Jimmy Hart On New Sun Records Gentrys Album And Writing Music For WWE

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 11: Jimmy Hart attends the WrestleMania Launch Party at SoFi Stadium on August 11, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images)

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By the time his pro wrestling career famously began in Memphis, Tennessee in 1978, where he’d manage grapplers like Jerry “The King” Lawler and actor/comedian Andy Kaufman, WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart had already navigated a successful career in music.

As a member of The Gentrys, Hart sang on a top 5 hit, with 1965’s “Keep on Dancing” topping out at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart en route to sales of more than a million copies.

Forming in 1963, Hart and company navigated the earliest stages of rock stardom while still in high school, getting their start a year before The Beatles ever appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show as they jetted off to film appearances on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand (before returning to Memphis for class Monday morning).

Performing on Clark’s caravan package tours, and eventually tours of their own, The Gentrys soon found themselves sharing bills with acts like the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Chicago, Mitch Ryder, Sonny & Cher and many more. But The Gentrys climb was brisk, with “Keep on Dancing” topping out in 1965 ahead of the group’s initial breakup in 1967.

As last man standing, Hart wound up owning the name and took one more stab at music success in 1969. Recording for legendary Memphis label Sun Records, Hart worked with label founder Sam Phillips and son Knox Phillips on a batch of music which yielded a pair of small hits, with The Gentrys’ take on Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” narrowly missing the top 40 in 1970.

Hart would soon find greener pastures in the world of professional wrestling, working with Lawler and Kaufman on an infamous angle which would see Kaufman wrestling women and insulting the Memphis audience much to the chagrin of Lawler, a storyline which would spill over to the mainstream as Kaufman slapped Lawler in front of a speechless David Letterman and an unsuspecting national television audience watching the Late Night With David Letterman program on NBC in 1982.

By 1985, Vince McMahon was further driving wrestling’s national presence via a concerted effort to crossover via association with musicians like Cyndi Lauper, a period dubbed the “rock ‘n’ wrestling connection.”

Front and center for the first Wrestlemania in March of 1985, Hart would manage the best of the best, acting as mouthpiece for champions like Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart while writing the entrance music for WWE Superstars including Shawn Michaels, Dusty Rhodes and Terry Funk.

Today, Hart, who’s set to perform on September 16 as part of Sun’s AmericanaFest Day Party, celebrates the once unlikely release of the aptly-titled It’s Been So Long (now available on vinyl, CD and for online streaming via Sun Records), a lost Gentrys album culled from the final Sun sessions which were recently discovered in the Sun Records vault (the first new Gentrys studio album in nearly six decades).

I spoke with Jimmy Hart, 82, about It’s Been So Long, touring with the Beach Boys, advice from Dick Clark, the trademark false ending on “Keep On Dancing,” working with Kaufman, creating music for WWE and much more. A transcript of our video call, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below.

Jim Ryan: As a music guy in Memphis, Tennessee, did you ever cross paths with Dolly Parton?

Jimmy Hart: Oh my god, you know what? We got to meet her years and years ago. I forget how many years ago it was. But she was younger and we were all younger too. But she was great!

You know, I managed Hulk Hogan and everything. We met her in Los Angeles on a shoot that Hulk was doing. But me being from Memphis, I said to her, “Yes, ma’am, I’m from Memphis and I was originally part of a group called The Gentrys…” And she goes, “Oh my god!”

So, she was great. That was just devastating.

Ryan: Well, these Gentrys sessions that now make up the It’s Been So Long album wound up being found kind of unexpectedly in the Sun vault, right?

Hart: So, here’s what happened. 1970 was the last album I cut on Sun – or cut on anything, really. That’s when I went into professional wrestling locally here in Memphis with Jerry “The King” Lawler. I was there for six years before I left and went back to New York and WWE with Hulk Hogan and all of the people I managed up there from the Honky Tonk Man to the Hart Foundation and so on.

But I was sitting at home about three or four months ago and I got a call from Chase Gregory, who’s one of the big guys up there at Sun Records in Tennessee. And he said, “You know, we’ve been thinking about maybe putting another Gentrys album out…” And I went, “Oh man, that’s awesome!” So, finally, it’s coming out.

It’s got some songs on there that have never been released before – songs that I’d really forgotten about. I remember after we did them we just put them in the can. I still own the name The Gentrys. So, I just left and kind of folded everything up and took my playground to professional wrestling.

But, finally, the day came. It’s finally coming out.

Ryan: What do you recall about working with Knox Phillips on these sessions?

Hart: Of course, Knox Phillips is the son of [Sun Records founder] Sam Phillips. And he was just like his dad. Sam was such a pioneer back in the day with Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins and so many other great stars. Howlin’ Wolf and all of the great blues artists back in the day. Knox was kind of a chip off the old block. Because he liked to make sure everything had sold and everything was filled. He made sure everything was just perfect before we released anything back in the day.

Ryan: For people familiar primarily with “Keep on Dancing,” or some of the earlier stuff, there is a bit of a different sound in these later Gentrys sessions. Were you trying to freshen up the Gentrys sound a bit for the Sun recordings?

Hart: After our original members, one by one, kind of left the band, I was the last man standing. So, I took an auotharp and I went over and I played the songs that we had for Sam Phillips. And he loved it.

When we were out at the Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles, our warmup group – or our semi-main event to put it in wrestling terms – was Buffalo Springfield. Which was Neil Young, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay and all of those guys. And then came the Neil Young song “Cinnamon Girl.” I wanted to cut it. So, Knox let us cut our version of it. It was really different from what Neil Young wrote. Of course, he had the publishing and writing so he made the money off of it. But we got to tour off of it. And, back then, that’s how a lot of your money was made was in touring.

“Cinnamon Girl” was our big one that kind of brought The Gentrys back to prominence again. So, we made sure that’s on It’s Been So Long. [Cat Stevens’] “Wild World” too.

But we’ve got several [previously unreleased original] songs on there too, which I hadn’t heard for so many years. Oh my gosh, some not since 1970. But they remastered them and everything and it sounds so good. I can’t believe how great it sounds. I’m really excited about it.

Ryan: Is “Sunshine” a Gentrys original?

Hart: Yes! That was original.

One of my favorites on the new album is “It’s Been So Long” by Harry Nilsson. It’s such a happy feeling. It’s kind of a girl song. “It’s been so long since I saw you. It’s been so long since I met ya. It’s been so long since I kissed ya.” So, that’s what we kind of went for on that.

It wasn’t that I was completely out of music. Because if you’ve ever watched WWE wrestling, a lot of the songs that we wrote up there – like “Sexy Boy” for Shawn Michaels – that has 37 million hits on Spotify! A lot of people say, “If Jimmy Hart’s lips are moving, he’s lying!” But check that out. We just checked it out yesterday. 37 million. And then we did the “Demolition” song and the Honky Tonk Man’s music and “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase’s and Dusty Rhodes’ and so on.

Ryan: “Keep on Dancing” was really fascinating to revisit. I know it’s to lengthen the song for radio airplay but where did the idea to kind of fade it out and start it again come from? Because it’s such a unique way of achieving that…

Hart: Chips Moman was our producer back then. He gives us credit for putting him back in the music business. After us, he produced all of the Box Tops hits. Sandy Posey’s “Born a Woman.” Elvis Presley’s “In the Ghetto” and B.J. Thomas’ “Hooked on a Feeling.” We really spent a lot of time on the B-side of that, “Make Up Your Mind.” But then, we had to have an A-side! Which turned out to be “Keep on Dancing” (which was really a B-side, if that makes any sense). But it was just so short that he’s the one who had the idea of stopping and starting it over.

It really worked well for us. Because when we played on the tour with everybody, everyone would be on the dance floor and all of the sudden they’d stop and start walking off – but then they’d come running back on again! So, it was a pretty good gimmick back in the day.

We were lucky. We toured with the Beach Boys and Dave Clark Five. Chicago. So many of those groups back then.

Ryan: Yeah, the Beach Boys is particularly intriguing. Brian Wilson was an interesting cat. What were your first impressions of him?

Hart: Such a great genius, wow.

We were kind of starstruck at first. We had just gotten out of high school and here are the Beach Boys, who we’d been listening to on the radio for years and years. We were kind of like, “We’re playing with the Beach Boys on tour, oh gosh! Let’s make sure we’re really careful. Let’s not step on their toes.” Which we didn’t.

But I remember we had a meeting with Dick Clark. Dick Clark had booked us on our first two week tour with the Beach Boys. Chuck Berry was on it and several other groups. But he had a meeting one day with everybody. And he said, “Look, when you’re on the stage, remember one thing: if you dress like the audience, one day you’re going to wind up sitting in the audience.” In other words, “Everybody, dress the best you can. Give the people their money’s worth. Be special. Be different.” And when I went to professional wrestling, I remembered that. That’s why I did all of the wild and crazy jackets.

As a matter of fact, the jacket I’m wearing now? Dig this. This is a remake of Elvis’s jacket. A company here in Memphis called Lansky Bros. has the rights to put all of that out. So, this is a remake of the jacket Elvis did “Hound Dog” in.

Ryan: Those Dick Clark barnstorming caravan package tours are fascinating. They just moved across the country so fast. Each set was fast, the changeovers were fast. The entire Gentrys rise was fast! Were you able to process any of that in the moment as it was happening or did that come later?

Hart: You know, we really didn’t. We were in high school going to class and the next thing you know, it was, “This weekend, y’all are gonna have to get out early Friday. Because we’ve got a plane for y’all. And we’re gonna take you to do American Bandstand.” “OK!” So, on the weekend we’d go, fly back Sunday and go back to school on Monday. The next weekend? Same thing.

I’ve got to tell you a quick story. One of the first trips we did to Los Angeles, California, they furnished the equipment out there. So, we had to go to a music store to pick all of that up in order to do Where the Action Is, which was another show that Dick Clark produced. I think Paul Revere and the Raiders were kind of the local band on that show. But we went over to get that stuff. And while we were in there, there was another group in there. They were walking around looking. They go, “Hey, you guys in a group?” I said, “Yeah! We’re The Gentrys. We’re playing the Whiskey A Go-Go out here for two weeks. Are you all a band?” And they go, “Yeah, we’re fixing to start filming a TV show.” I said, “What’s your name going to be?” And the guy goes, “Oh, we’re going to be The Monkees.” And we went, “Oh, that’s great!”

When I got outside the door, I turned to [Gentry’s singer and guitarist] Larry [Raspberry] and said, “Larry, that’s the worst name I’ve ever heard for a band in my life!” But look what they did! Little did I know. But that’s a true story.

Ryan: You mentioned the Dick Clark tours. You guys also did American Bandstand multiple times. Sometimes that’s a strange one for me to rewatch. Everyone is up there pantomiming and lip syncing as the kids dance. Was that a surreal experience for you in the moment?

Hart: Once again, it was something we had watched all of our lives growing up. “American Bandstand. Dick Clark. We finally made it! This is unbelievable!”

So, they filmed two shows a day. And the first day we walked in to do the shoot, sitting in the chair in there getting his makeup put on to go on before us, we all bumped into each other and went, “Oh my god, look who it is!” It was somebody else who was on the Sun label back then: it was Roy Orbison! So, we were so thrilled to see him and meet him. It was like, “Oh my god!” We just couldn’t believe it.

Ryan: I was kind of looking at your timeline this morning and it’s really interesting. You were 7 years old when “Rocket 88” was released as arguably the first rock and roll single in 1951. 12 years later you’re in a band of your own. That’s 1963. But The Beatles hadn’t even appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show yet. That was still a year away. What was that dawn of rock and roll like for you and what kind of an impact would it have on you as both an artist and a fan?

Hart: You know what? Everybody that we got to tour with, we were so fond of. I was a Beach Boys fan anyhow. I had all of their records and albums and everything. And I loved Chuck Berry back in the day. As a matter of fact, our band, when we were playing local sock hops out of school up here at the T. Walker Lewis YMCA and everything, a lot of the songs we did were the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry. And so a lot of the people that we got to tour with and be with were people whose songs we were already performing before we even got to meet them!

Ryan: When it comes to wrestling, I think even casual fans remember you from the Andy Kaufman period in Memphis. Working so closely with him, was there anything that surprised you about Andy?

Hart: So, he was on Taxi, right? And what happened is he really tried to get on with the WWF back then (which is the WWE now). And Vince McMahon Sr., Vince’s father, really didn’t want to use actors or comedians or anything in the wrestling business. So, we got the call down here from a guy named Bill Apter, who did all of the wrestling magazines back in the day. He called Jerry Lawler and said, “We’ve got an actor up here. And he’s been wrestling as the intergender champion. He’s been wrestling women everywhere. But he wants to be on TV. And he’d like to come down there and work for y’all…” We said, “Who is it?” And he said, “Andy Kaufman.” We were like, “Oh my gosh, send him down!”

So, we brought him down. And he stayed down with us off and on for a couple of years. Lawler got to do the Andy Kaufman thing on Late Night With David Letterman, which made worldwide news everywhere. Then, when we brought him in, I started managing him down here and we fought Lawler. Then I fought Andy. Because down here, it was a territory that went week after week, year after year. So, we kept him down here a few years off and on. He’d go film Taxi and come back. He’d stay at my house some and everything. He was just great. I loved him.

When he passed away, we learned that he had never cashed any of his royalty checks that he made down here performing on the wrestling show.

Ryan: You mentioned the entrance music you’ve written for a number of WWE Superstars. Especially back then, that music had to be instantly catchy and memorable. Because most of those entrances weren’t on the longer side like we see today. The Ultimate Warrior took about 10 seconds getting to the ring. What were you going for when you’d construct songs like that?

Hart: You have to have something right on the front. So that, right off the bat, the wrestling fans go, “Oh my god, that’s Shawn Michaels!” For Dusty Rhodes, I had a cowbell. As soon as they heard that cowbell, they’d go, “That’s ‘The American Dream’ Dusty Rhodes!” Or for the Road Warriors. We had Hawk going, “What a rush!” So, you’ve got to put something on the front that instantly – because it’s TV – that the fans are able to relate to. That they pop for – just a big explosion. And that’s what really happens there now.

WWE has been so good to me – and still is. I still work with them. Doing the promotion for them now at SummerSlam and WrestleMania, and doing little spots for them off and on, the company has been so wonderful. And letting me do the music back then too! Coming from the Gentrys, I had to kind of give up music to go into wrestling – but that’s what I wanted to do. And now? It’s like a double-edged sword! I’ve got music and wrestling going on. So, it’s awesome.

Ryan: Speaking of music and wrestling, you were there as Vince McMahon Jr. began pushing everything toward the Rock n’ Wrestling Connection. More than anyone else in WWE at the time, circa 1985, you were a music guy, a rock and roll guy. What was kind of your initial reaction as you saw the direction Vince was trying to push things?

Hart: I was lucky enough to be on the very first WrestleMania. So, when I went up there, I got to meet Cyndi Lauper and her manager Dave Wolff. And Dave Wolff came to me and said, “Jimmy, I know you were in a band called The Gentrys…” And I said, “Yes, sir…” And he said, “Well, we’re going to put a wrestling album out after WrestleMania. Have you got anything?” And I said, “Yeah. I’ve got a little parody song called ‘Eat Your Heart Out, Rick Springfield.’” So, he listened to the demo of it and loved it.

Of course, Rick Derringer was involved with Dave producing The Wrestling Album. And, back in the day, we toured with Rick Derringer and The McCoys! It was the McCoys, the Gentrys, the Lovin’ Spoonful and the Grass Roots. We toured together for a while.

So, it was like I never left the band! It just turned out to be awesome.