The following Memphis musicians were all part of bands with Sowell from the 1960s to the 1990s: Barry Sowell (Amazing Rhythm Aces), Bobby Whitlock (Eric Clapton, George Harrison), Bill Humble (Elvis Presley, Tom Jones), Danny Fitzgerald (Johnny Rodriguez), David Miller (Bill Black, U2), Eddie Slusser (Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Williams Jr.), Fred Prouty (Charlie Rich), Glenn Childress (Lonestar), Jack Holder (Black Oak Arkansas), Jim Gammell (Eddie Bond), Robert Johnson (The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top), Ronnie Scaife (Neil Diamond), and Roy Yeager (Crackerjacks, Lobo, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Ronnie Milsap).

Sowell was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and was named after a famous Southern Baptist preacher, Dr. Robert G. Lee.

But what really got his attention were the piano players of that day, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Roger Williams and Floyd Cramer.

About the time Sowell was 12 years old, honkytonk and rockabilly music were thriving in Memphis, and he started playing in bars and nightclubs with much older musicians.

Around the age of 16 the British Invasion meant Sowell had to adapt to a new kind of music, in which the organ was a more prominent instrument than the piano.

In 1966 he won the Mid-South Fair and was scheduled to appear on Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour on CBS Television, but before he could go there, he was drafted and served in the Vietnam War, and his music career was put on hold, although he played while in the military, NCO and Officers Clubs, winning talent shows.