BILL
HULLETT
Bill, when, how, and why did was wonderful because you never knew who
you came to Nashville? was going to stop by at Pete’s. His studio
was right on Music Row, and something was
always going on there...
I moved to Nashville in August 1978, when
I was 28, with my wife, Debbie, my son Clay
(who was 1-1/2), and all our possessions in a
van and a U-Haul trailer… what was I thinking! I had always wanted to be a session
musician ever since I was about sixteen. I
don’t remember how I had even heard that
there was such a job, but the second that I
knew about it, I knew that it was the job I
wanted in life!
What are your most important
musical influences?
What was your first gig in Nashville?
Debbie played bass guitar—very well, I might
add—and we both played a few little local
country bars here in town. But within about
a month of living here in Nashville, we met
Pete Drake (studio owner and session steel
player) and he let us start hanging out at
his studio, watching sessions and meeting
people. Opportunities like that don’t exist
anymore for new people coming to town. It
Well, when I first took up the guitar the coolest bands were the Beach Boys, and other
“surf bands,” but once the Beatles were
on Ed Sullivan, I was hooked big time to all
the English guys. At the same time, I was
listening to C&W radio stations, too, and I
loved Buck Owens records. We lived in San
Jose, California, so it was pretty easy to find
Buck on the radio. Later, I really became a
fan of Eric Clapton when I saw him on the
first Cream US tour... and I saw him just a
few short months later as a backing guitarist for Delaney and Bonnie. He was a major
influence from that point on, at least as far
as blues and rock. As far as country, I loved
Don Rich (with Buck Owens) and Roy Nichols
(with Merle Haggard). I was a big Waylon
