Michael Rhodes

Bass guitarist Michael Rhodes was born in 1953 in Monroe, Louisiana, where country, Cajun, and blues music were a part of everyday life. Before his 13th birthday, he had taught himself to play the guitar with amazing skill for one so young. A couple of years later, he landed his first professional gig. In the early '70s, <a href="spotify:artist:1yap1SgRPMxgyfrrDlQ95y">Rhodes</a> moved to Austin, Texas. He performed with a few other bands, gaining experience and making connections. After about four years, he picked up and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to work with <a href="spotify:artist:218kRJZ7FJs0hWIk8Ynzhz">Charlie Rich</a>'s son Alan Rich.

Some time spent in Nashville earned <a href="spotify:artist:1yap1SgRPMxgyfrrDlQ95y">Rhodes</a> a job as a demo musician and then as a session player. Over the ensuing decades, Michael Rhodes lent his bass talents to the recordings of numerous artists, including many chart-toppers from the '90s, like <a href="spotify:artist:69Etpls5a2aATUkB6NInTY">Neal McCoy</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1aSIXmBKKrEVIbGLwhedIe">Chely Wright</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4epBFW4UHEmgjIK5xOrBhk">Doug Stone</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4yiXkMbxDIZ3jgEG89NSC1">Wynonna Judd</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:25IG9fa7cbdmCIy3OnuH57">the Dixie Chicks</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:02rd0anEWfMtF7iMku9uor">Reba McEntire</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7dmeVSH4lJqxXU7C87dKIB">Tanya Tucker</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:32vWCbZh0xZ4o9gkz4PsEU">Dolly Parton</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1pTuR132U5b4Rizal2Pr7m">Randy Travis</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:25NQNriVT2YbSW80ILRWJa">Faith Hill</a>, and many other country greats. He was also a member of <a href="spotify:artist:25zqla6idSsT665Ngya2Sb">the Notorious Cherry Bombs</a>, a Nashville supergroup led by <a href="spotify:artist:4QIJ2i8I6urte2scKgkVoY">Rodney Crowell</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3IhWQSrLj8EJjdvjFTpCyo">Vince Gill</a>. Michael Rhodes died in Nashville on March 4, 2023, of pancreatic cancer. He was 69 years of age. ~ Charlotte Dillon, Rovi