Emory Gordy Jr.
Musician · b. 1944 · Atlanta, Georgia
Best known for
Bass
Emory Gordy Jr. has lived two distinct careers as one of country music's most important behind-the-scenes figures — first as the bassist on Elvis Presley's TCB Band and Emmylou Harris's foundational Hot Band, then as a Nashville producer whose work shaped the careers of Patty Loveless (his wife), Vince Gill, Steve Earle, and Alabama.
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- Born Emory Lee Gordy Jr. on December 25, 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia; began as an Atlanta studio musician in 1964 working sessions for Joe South and Tommy Roe.
- Played bass on Elvis Presley's "Burning Love" and "Separate Ways" (1972); toured with Elvis's TCB Band starting in 1973 alongside James Burton and Glen D. Hardin.
- Was an original member of Emmylou Harris's Hot Band in the mid-1970s with Burton, Hardin, John Ware, Rodney Crowell, and Hank DeVito; remained through 1977.
- Joined John Denver's band in 1979; took the staff producer role at MCA Records Nashville in 1983.
- Co-produced (with Tony Brown) Steve Earle's Guitar Town (1986) and Exit 0 (1987), the records that opened country radio to literate singer-songwriters.
- Married Patty Loveless in 1989 and has produced and played bass on nearly all her albums; produced Vince Gill's Turn Me Loose and The Things That Matter, Alabama's In Pictures, George Jones's Walls Can Fall ("I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair" won the 1993 CMA Vocal Event of the Year), and Bill Monroe's The Last Bluegrass Album.
- Inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992; named the first Alumnus of the Year by Middle Georgia State University in 2015.
- Now semi-retired, lives northwest of Atlanta and occasionally engineers and plays bass at his home studio.
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Emmylou HarrisPlayed on recordings with Emmylou Harris
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David GrismanPlayed on recordings with David Grisman
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Patty LovelessPlayed on recordings with Patty Loveless
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Ricky SkaggsPlayed on recordings with Ricky Skaggs