West Virginia Music Hall of Fame – Class of 2013.
Wayne Moss
Discouraged by a Country Legend — Motivated for Life
In the summer of 1953, twenty‑nine‑year‑old Chet Atkins was shifting from his role as a studio guitarist into a rising position as an RCA Victor producer. By July he had been promoted to RCA Recording Session Leader—an official title—while also serving, unofficially, as a talent scout. It was a duty he didn’t particularly enjoy; his standards were high, and most auditions ended with him saying “no” and disappointing hopeful musicians.
In late August, Atkins received a letter from a West Virginia woman praising the extraordinary talent of her 15‑year‑old son. A few days later she followed up with a phone call, boldly asking to schedule an audition in Nashville that September. Atkins agreed, then promptly forgot about it.
One afternoon that September, while making calls to line up musicians for upcoming sessions, Atkins heard a knock at his small downtown office. In walked a woman and a teenage boy carrying an electric guitar and a small amplifier. Only then did Atkins remember the appointment.
The boy plugged in and played a note‑for‑note version of Atkins’ own recording of St. Louis Blues. When he finished, his mother beamed and asked, “Isn’t he amazing?” Atkins shook his head. “No, he’s average.” When she pressed him for advice, he delivered the line Wayne Moss never forgot: “I don’t know, lady—he looks like he might make a good plumber.”
Wayne and his mother Mattie began the 400‑mile drive back to South Charleston, West Virginia. Though disappointed, Mattie remained convinced her son had a bright future. Wayne took the criticism as motivation. He vowed to spend the next decade proving his mother right—and proving Chet Atkins wrong.
Wayne Moss — Nashville Cat. Respected, Recognized & Honored.
The Country Music Hall of Fame launched its “Nashville Cats” series in 2006 to honor the session musicians who shaped country music. The term itself came from Bob Dylan, who recorded Blonde on Blonde in Nashville in 1966 and raved about the musicians he worked with. Wayne Moss played on 10 of the album’s 14 tracks.
John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful turned Dylan’s phrase—“These amazing Nashville Cats. They can play anything.”—into the hit song Nashville Cats, which famously claimed, “There’s thirteen hundred and fifty‑two guitar pickers in Nashville.”
By 2009, that number had grown to roughly 4,500. And that summer, Wayne Moss became only the fifth guitarist ever honored as an official Nashville Cat.
During his acceptance speech, Moss told the crowd the now‑legendary “plumber” story. Looking upward toward the late Chet Atkins, he grinned and asked, “What do you think of me now, Chet?”
He went on to explain that when he returned to Nashville in 1959, he eventually won Atkins over—so much so that Atkins hired him for hundreds of RCA sessions.
Moss became one of the defining session guitarists in Nashville history. He played on Patsy Cline’s final recording session in 1963, including her last song, I’ll Sail My Ship Alone. He also played on Dolly Parton’s debut album Hello, I’m Dolly in 1967.
His resume is staggering. Moss played guitar on numerous #1 hits, including:
- Roy Orbison — Running Scared, Only the Lonely, Oh, Pretty Woman
- Lynn Anderson — Rose Garden
- Eddie Arnold — Make the World Go Away
- Tammy Wynette — D.I.V.O.R.C.E., Stand by Your Man
- Dolly Parton — Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, I Will Always Love You
- Tommy Roe — Sheila
- Charley Pride — Kiss an Angel Good Morning, Is Anybody Going to San Antone?
- Jerry Reed — When You’re Hot, You’re Hot
- Bobby Vinton — Red Roses
- Bobby Goldsboro — Honey
- Charlie Rich — Behind Closed Doors
He also recorded with Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Nancy Sinatra, the Oak Ridge Boys, Mike Nesmith, and many others.
Wayne Moss proved his mother right—and Chet Atkins wrong.
West Virginia Born & Bred
Bradley Wayne Moss was born February 9, 1938, in South Charleston, West Virginia, the youngest of four children. His father, Brodie, worked as an engineer for Carbide Chemical; his mother, Mattie, was a seamstress and homemaker. The family moved frequently among West Virginia towns—Red House, Nitro, Dunbar, Spring Hill, St. Albans, and South Charleston—following Brodie’s job transfers.
Moss fell in love with music at age eight after borrowing a guitar from a family friend. His father soon bought him a $6 pawnshop guitar. By ten, he and a banjo‑playing friend were listening to Flatt & Scruggs and copying their licks.
After discovering Chet Atkins and Merle Travis, he abandoned the flat pick and taught himself their thumb‑picking style—an influence that shaped his entire career. He practiced daily, as long as his parents allowed.
At fifteen, after years of asking him what he wanted to do with his life, Mattie finally got an answer: he wanted to be like Chet Atkins, move to Nashville, own a studio, and make records. She immediately wrote to Atkins, setting the stage for the “premature audition” that would change Wayne’s life.
Wayne Moss, West Virginia Performer
Back home after the failed audition, Moss joined his first band, Sleepy Jeffers and the Pioneer Pals. Jeffers’ local fame earned them radio and TV spots, though most of their work was on the road. Late‑night gigs made school difficult, and Moss eventually dropped out at sixteen.
He joined The Versi‑Tones, a rock and roll band covering Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Fats Domino. Touring the state, he absorbed rock, blues, and soul influences that broadened his musical vocabulary.
At nineteen, he joined Bill Browning and His Echo Valley Boys. Two weeks later, the group became regulars on WWVA’s Wheeling Jamboree, where Moss spent two years on the air.
Return to Nashville
In 1959, Moss returned to Nashville. His mother—now living there after her 1958 divorce—quickly arranged an audition after overhearing a customer say his band needed a guitarist. The band was The Casuals, Nashville’s first major rock and roll group. Moss got the job.
Within a month, The Casuals became the touring band for 13‑year‑old Brenda Lee, leading to a national tour and an appearance on American Bandstand.
Moss eventually left to form his own band, Charlie McCoy & the Escorts, widely regarded as Nashville’s best rock band at the time. Their downtown residency at The Sack attracted fellow musicians and producers, leading to Moss’s first session work—including Tommy Roe’s #1 hit Sheila in 1962.
Cinderella Sound
In 1961, Moss converted a two‑car garage on Cinderella Street in Madison, Tennessee, into Cinderella Sound—now Nashville’s oldest surviving independent studio. He often said he was more proud of the studio than of his guitar career.
Though never listed in the phone book, the studio thrived through word of mouth. Artists who recorded there include Steve Miller, Linda Ronstadt, Guy Clark, Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins, Charlie McCoy, John Hartford, Charlie Daniels, and Ricky Skaggs.
Area Code 615 & Barefoot Jerry
Cinderella Sound became the birthplace of two influential session‑musician bands.
Area Code 615 formed spontaneously during a Mike Nesmith session when the musicians began playing a country version of Lady Madonna. Moss assembled them to record more pop‑to‑country reinterpretations. Their second album earned a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Group in 1970.
In 1974, Moss stepped back from session work to focus on the studio and his new band, Barefoot Jerry, a rotating collective of top Nashville players. The New York Times later wrote that Moss, “as a member of the experimental country‑rock groups Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry, helped to expand the reach of country music.”
Later Years
Moss returned to session work in the 1980s and spent 15 years in the house band for TV’s Hee Haw, led by his longtime friend and fellow West Virginian Charlie McCoy.
His songwriting found success with the Oak Ridge Boys, Chet Atkins, Brenda Lee, and Willie Nelson.
He was honored as a Nashville Cat in 2009 and inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
Wayne Moss passed away on Monday, April 20, at age 88.
Recommended listening
“Oh, Pretty Woman” – Roy Orbison – 1964. Orbison’s guitar player Billy Sanford came in with a lick he had worked up for the opening. After hearing it, producer Fred Foster, worried that it sounded too much like the opening to Little Richard’s song “Lucille”. “We need something to make it a little different so they don’t sue,” Foster directed. Waye Moss suggested a strategically placed F-sharp, which did the trick.
It opens with the drill-press drumming of Buddy Harmon. First guitar in is Orbison playing a 12-string. Foster then layered in the guitars of Wayne Moss, Jerry Kennedy and Billy Sanford to expand the sound of what has become an iconic guitar riff. Oh, Pretty Woman
“I Want You” – Bob Dylan – 1966. It was a big deal in the country music industry when Bob Dylan made the decision to go to Nashville to record his two-record set gem Blonde on Blonde. Charlie McCoy was in charge of finding musicians for Dylan. Wayne Moss got the call. He plays on 10 the 14 tracks. But it was on this song that he left an impression on Dylan. The song was originally slower in tempo and had very sparse accompaniment. Dylan heard Moss tinkering around on his guitar playing a fluid, quick set of descending notes. He asked Moss to play that throughout the song as he saw fit. The end result was a recording so good, it was released as a single and got to #20 on the Billboard Pop Charts Bob Dylan – I Want You (Official Audio)
“Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line” – Waylon Jennings – 1968. This song contains a Wayne Moss Guitar Clinic of licks, fills, and picking tricks. Also included is a guitar solo that shows him at his best. Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line
Bonus Cut. “Jolene” – Dolly Parton – 1973. Isolated Guitar Track. This “guitar only” from “Jolene”, featuring Wayne Moss on Steel String and Chip Young on Nylon String. This is a fascinating listen. Jolene – Dolly Parton – Isolated Guitar Track
Sources
Havighurst, Craig. The String podcast. “Wayne Moss Interview,” episode 61. Nashville Cat Wayne Moss (1938–2026) Reflects on His Cinderella Story. WMOT.
Pope, Adam. Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow podcast. “Wayne Moss Part 1,” February 11, 2023; and “Wayne Moss Part 2,” February 22, 2023. Chasin’ That Neon Podcast (Nashville and Beyond), Podcast Republic.
Selke, Michael. Nashville Cat: The Wayne Moss Story. 2016.
Whitburn, Joel. Billboard’s Top Country Singles 1944–2001. 2002.
Whitburn, Joel. Billboard’s Top Pop Singles 1955–2006. 2007.
Country Music Hall of Fame. “The Nashville Cats.” The Nashville Cats | Country Music Hall of Fame.
Country Music Hall of Fame. “Wayne Moss.” Wayne Moss 1938–2026 | Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Barefoot Jerry. barefootjerry.com
Cinderella Sound. “History.” Nashville Songs Studio – Cinderella Sound.
Nashville Musicians Union. “Wayne Moss Obituary.” Nashville Musicians Union.
MusicRow.com. “Wayne Moss Obituary,” April 22, 2026. Durable ‘Nashville Cat’ Wayne Moss Passes.
New York Times. “Wayne Moss Obituary,” April 24, 2026. Wayne Moss, Guitarist Who Helped Broaden Country Sound, Dies at 88.
