Farris Coursey

Drummer, born May 28, 1911 in Mount Pleasant and died Jan. 13, 1968 in Mount Pleasant, Maury County, Tennessee, USA. Farris Coursey, one of Nashville's pioneer drummers worked as a session musician and WSM staff drummer for thirty years. He played on hundreds of recording sessions with various country and pop artists during those years. Mr. Coursey started his career working as a subsitute drummer in the Francis Craig orchestra and later he joined Owen Bradley's band, becoming his business manager. Coursey joined WSM radio as a staff drummer in 1937. He performed daily on the Bobby Lord Show, WSM's Waking Crew and the Noon Show. During a historic Castle Studio recording session on November 7, 1949 with Red Foley for the single, Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy, Producer Paul Cohen and arranger Owen Bradley were wondering how to recreate the sound of a rhythmic shoeshiner's rag when Mr. Coursey started slapping his thigh, creating a catchy solution. The song was a No. 1 single for Foley that year.