Bill Emerson

William Hundley Emerson, Jr. (January 22, 1938 – August 21, 2021) was an American five-string banjo player known for being one of the founding members of the original The Country Gentlemen and Emerson & Waldron and considered one of the finest bluegrass banjo players in music history.

The bluegrass musician named Bill Emerson written about on this biography page is often confused with another country musician named Bill Emerson (known as "Wild Bill Emerson") who was also born in 1938. As a result, bluegrass musician Bill Emerson is frequently incorrectly attributed to songs on various music databases (such as Discogs, AllMusic and Wiki) written by Wild Bill Emerson and/or his wife, Martha Jo "Jody" Emerson (who's often miscredited as "Jodie"). Wild Bill and Jody have written for many country artists such as George Jones, Hank Williams, Jr. and John Anderson.

Birth and Death Data: Born January 22, 1938, Died August 21, 2021

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1962 - 1966

Roles Represented in DAHR: banjo, vocalist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca NA 12167 8/29/1962 Lord, I'm coming home Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12168 8/29/1962 Goodbye Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12169 8/29/1962 Pray the clouds away Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12170 8/29/1962 Give me the roses now Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12171 8/29/1962 Prayer bells of heaven Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12172 8/30/1962 Give me your hand Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12173 8/30/1962 Stormy waters Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12174 8/30/1962 What would you give in exchange Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12175 8/30/1962 Shut-in's prayer Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12176 8/30/1962 A beautiful life Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12177 8/30/1962 Little white church Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12180 8/31/1962 The old man's drunk again Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12181 8/31/1962 Moonshine hollow Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12182 8/31/1962 Hey lonesome Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 12183 8/31/1962 Tennessee Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 13663 7/8/1965 The last song Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo  
Decca NA 13664 7/8/1965 Sweet Dixie Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo  
Decca NA 13665 7/8/1965 Wild Indian Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo  
Decca NA 13666 7/8/1965 Run boy run Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo  
Decca NA 13667 7/8/1965 Theme time Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo  
Decca NA 13668 7/8/1965 Orange blossom specia Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo  
Decca NA 13848 12/22/1965 I can't quit cigarettes Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo  
Decca NA 13849 12/22/1965 Lost highway Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo  
Decca NA 13850 12/22/1965 The good things outweigh the sad Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo  
Decca NA 13866 1/10/1966 The summer's come and gone Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 13867 1/10/1966 Fraulein Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 13868 1/10/1966 You're gonna change (or I'm gonna leave) Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 13869 1/10/1966 Tennessee waltz Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  
Decca NA 13870 1/10/1966 Little Maggie, she's so sweet Jimmy "Timmy" Martin, Jr. instrumentalist, banjo, vocalist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Emerson, Bill," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/202945.

Emerson, Bill. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/202945.

"Emerson, Bill." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/202945

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.