Bobby Manuel (born November 13, 1945) is an American

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

. In the early 1960s he was the lead guitarist for the local band, The Memphis Blazers. He was hired by

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. Stax was ...

in the late 1960s as an engineer and also quickly began doing studio work as a guitarist, becoming one of the company's most dependable and oft-used session players. Manuel's credits include playing with some of the genre's most iconic figures, including

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps ...

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess ...

, Luther Ingram, and

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songw ...

. Though Manuel's roles at Stax centered on engineering and playing guitar, he also co-wrote songs, produced artists such as Stefan, Ben Atkins, and Annette Thomas, and he released a one-off novelty country record under the pseudonym Dale Yard. In 1973, he subbed for

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as O ...

as a member of

The MG's Booker T. & the M.G.'s were an American instrumental rock, instrumental R&B/funk band that was influential in shaping the sound of Southern soul and Memphis soul. The original members of the group were Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cro ...

, alongside Carson Whitsett and Stax stalwarts

Al Jackson, Jr. Albert J. Jackson Jr. (November 27, 1935 – October 1, 1975) was an American drummer, producer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a group of session musicians who worked for Stax Records and produced the ...

and Duck Dunn. In 1976, Manuel produced the number one hit " Disco Duck" by Memphis dee-jay Rick Dees and His Cast of Idiots. It was initially released by former Stax co-owner

Estelle Axton Estelle Axton (September 11, 1918 – February 24, 2004) was an American record executive and co-founder of Stax Records, along with her brother Jim Stewart. Biography Born in Middleton, Tennessee, Estelle Stewart grew up on a farm. She mov ...

's Fretone label. After the demise of Stax Records, Manuel and Stax founder Jim Stewart operated Daily Planet, a studio and production company in Memphis, TN.

Shirley Brown Shirley Brown (born January 6, 1947, West Memphis, Arkansas) is an American R&B singer, best known for her million-selling single " Woman to Woman", which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975. Biography Brown was born in West Memphis, but ...

was among their most notable signings. He later ran his own label, HighStacks (named to recall the glory of former Memphis R&B labels,

Hi Records Hi Records is an American soul music and rockabilly label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1957 by singer Ray Harris, record store owner Joe Cuoghi, Bill Cantrell and Quinton Claunch (formerly producers for Sun Records), and three silent p ...

and Stax). In 2004, Manuel organized and led a group of Memphis All-Stars with guest appearances by Marvell Thomas and

to celebrate the opening of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, backing legends such as

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Dur ...

Eddie Floyd Edward Lee Floyd (born June 25, 1937) is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song " Knock on Wood". Biography Floyd was born in ...

, William Bell,

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1936 or 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been ...

, and

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

who performed in honor of the label.

References

* Allmusic.com*''Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records'' by Rob Bowman *''The Last Soul Company: Malaco, A Thirty Year Retrospective'' by Rob Bowman {{DEFAULTSORT:Manuel, Bobby Living people 1945 births American blues guitarists American session musicians American soul guitarists American male guitarists Booker T. & the M.G.'s members 20th-century American guitarists