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Artist
Billy "The Kid" Emerson
12+ albums
rhythm and bluesbluesRock and Rollrockabillysoul
about
Billy "The Kid" Emerson (born William Robert Emerson in Tarpon Springs, FLA, on 21 December 1925; died 26 April 2023), known more recently as Rev. William R. Emerson was an African-American R&B and rock and roll singer and songwriter, best known for his 1955 song, "Red Hot". Emerson began recording after joining Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in the early 1950s. He recorded for various labels, including Sun, Chess, and Vee-Jay before forming his own, Tarpon Records, where he recorded Denise LaSalle and Matt "Guitar" Murphy. He has worked with blues musicians, such as Earl Hooker, Lonnie Brooks, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and Robert Knighthawk. Growing up in Florida, Emerson learned the piano, playing in various local bands. In 1943, he joined the United States Navy, and after World War II he began playing around Tarpon Springs, and following a spell in one group, dressed as outlaws, he picked up the nickname, "Billy The Kid". He joined the United States Air Force in 1952, and on his discharge met up in Memphis with bandleader Ike Turner, who recruited him into his Kings of Rhythm. In 1954 he released his first record on the Sun label, "No Teasing Around", following which he left Turner's band and joined a group led by Phineas Newborn. He stayed with Sun as a songwriter, writing and recording "When It Rains It Really Pours", later recorded by Elvis Presley, and "Red Hot", which later became a hit for both Billy Lee Riley and Bob Luman but was not a commercial success for Emer
top songs
albums
Sun Records Originals: When It Rains It Pours
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Something for Nothing / Little Fine Healthy Thing
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Sun Records - 60 Years, 60 Singles Box Set
Red Hot / No Greater Love
Little Fine Healthy Thing
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Sun Records: The 50th Anniversary Collection
Juke Blues with Billy The Kid Emerson
The Legendary Sun Classics
The Sun Records Collection
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The Best Of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour Vol 2
The Very Best Of Billy Emerson
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The History of Rhythm & Blues, Volume 3 - The Rocknroll Years