Jerry Carrigan
September 13, 1943 - June 22, 2019
2010 Inductee

Jerry Carrigan played his first recording session at age 13 and helped develop Muscle Shoals into a thriving music community.

Carrigan traces his musical beginnings to the early days when producers such as Tom Stafford, Kelso Herston, James Joiner and Rick Hall would "still give newcomers a chance." "You might say I was raised in the studio," Carrigan explains. Sessions were his main source of income during high school and his time spent at Florence State College as an accounting major.

"We laid the groundwork for the whole Muscle Shoals R&B movement to begin," Carrigan says of himself and fellow musicians David Briggs and Norbert Putnam, who were part of the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section in the early Sixties. They played on Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On" (the first R&B hit out of Muscle Shoals), followed that with Jimmy Hughes' chartbuster "Steal Away" and later, on numerous hits by Tommy Roe and by The Tams, including "What Kind of Fool." It was during this period that Carrigan backed Tommy Roe in Washington, D.C. on a concert sharing the billing with The Beatles. This was the first live performance of The Beatles in the United States.

In 1965, Carrigan, Briggs and Putnam moved to Nashville, and were soon the hottest studio musicians in that area as well. "The first year I was in Nashville, I did about ninety per cent of the sessions that were done at RCA," Carrigan said. He played on hits for Charlie Rich, Ray Stevens, Charlie Pride, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Paycheck, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash.

In addition to working with top country artists, Carrigan played on recordings by Al Hirt, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joan Baez, Kenny Rogers, Wayne Newton and toured the world with John Denver.

Working with Denver brought him together with Grammy-winning engineer and producer, Roger Nichols. Carrigan contributed to the development of the sound library of the Wendel Jr. Drum Replacement Unit, a Nichols invention.

Few people know right from the start what they want to do with their lives. Among those few are an even smaller number with the talent, timing, and tenacity to make that yearning a reality.

Nashville drummer and producer Jerry Carrigan is one of those few special people. Though not always in the public eye, you've certainly heard him on pop, R&B or country radio. Even if popular music isn't your taste, you've heard the "Carrigan Sound" on jingles for 7-Up, Coke, Chevrolet, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, or "Me and My RC", on television soundtracks for Maverick and Simon & Simon, or in the movies Nashville, Every Which Way But Loose, Six Pack, This Is Elvis, Urban Cowboy, or The Gambler.

Carrigan is especially proud of his work, spanning Muscle Shoals, Memphis, and Nashville with songwriter Dan Penn, who became famous for Aretha Franklin's biggest hits and writing for and producing The Boxtops.

But in 1965, Muscle Shoals had yet to break as a perpetual hitmaker, while the Nashville "legend" was well established. The talented young drummer and his two colleagues, Briggs and Putnam, moved there together that year and worked as a rhythm section, each intending to branch out alone.

The growth of Nashville into the nation's major recording center during the Seventies can be attributed largely to the city's fabulous musicians, including Jerry Carrigan. No one foresaw the boom in country music that came about during this period, but one thing is clear: as country music grew, so did Carrigan's list of credits. Artists such as Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Jerry Reed, and Kenny Rogers were suddenly superstars, and Carrigan was called in to help create the smash hits that made these artists such as success. As "the drummer most in demand" by Nashville producers, he was by 1977 playing approximately twelve three-hour sessions per week.

As Nashville began drawing talent from both coasts, Jerry added to his list many artists associated with other types of music. He played on records with Al Hirt, Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, Tom Jones, Henri Mancini, Joan Baez, and the Boston Pops. Through his association with Grammy-winning Nashville producer Larry Butler, he worked with Sammy Davis, Jr., Don McLean, Nana Mouskouri, Kenny Rogers, Paul Anka, Bobby Vinton, Steve & Eydie, Debby Boone, Wayne Newton, and John Denver. He acquired international attention while playing on a CBS show for Johnny Paycheck in London, and subsequently recorded several projects done in Nashville under the direction of famed Italian producer John Reverberi. Carrigan continued his international acclaim while touring the world with John Denver. The Denver association put him together with Grammy-winning engineer and producer, Roger Nichols, whom he's worked with on numerous recording projects; as well as contributing to the development of the sound library of the Wendel Jr. Drum Replacement Unit, a Nichols invention.

An innovator, Carrigan is largely responsible for establishing the "big fat drum sound" associated with Nashville recordings. "I started playing real loose, deep-sounding snare drums on country records. Billy Sherrill loved it. So I started experimenting with different things, different kinds of drums. I bought the first set of concert tom-toms that were in Nashville. I think that's one reason the producers liked my sound. I had a different approach."

With all his national and international success, Carrigan likes to emphasize that he's not a "distant drummer" - in fact, he's usually at home in Nashville and often available for record dates and production projects.

What lies ahead for the "drummer in demand" whose only problem is finding enough time for everything he wants to do? "I think production is my future. I'd like to put to use all the creative ideas and technical knowledge I've attained throughout my career of working with 'the best'."

Recording credits:

Arthur Alexander
Susie Allanson
Rex Allen, Jr.
Eric Anderson
John Anderson
Paul Anka
Eddy Arnold
Chet Atkins & The Boston Pops
Hoyt Axton
Joan Baez
Judy Bailey
Razzy Bailey
Moe Bandy
Paul Barabani
Bobby Bare
Debby Boone
Roger Bowling
Boxcar Willie
Terry Bradshaw
Jim Ed Brown
George Burns
Larry Butler
Johnny Cash
Marshall Chapman
The Chipmunks
Roy Clark
David Allan Coe
Earl Thomas Conley
Cornelius Bros. & Sister Rose
Helen Cornelius
Lacy J. Dalton
Dave & Sugar
Mac Davis
Sammy Davis, Jr.
John Denver
Johnny Duncan
Dale Evans
Barbara Fairchild
Donna Fargo
Florida Boys
Janie Fricke
Bill Gaither
Larry Gatlin
Steve Gibb
Terri Gibbs
Mickey Gilley
Bobby Goldsboro
Vern Gosdin
Amy Grant
Lee Greenwood
Merle Haggard
Tom T. Hall
Linda Hargrove
Freddie Hart
Al Hirt
Becky Hobbs
Honeytree
David Houston
Jimmy Hughes
Con Hunley
Sonny James
Waylon Jennings
George Jones
Tom Jones
Wayne Kemp
The Kendalls
Kris Kristofferson
La Costa
Cristy Lane
Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme
Brenda Lee
Dickey Lee
Zella Lehr
Jerry Lee Lewis
Dave Loggins
Norman Luboff
Liz Lyndell
Loretta Lynn
Warner Mack
Henry Mancini
Barbara Mandrell
Grady Martin
Wayne Massey
O.B. McClinton
Ronnie McDowell
Reba McEntire
Don McLean
Wyley McPherson
Bill Medley
Mother Earth
Nana Mouskouri
Willie Nelson
Wayne Newton
Mickey Newbury
Oak Ridge Boys
Doug Oldham
Roy Orbison
Tommy Overstreet
Vernon Oxford
Patti Page
Dolly Parton
Johnny Paycheck
Dan Penn
Webb Pierce
Ray Pillow
Diane Pfeifer
Pozo Seco Singers
Elvis Presley
Ray Price
Charley Pride
Ronnie Prophet
Pupo
Boots Randolph
Eddy Raven
Jerry Reed
Charlie Rich
Johnny Rivers
Marty Robbins
Johnny Rodriguez
Tommy Roe
Kenny Rogers
Pam Rose
Earl Scruggs
Troy Seals
Jeanie Seeley
Jean Shepherd
Joe Simon
Cal Smith
Connie Smith
Margo Smith
Sammi Smith
Billie Jo Spears
The Speers
Joe Stampley
Statler Brothers
Red Steagall
Saundra Steele
Ray Stevens
Gary Stewart
Nat Stuckey
Billy Swan
The Tams
Carmol Taylor
B.J. Thomas
Hank Thompson
Thrasher Brothers
Tompall & The Glaser Brothers
Truth
Tanya Tucker
Twiggy
Conway Twitty
Bobby Vinton
Porter Wagoner
Billy Walker
Jerry Wallace
Jacky Ward
Joe Waters
Freddy Weller
Kitty Wells
Dottie West
Billy Edd Wheeler
Andy Williams
Hank Williams, Jr.
Wright Brothers
Tammy Wynette
Faron Young