Roland E. Janes (August 20, 1933 – October 18, 2013) was an American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

guitarist and record producer, who was active at

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

between 1956 and 1963.

Biography

He was born in Brookings,

Clay County, Arkansas Clay County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Originally incorporated as Clayton County, as of the 2020 United States census, its population was 14,552. The county has two county seats, Corning, Arkansas ...

, the second youngest in a family of seven, and grew up there and in

St Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, where he lived with his mother after his parents divorced. He learned

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

and guitar, and played in

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

bands with his cousins in Arkansas while working in the

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

industry.Obituary for Roland E. Janes. Memorial Park Funeral Home
Retrieved October 22, 2013Biography by Jason Ankeny at Allmusic.com
Retrieved October 22, 2013 Passings: Roland Janes, Sun Records Guitarist, Memphis Legend (1933 - 2013), Vintage Vinyl News, 18 October 2013
Retrieved October 22, 2013
Retrieved October 22, 2013 In 1953 he moved to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, before enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. After his discharge, he returned to Memphis and began playing in clubs with pianist Doc McQueen, through whom he met guitarist and engineer Jack Clement. Clement introduced him to

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American disc jockey, songwriter and record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, R ...

, and Janes became a regular

session guitarist A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

there on records by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

, Billy Lee Riley,

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel. In the later part of his life, Rich acquired the nickname t ...

, Sonny Burgess and many others. He played regularly on Sun record releases between 1956 and 1963, adding guitar that "was both surgically precise and wildly kinetic, perfectly complementing the delirious energy that galvanized Sun's most memorable contributions to the early days of rock & roll." Janes recorded as leader of his own group in 1959. He was also responsible for "nearly single-handedly invent ngmany of the engineering methods used in modern recordings, from microphone placement and cabling to board and tape deck tricks." NAMM Oral History Program, Interview with Roland Janes, 15 July 2013
Retrieved October 22, 2013 In 1960 Janes and Riley formed their own label, Rita Records, and had a hit with Harold Dorman's "Mountain of Love". He left Sun in 1963 and opened his own studio, Sonic Recording Service, where he produced records by Jerry Jaye, Travis Wammack, and others. The studio closed in 1974, but in 1977 Janes returned to the music industry as a producer and engineer at the Sounds of Memphis recording studio, as well as a teacher of recording techniques. He began working with Sam Phillips again in 1982, at Phillips Recording, and continued as an active session musician, playing guitar on

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

's 1998 album '' Tomorrow Hit Today''. He was elected to The Southern Legends Entertainment & Performing Arts Hall of Fame and the

Memphis Music Hall of Fame The Memphis Music Hall of Fame, located in Memphis, Tennessee, honors Memphis musicians for their lifetime achievements in music. The induction ceremony and concert is held each year in Memphis. Since its establishment in 2012, the Hall of Fame has ...

. He died in 2013 at the age of 80, following a heart attack.

References

External links

Roland Janes Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2013)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janes, Roland 1933 births 2013 deaths American rockabilly guitarists American male guitarists Record producers from Arkansas Record producers from Tennessee Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee People from Clay County, Arkansas Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Tennessee Country musicians from Arkansas 20th-century American male musicians