“There are plenty of correlations between James Jamerson and Tommy Cogbill,” said Nashville session bassist Michael Rhodes, who was interviewed for the February 2006 issue of Bass Player. “Like James, Tommy was a take-charge guy in the studio; he would stand up and count off the songs, and basically run the session. He had such a strong presence in the music he played that there was a sort of natural deference by the rest of the band. There’s probably no better example of that than Son of a Preacher Man.”
The 1969 Top Ten hit came from British pop/soul singer Dusty Springfield’s album Dusty in Memphis. It’s considered her masterpiece, although it was her last major hit. Rhodes, who sadly died back in March 2023, had gathered some background info on the late-1968 date at American Sound.
