Three years ago I hung out with the oldest living Sun Records artist, Billy “The Kid” Emerson, at his place outside Tarpon Springs, Florida. He was real cool for about 30 minutes, then he got pissed off about something and chased us off. But when I asked him to sign my Sun Records before we left, he got real friendly again and took a few pictures. Hey, when you’re a 96 year old blues legend, you can do whatever you want! Thanks again to Greg Laxton for taking me to Billy’s house. Incredibly, Billy is still with us.
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INCREDIBLE! I just got to meet and hang out with the oldest surviving Sun Recording Artist—Billy “The Kid” Emerson!! Thanks to Greg Laxton, who picked me up in Tampa and drove me up to Tarpon Springs, where Billy was born, and where he’s still kicking at age 93. Billy recorded for Sun, where he wrote “Red Hot” that Billy Lee Riley covered and “When It Rains It Really Pours” that Elvis covered. Billy also was an A&R man for Chess, Vee-Jay, and Atlantic in Chicago—where he was responsible for tons of sessions and records by Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Sonny Boy Williamson and many more. He also ran his own “Tarpon” blues record label, had his songs covered by Rod Stewart, Ann Margaret, Brian Setzer, Robert Gordon, Link Wray, Delbert McClinton, and dozens more.
In 1986 he died, literally, after a colon operation, and lay in the morgue for three days with the cadavers until he was discovered, barely breathing, and nursed backed to health. After his near-death experience, Billy became a born-again Christian and sang only gospel songs, refusing to ever perform any of his earlier material. If that isn’t a wild enough pedigree…
It is Incredible in the year 2019 you can just fly to Tampa, drive thirty miles, turn a corner on a side street, and there’s a 93-year old blues and rock and roll legend just hanging out in a run-down old house with his front door wide open. Greg yelled, “Hey Billy! You in there?” “Yeah man, y’all come on in.”
