Bill Justis facts for kids

William Everett Justis Jr. (born October 14, 1926 – died July 16, 1982) was an American musician. He was a pioneer in rock and roll music. Bill Justis was a talented composer (someone who writes music) and a musical arranger (someone who organizes music for different instruments). He is most famous for his 1957 song, "Raunchy". This song was so important it was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame. When he wrote songs, he was sometimes known as Bill Everette.

Bill Justis: His Life and Music

Bill Justis was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in the United States. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He loved music from a young age.

Early Life and Musical Training

Bill studied music at Christian Brothers College. He also went to Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He played both the trumpet and the saxophone. While in college, he performed with local jazz and dance bands.

Working with Sun Records

In 1951, Bill returned to Memphis. He started working with Sam Phillips at Sun Records. Sun Records was a very famous record label. Bill recorded his own music there. He also arranged music for other Sun artists. These included famous musicians like Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and Charlie Rich. Bill is even credited with discovering Charlie Rich!

"Raunchy": A Big Hit

In November 1957, Bill released his song "Raunchy". It was the first rock and roll instrumental hit. An instrumental song has no singing, only music. "Raunchy" became very popular. It reached number 2 on the American Billboard music chart. Other artists, like Ernie Freeman and Billy Vaughn, also had hits with their versions of "Raunchy". The song was number 1 in Canada for three weeks. It also reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. "Raunchy" sold over one million copies. This earned Bill a gold disc. Bill had another hit song called "College Man". It reached number 42 in the U.S. and number 11 in Canada.

Moving to Nashville and Producing Music

In 1961, Bill Justis moved to Nashville. Nashville is known as "Music City." There, he became a successful record producer and music arranger. He worked for major record labels like Monument and Mercury Records. He helped create music for both pop and country music artists.

Film Work and Other Hits

Bill played the saxophone on the soundtrack for the 1964 Elvis Presley film, Kissin' Cousins. In the same year, he became the manager for the singing group, Ronny & the Daytonas. In 1963, Bill had a number one hit in Australia with his song "Tamoure". He also produced a popular series of instrumental albums. These albums were released on the Smash record label. They included songs like "Alley Cat/Green Onions" and "Telstar/The Lonely Bull".

Bill also wrote music for several films. Some of these movies include Dear Dead Delilah (1972), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Hooper (1978), The Villain (1979), and Island Claws (1980).

Later Life

Bill Justis passed away in Nashville in 1982. He was 55 years old. He was buried in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis.