Monday, October 15, 2012

RIP: Musician B. B. Cunningham Was 70

UPDATE Monday 7:45am:  Memphis Police have arrested 22-year-old Dock Britt and charged him with first degree murder in the death of  B.B. Cunningham.

Earlier posting....

Noted Memphis musician B.B. Cunningham Jr., a longtime member of Jerry Lee Lewis's band, was killed in a shooting over the weekend..

The Commercial Appeal reports police say, the 70-year-old Cunningham, a security guard in a apartment complex, heard a shot in the Cherry Crest Apartments in Southeast Memphis just before 2am Sunday and went to investigate. When police arrived at the complex at 1460 Cherry, both Cunningham and a 16-year-old boy were found dead from gunshot wounds.

Reached at his home in the Washington D.C. area, Cunningham's brother Bill, a founding member of '60s Memphis pop-soul band the Box Tops, could only verify that his brother had been shot and killed in the incident.

During a career that spanned more than 50 years, Cunningham proved one of the most versatile talents in Memphis, working as a musician, frontman, songwriter, session player, engineer and producer.

Born Blake Baker Cunningham Jr., he established a national reputation in 1965 as a member of Ronnie and the Daytonas, known for the song "G.T.O."

That band would eventually morph into the Hombres. Cunningham would play keyboards and sing for the group, which scored a #12 chart hit with "Let It All Hang Out" in 1967.

After the Hombres career slowed, Cunningham went to work behind the scenes at the famed Sounds of Memphis Studios. In 1971, he moved to Los Angeles where he served as chief engineer at Independent Recorders, working with the likes of Billy Joel, Elton John, and Lou Rawls.

He would ultimately return to Memphis a few years later, launching his own studio. Since 1997, Cunningham had also been a member of Jerry Lee Lewis' band.

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