Billy Lee Riley

by Cub Koda
Billy Lee Riley is a rockabilly singer and multi-instrumentalist. An alumnus of Sun Records, he was one of the most crazed, unabashed rockers that label had to offer — in the company of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Sonny Burgess, thats saying a lot. Proficient at harmonica, guitar, bass, and drums, Riley contributed as a sideman to many a classic Sun session, and his combo, the Little Green Men (most notably guitarist Roland Janes and drummer J.M. Van Eaton), in time became the Sun house band. Riley recorded for a number of labels in a variety of styles, especially effective with blues. Though never commercially successful, Rileys Sun recordings of Flying Saucer Rock n Roll and Red Hot (both covered in wooden renditions by Robert Gordon) remain landmarks of the genre.