b. Oak Hill, West Virginia, March 28, 1941
Nashville Cats
Best known for his harmonica technique—distinguished by speed, clarity, and exceptional phrasing—Charlie McCoy is a multi-instrumentalist who has been recorded on bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, saxophone, trumpet, and tuba.
McCoy’s ability to quickly summon up creative musical parts impressed Bob Dylan at a New York session and helped convince Dylan to travel to Nashville to record his album Blonde on Blonde. McCoy became a crucial contributor to all of Dylan’s Nashville recordings, switching between bass, guitar, harmonica, and trumpet while making a last-minute call to recruit a trombone player for “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.”
A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, McCoy is just as proud of his role in many other classic recordings, from the haunting harmonica in George Jones’s “He Stopped Loving Her Today” to the blue notes on Waylon Jennings’s “Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line” to the touching intro on Tom T. Hall’s “(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine.”
McCoy played in Nashville rock band the Escorts and session-player group Area Code 615. He also can be heard on recordings by Eric Andersen, Gary Burton, Gordon Lightfoot, Clyde McPhatter, Nancy Sinatra, and the Steve Miller Band.
Nashville musicians Wayne Butler, Kenny Buttrey, Mac Gayden, Charlie McCoy, and Wayne Moss played on Dylan's album Blonde on Blonde. Their band, the Escorts, performed in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in January 1962. Courtesy of Wayne Moss
Nashville musicians Wayne Butler, Kenny Buttrey, Mac Gayden, Charlie McCoy, and Wayne Moss played on Dylan's album Blonde on Blonde. Their band, the Escorts, performed in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in January 1962. Courtesy of Wayne Moss
“Going to the Country” first appeared on the Steve Miller Band’s 1970 album, Number 5. The song, which features Charlie McCoy on harmonica, also was included on Anthology, a 1972 compilation album. McCoy received this gold album when Anthology sold more than 500,000 copies.
Courtesy of Charlie McCoy
Steve Miller Band, Number 5, 1970
Steve Miller Band, Number 5, 1970
Listen to Charlie McCoy
Selected Songs
Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row” (Bob Dylan)
The musicians featured on this recording are Charlie McCoy, guitar; Bob Dylan, guitar and harmonica; Harvey Brooks, bass. From the album Highway 61 Revisited, 1965. Produced by Bob Johnston at Columbia Studios, New York.
Johnny Cash, “It Ain’t Me, Babe” (Bob Dylan)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Charlie McCoy, harmonica; Luther Perkins, guitar; Norman Blake, guitar; Marshall Grant, bass; W.S. Holland, drums; June Carter, vocal.
From the album Orange Blossom Special, 1965. Produced by Bob Johnston at Columbia Studios, Nashville.
Gordon Lightfoot, “Walls” (Gordon Lightfoot)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Charlie McCoy, harmonica; Red Shea, guitar; John Stockfish, bass; Kenny Buttrey, drums.
From the album The Way I Feel, 1967. Produced by John Court at Columbia Studio B, Nashville.
Steve Miller Band, “I Love You” (Steve Miller)
The musicians featured on this recording are Charlie McCoy, harmonica; Steve Miller, guitar and vocal; Bobby Winkelman, bass; Tim Davis, vocal.
From the album Number 5, 1970. Produced by Steve Miller Band at Cinderella Sound Studios, Madison, Tennessee.
Charlie McCoy and the Escorts, “Harpoon Man” (Wilburn, Moss, Gayden, Stembridge, Butler, Buttrey, McCoy)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Charlie McCoy, harmonica; Mac Gayden, guitar; Wayne Moss, guitar; Chip Young, bass; Kenny Buttrey, drums.
Single, 1964. Produced by Fred Foster at Cinderella Sound Studios, Madison, Tennessee.
Tom T. Hall, “(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine” (Tom T. Hall)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Charlie McCoy, harmonica; Harold Bradley, guitar; Ray Edenton, guitar; Pig Robbins, piano; Bob Moore, bass; Buddy Harman, drums.
From the album The Storyteller, 1972. Produced by Jerry Kennedy at Mercury Custom Recording Studio, Nashville.
Meet the Cats
Best known for his harmonica technique—distinguished by speed, clarity, and exceptional phrasing, Charlie McCoy is a multi-instrumentalist who has been recorded on bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, saxophone, trumpet, and tuba.
Charlie Daniels proved pivotal to many of the Nashville recording sessions of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. Because Daniels had a strong blues influence, Johnston felt he would fit with the adventurous singer-songwriters.
Ben Keith was a prominent Nashville pedal steel guitarist and dobro specialist before becoming a producer and instrumentalist for Neil Young.
One of country music’s most admired and influential steel guitarists, Weldon Myrick taught himself to play lap steel and, at age thirteen, landed a job on a radio station near his hometown of Jayton, Texas.
Mac Gayden grew up fascinated by the R&B acts he heard in his hometown of Nashville. That interest helped him develop a style as a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter distinctly different from other Nashville studio pros.
Lloyd Green developed an emotional, resonant style of pedal steel guitar playing that gave him a distinct sound apart from other top steel specialists.
At age eighteen, Pete Drake heard steel guitarist Jerry Byrd on the Grand Ole Opry during a trip to Nashville. Duly inspired, Drake purchased a steel guitar in an Atlanta pawnshop. The decision not only changed his life, but impacted the sound of country and rock music.
Pig Robbins earned his stripes by creating the rocking piano on George Jones’s “White Lightnin’.” Over the ensuing decades, his integral role on Music Row recording sessions earned him membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
In his distinctive fiddle style, Buddy Spicher combined a rich tonal quality with bluegrass precision and an adventurous sense of swing. After arriving in Nashville, he quickly gained attention as a dazzling instrumentalist capable of handling country, jazz, pop, and rock.
Inspired by Country Music Hall of Fame members Chet Atkins and Earl Scruggs, Wayne Moss’s iconic guitar riffs helped forge the identifiable sounds of country and rock hits.
Norbert Putnam is a widely admired bassist, record producer, and studio owner. He started his career in his teens recording with soul singer Arthur Alexander at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as part of a renowned rhythm section that included keyboardist David Briggs and drummer Jerry Carrigan.
Grady Martin was a member of a loose collection of legendary studio musicians known as the Nashville A-team. His versatility and creativity as a guitarist also appealed to younger rockers and singer-songwriters who came to Nashville.
David Briggs began playing piano on R&B, pop, and country hits in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in his teens. After a brief stint as a pop singer, Briggs moved to Nashville in 1964 to focus on a career as a studio musician.
Three-time Grammy winner Jerry Reed is most famous for his colorful, catchy story songs steeped in Southern attitude and lore. He was recognized as a groundbreaking guitarist with a guitar technique that gave an extra layer of funky, back-country grease.
The preferred drummer for artists across America—he built a lasting legacy with his work in R&B and rock.
Fred Carter Jr. began his career in northeastern Louisiana playing rock & roll. He backed Dale Hawkins, known for his rock hit “Susie-Q,” and later played with Ronnie Hawkins, Dale’s cousin, in his backing group, the Hawks. Carter left and was replaced by Robbie Robertson before the group evolved into the Band.