- Lloyd Wells
Lloyd Wells is an American
jazz guitarist, now residing inNashville, Tennessee . He is best known for his work on "The Merv Griffin Show ", "The Tonight Show " withJohnny Carson , "Sesame Street ", "The Electric Company ", "The Ed Sullivan Show ", and later as arranger and Music Director atOpryland USA theme park in Nashville. He also worked withPeggy Lee andRosemary Clooney , and with theGlenn Miller orchestra, under the direction ofBuddy DeFranco . He is an inductee of theMississippi Music Hall of Fame .Wells grew up in
Laurel, Mississippi , the same town where another notable jazz guitarist,Mundell Lowe , grew up. He did his first professional work playing for square dances while still attending high school. He attended theUniversity of Southern Mississippi , graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education.In 1964, with encouragement from Mundell Lowe, Wells moved to
New York City , where he soon got work in the pit orchestras of Broadway shows. He remained in New York for 10 years, where he was a self-described "work-a-day guitar player." According to Wells, he "... made a decent living, bought a house, raised a family, lived in Manhattan for six years and then moved toEnglewood, New Jersey ... Mundie (Mundell Lowe) opened a lot of doors for me. I did a lot of subbing. Mundie had "The Merv Griffin Show " at the time and I did subbing there and then he had the "Tonight Show " band and I got to do a lot of subbing there." ("Just Jazz Guitar" magazine, November 2007, page 149.)In 1973, Wells and his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he took a job as arranger and music director for
Opryland USA theme park, remaining in that position for 23 years. During that period, he wrote about 5,000 arrangements. Wells also did a lot of jingle work in studios in New York and Nashville.Wells cites his most memorable jobs, naming two appearances at the
White House (withTennessee Ernie Ford ) and playing on "Sesame Street " and "The Electric Company " form the top penthouse ofRadio City Music Hall .Lloyd is a member of the
W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars , regularly performing at the annualW. C. Handy Music Festival , performing alongside noted jazz musicians such as vibraphonist / drummerChuck Redd , drummer Bill Goodwin, pianist / vocalistJohnny O'Neal , pianist / vocalistRay Reach , bassistNeal Starkey , trumpeterKen Watters , saxophonist [http://www.bhamwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Rick_Bell Rick Bell] and guitaristMundell Lowe .References
*"Mundell Lowe" by Ed Benson. "Just Jazz Guitar" Magazine, November, 2007, page 149.
External links
* [http://justjazzguitar.com/index.php Just Jazz Guitar Magazine] online
* [http://www.classicjazzguitar.com/albums/artist_album.jsp?album=1022 Mundell Lowe and Lloyd Wells CD]
* [http://www.bhamwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=W._C._Handy_Jazz_All-Stars W. C. Handy Jazz All-Stars] at Bhamwiki.com
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