "Gypsy Sun and Rainbows"), followed by the trio with drummer Buddy Miles that recorded the live Band of Gypsys album, and, lastly, The Cry of Love Tour trio with Mitch Mitchell back on drums. Cox continues to perform dates with the Band of Gypsys Experience and the Experience Hendrix Tour.
In addition to Hendrix, he has either been a member of the house or touring band or recorded sessions for Sam Cooke, Slim Harpo, Joe Simon, Charlie Daniels, John McLaughlin, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Lou Rawls, Etta James, Jackie Wilson and Little Richard.
Early years
Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Billy Cox was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and attended Schenley High School.[2]
Cox met Jimi Hendrix when they were serving in the Army at
Hendrix eventually left Nashville, playing all over the U.S. in the backing groups of several famous artists (most notably Little Richard and the Isley Brothers) until he was "discovered" by Chas Chandler in New York City's Greenwich Village. Chandler took Hendrix to England, but before Hendrix left, he called Cox and asked him to join him. As Cox "only had three strings on [his] bass" and no money to travel to New York, he simply thanked Hendrix and wished him well.
During this period, Cox played bass on such pioneering R&B television shows as Nashville's "Night Train" and "The!!!! Beat" from
With Jimi Hendrix
In 1969, several months before bassist
Cox contributed most of the bass parts on the first group of posthumously released Hendrix albums, including The Cry of Love (1971), Rainbow Bridge (1971), War Heroes (1972), and Loose Ends (1974). Most of the tracks from these albums were consolidated as First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997), which is the most complete attempt to present Hendrix's fourth studio album (see Hendrix's posthumous discography and videography for a complete list). Additionally, Cox appears on many live albums and films from the Cry of Love Tour.
After Hendrix's death
1970s–1980s
In 1971, Cox released his album Nitro Function with
1990s
In 1995, Cox along with Mitchell, Redding and Miles began participating in Hendrix tributes and tours. In 1999, Cox appeared on the late
Cox worked on First Rays of the New Rising Sun, Hendrix's fourth studio album, which was cut off by Hendrix's death. Cox has also been known to guest speak at University level music seminars. In this capacity, he spends time with aspiring musicians in discussion and demonstration sessions at Electric Lady Studios.
2000s
In 2004, Miles reunited yet again with Cox of the Band of Gypsys to re-record songs from the original live album of 1970 with guitarists Eric Gales, Kenny Olsen, Sheldon Reynolds, Andy Aledort and Gary Serkin. The album, titled The Band Of Gypsys Return, was released in 2006.
Cox currently plays with the Experience Hendrix, a semi-regular touring Hendrix tribute band featuring top guitarists and former Hendrix collaborators. Cox's solo album Last Gypsy Standing was released in 2009.
In 2009, he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.[5]
2010s
Today, Billy Cox owns a video production company. He has produced numerous blues and a myriad of gospel shows. He co-authored the books Jimi Hendrix Sessions and Ultimate Hendrix with John McDermott and
Discography
Solo
- Nitro Function (1971)
- Last Gypsy Standing (2009)
- Old School Blue Blues (2011)
- Unfiltered (2014)
Collaboration
- Them Changes, Buddy Miles (1970)
- Charlie Daniels, Charlie Daniels (1971)
- J.J. Cale(1979)
- Veranda, Christine Lakeland (1984)
- "I Don't Live Today" on Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Slash, Paul Rodgers and Buddy Miles (1993)
- Midnight Daydream, Bruce Cameron (1997)
- The Deep End, Volume 2, Gov't Mule (2002)
- The Band of Gypsys Return, with Buddy Miles and others (2006)
- "Achilles Barbecue" on Odd, Kaoll (2014)
With Jimi Hendrix
Studio recordings
- The Cry of Love (1971)
- Rainbow Bridge (1971)
- War Heroes (1972)
- Loose Ends (1974)
- Blues (1994; 6 tracks)
- Voodoo Soup (1995)
- First Rays of the New Rising Sun (1997)
- South Saturn Delta (1997; 5 tracks)
- Valleys of Neptune (2010; 3 tracks)
- West Coast Seattle Boy(2010; 14 tracks)
- People, Hell & Angels(2013; 7 tracks)
- Both Sides of the Sky (2018; 6 tracks)
Live recordings
August 18, 1969 Woodstock performance ("Gypsy Sun and Rainbows")
- Woodstock (1994)
- Live at Woodstock (1999)
December 31, 1969 – January 1, 1970 Fillmore East performances ("Band of Gypsys")
- Band of Gypsys (1970)
- Band of Gypsys 2 (1986; side one, 3 tracks)
- Live at the Fillmore East (1999)
- Machine Gun: The Fillmore East First Show (2016)
- Songs for Groovy Children: The Fillmore East Concerts (2019)
April–September 1970 U.S./European tour ("The Cry of Love Tour")
- Isle of Wight (1971)
- The Jimi Hendrix Concerts (1982; 2 tracks)
- Johnny B. Goode (1986)
- Band of Gypsys 2 (1986; side two, 3 tracks)
- Live Isle of Wight '70 (1991)
- Blue Wild Angel: Live at the Isle of Wight (2002)
- Live at Berkeley (2003)
- Live at the Isle of Fehmarn (2005)
- Freedom: Atlanta Pop Festival (2015)
Anthologies
- Recordings with Cox are spread across several Hendrix anthologies (for further information, see Jimi Hendrix posthumous discography). He also appears in several Hendrix performance videos (see Jimi Hendrix videography).
References
- ISBN 978-1-61060-421-5.
- ^ Mervis, Scott (December 16, 2010). "How the Year Rocked: The 10 biggest stories on the local music front". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-306-81910-0.
- ^ "Billy Cox: Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 26, 2006.
- ^ "Rascal Flatts Perform With Toto During Musicians Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony". CMT. 2009-10-13. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
- ^ McCollum, Brian (June 22, 2019). "R&B Hall of Fame to Honor Aretha, Stevie Wonder, Eddie Kendricks, More on Sunday". feep.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.