B.B. Cunningham Jr.

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B.B. Cunningham, Jr (Blake Baker Cunningham, 6 April 1942, Jackson, Mississippi - 14 October 2012, Memphis, TN) was an American musician, a founding member of the ’60s group The Hombres and in his later years a part of Jerry Lee Lewis’s band. In 1959 his father, Cunningham Sr. started his own record label, Cover Records, in Memphis, assisted by B.B., who became a jack of all trades for the label : singer, songwriter, session player, producer and general handyman. One of the first records on Cover was B.B.'s "Trip To Band- stand" (Cover 5931), an obvious cash-in on Bill Parsons's "All American Boy". Credited to simply "B-B", it was one of the few vocal Cover releases by Cunningham Jr., who had six 45s issued on his father's label between early 1959 and 1962. Of the instrumental tracks, the one I like best is "Ivory Marbles", a pleasant piano rocker, which has been reissued on several compilations. "Beale Street Twist" (Cover 4622, 1962) was credited to Lyn Vernon, apparently a pseudonym of Cunningham. By then, Cunningham Jr. had taken over the running of the label from his father. During its 7-year lifespan, Cover Records issued rock n roll, rockabilly, R&B, jazz and straight pop, virtually all by local Memphis artists. A nice overview of the label's output can be found on the CD "Hot Rockin' Music>From Memphis : The Cover Recording Company Story", issued by Dave Travis in 2000 (Stomper Time STCD 10). It includes 13 tracks by B.B. (Junior, that is.) Probably the best known Co

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