Michael Rhodes, Esteemed Bassist and Nashville Session Musician, Dies at 69

Bassist and session musician Michael Rhodes, who was inducted into the Musicians Corridor of Fame in 2019, has died. He was 69.

A consultant for Rhodes confirmed his dying to Billboard. Rhodes handed away at his house in Nashville, Tennessee, Saturday morning (March 4). No explanation for dying was given at press time.

Rhodes was born in Monroe, Louisiana, in 1953. At age 11 he taught himself to play guitar, which he started enjoying professionally, earlier than taking on bass.

After stints residing in Austin and Memphis, he wound up in Nashville in 1977, the place he joined native rock band Nerve and Tree Publishing’s home demo band. It was there that he bought what he referred to as “a great crash course in the art of playing a song, and what was needed for a song,” he instructed Nashville Arts.

He went on to have a prolific profession in session work, enjoying on award-winning songs together with Shawn Colvin’s “Sunny Came Home” (1996) and Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” (2000), and even had the dignity of enjoying on each LeAnn Rimes’ and Trisha Yearwood’s 1997 variations of Diane Warren’s “How Do I Live.”

His extremely lengthy checklist of credit contains recordings for Willie Nelson, Etta James, Mark Knopfler, Alan Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Brian Wilson, Joss Stone, Dolly Parton, the (Dixie) Chicks, J.J. Cale, Wynonna, Merle Haggard, Randall Bramblett, Amy Grant, Hank Williams Jr, the Highwaymen, John Oates, George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Bob Seger, Dave Stewart, Keith Whitley, Joan Baez, Lionel Richie, Burt Bacharach, Aaron Neville, Johnny Money, Lonnie Mack, India.Arie, Buddy Man, Grace Potter, Billy Joe Shaver, Ruthie Collins, Michael McDonald, Dan Penn, Jennifer Vacation, John Fogerty, Elton John and Joan Osborne.

In recent times, he performed typically in Joe Bonamassa’s band.

Rhodes is survived by spouse Lindsay Fairbanks Rhodes, son Jason Rhodes and daughter Melody Wind Rhodes, and Lindsay’s sons, Van and Weston Hayes, in addition to grandchildren Cayman Rhodes, Cora Rhodes, Wylder Rhodes, Kingsley Rhodes, Jenna Nicole Hillman and Ryley Bruce Hillman.

Memorial preparations shall be offered at a future time.

In lieu of flowers, and in Rhodes’ spirit, his household requests that donations be made to the Music Well being Alliance, which offers help to musicians in want of healthcare and assist. Checks could also be despatched to Music Well being Alliance, 2737 Larmon Dr, Nashville, TN, 37204 or by means of their web site, musichealthalliance.com. Rhodes’ household additionally encourages listening to a bit of music that issues to you; Rhodes listened to John Coltrane earlier than he handed. “He really loved jazz and John Coltrane, all those guys,” Rhodes’ spouse says. “It fed him, always.”