William Cunningham (born January 23, 1950) is the original bass guitarist / keyboardist for the Box Tops. Cunningham was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He remained a member of the Box Tops until August 1969, when he decided to return to school to get a music degree in performance of the upright bass. In 1996, Cunningham played the principal role in reforming the original Box Tops. He played bass and shared responsibility for keyboard parts with John Evans on the Tear Off album. Cunningham has toured with the group since 1997.