William Gilmore, also known as Bill, Billy, and Shakin' Bill (because he stood still onstage) was an American musician who played the bass and the keyboard. He grew up in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

before settling down in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He played with The Webs,

The Candymen The Candymen (or the Candy Men) were an American pop quintet active 1965–1972 which prefigured the Atlanta Rhythm Section. The group were managed by Dothan, Alabama Dothan is a city in and the county seat of Houston County, Alabama, Housto ...

The Classics IV The Classics IV is an American band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965. The band, founded by Dennis Yost, is known mainly for the hits " Spooky", "Stormy", and "Traces" (released 1967–69), which have become cover standard ...

, and the

Atlanta Rhythm Section Atlanta Rhythm Section (or ARS) is an American Southern rock band formed in 1970 by Rodney Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitar), Paul Goddard (bass), Dean Daughtry (keyboards), Robert Nix (drummer), Robert Nix (drums) and J. R. Cobb (guitar). ...

. Gilmore first came to attention around 1965, touring as a bass player for

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

and The Candymen. Gilmore was featured on "

Oh, Pretty Woman "Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records and spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, '' ...

" by Roy Orbison and The Candymen in 1964. He also co-wrote " Party Girl" for

Tommy Roe Thomas David Roe (born May 9, 1942) is an American rock and pop singer-songwriter. Best-remembered for his hits " Sheila" (1962), "Sweet Pea" (1966) and " Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of th ...

along with

Buddy Buie Perry Carlton "Buddy" Buie (January 23, 1941 – July 18, 2015) was an American songwriter, producer and publisher. He is most commonly associated with Roy Orbison, the Classics IV and the Atlanta Rhythm Section. Career Buie was born in Mariann ...

, and also penned tracks for Jay & The Americans. He died on March 27, 1978, and was survived by wife Andrea and three daughters.

References

1978 deaths American rock bass guitarists American rock keyboardists Songwriters from Florida American male bass guitarists American male songwriters {{US-bass-guitarist-stub