Roy Montrell
b. 27 February 1928, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Guitarist Montrell joined Roy Milton's Solid Senders upon his discharge from the US Army in 1951, but soon returned to New Orleans where he formed a trio called the Little Hawkettes, which worked various clubs along Bourbon Street. After touring with Lloyd Price he began to do session work in New Orleans for Ace and Specialty, recording with artist including Edgar Blanchard and Little Richard. He only had two releases under his own name: one on Specialty, in 1956—the black rock ‘n’ roll classic Ooh Wow That Mellow Saxophone—and another on Minit in 1960. Virtually the New Orleans session guitarist by 1960, Montrell played with both Allen Toussaint's band and Harold Battiste's AFO combo, and in 1962 he took over from Walter Nelson as Fats Domino's guitarist, becoming Domino's bandleader in the late '60s.