Stan Kesler

Stanley Augustus Kesler (August 11, 1928 – October 26, 2020) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter, whose career began at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. He co-wrote several of Elvis Presley's early recordings including "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget", and played guitar and bass on hit records by Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. As a producer, his successful records included "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.

Early life Kesler was born in Abbeville, Mississippi. He learned to play mandolin and guitar as a child, and steel guitar during his time in the United States Marine Corps.

Career After his discharge, he formed a band with his brothers, before joining Al Rodgers in his band, performing in and around Amarillo, Texas. Presley's recording of "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone", written by Kesler with William E. (Bill) Taylor, was released as a single by Sun Records and reached #5 on the country chart; his version of "I Forgot to Remember to Forget", written by Kesler with Charlie Feathers, reached #1 on the country chart in early 1956.

By 1955, Kesler had also become a regular session musician at Sun, playing with the house band on records by Carl Perkins and others before switching to bass, which he played on Jerry Lee Lewis' 1957 hit "Great Balls of Fire", and records by Roy Orbison. In the late 1950s, he founded his own record label, Crystal, later starting two more labels, Penn and XL. In the mid-1960s, he found success with XL, producing "Wooly Bully" and several subsequent hits by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. He also worked as a producer with blues musician Willie Cobbs, recording the original version of "You Don't Love Me".

Personal life He retired from the music industry in the early 1990s, and lived in Bartlett, Tennessee. He died on October 26, 2020, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from bone cancer.