Posted on 03/09/2020 3:11:59 PM PDT by Maceman
Carol Kaye talks about her famous (bass)guitar licks for Sam Cooke (Summertime), Ritchie Valens (La Bamba), Beach Boys (Good Vibrations) en Quincy Jones & Bill Cosby (Hikky Burr). A documentary by Top 2000 a gogo
Carol Kaye is still around, and runs a bass blog-type site. I’ve chatted with her online over the last year or two, and she sent me a nice signed pictures.
She was prolific to say the least. I had never even heard her name until maybe 10 years ago and now when I hear some of these iconic riffs she always comes to mind.
Carol Kaye is an awesome lady! What talent. :)
Back in the 60s the average person like myself had no clue about the Wrecking Crew or Funk Brothers.
Reminds me of all the classic songs/mega HITS that Laura Nero never got much credit for writing. She died in 1997:
‘And When I Die’
“Eli’s Coming’
‘Stoned Soul Picnic’
‘Wedding Bell Blues’
To name a FEW.
Amazing woman, amazing career, brought the bottom to the Wrecking Crew playing on so many classics.
Any bass player who don’t know who Carol Kaye is isn’t a bass player!
She is one of the most prolific recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning over 50 years.
~wiki
Brian Wilson and the “Wrecking Crew” (though Carol hates that term) were an incredible combination. Their work together on “California Girls”/Pet Sounds/”Good Vibrations”/Smile stands up well against as any body of work in popular music before or since. Such a shame that Brian burned out after that explosion of creativity. But when this one-of-a-kind musical genius teamed up with the most capable studio musicians in L.A., it was truly a magical, unbeatable combination.
Bfl
Was she able to benefit financially from any of her better known work? Some fantastic musicians are very poor business planners.
The documentary about the Wrecking Crew was well done, IMO. Never heard of her until watching that. Impressive woman with an impressive talent.
Which is exactly how the record companies want it. The whole “star maker machinery behind the popular song” was built on maintaining the illusion. The unfortunate side-effect was that the real musicians behind the groups we saw went unappreciated for too long. Fortunately the documentaries have given them their long-overdue credit, sadly not all were still around to know it.
She’s said she was making more money than anyone else she knew. That’s why they worked so hard, it was good money and they were in high demand. At the time that’s what was important to the musicians, not credit.
“at the peak of her session activity she was making more money than the US President.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Kaye
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrecking_Crew_(2008_film)
Trailer for “The Wrecking Crew” https://youtu.be/hhl-3EOYTkc
Good for her. She knew she had a lucrative skill and the talent to be creative. May as well demand proper payment.
When they did not get a third lyric for “Wichita Lineman”— Glen Campbell asked to borrow Carol’s 6 String Danelectro Bass, and played the melody with it with vibrato....for the third verse, a legendary simple and beautiful low guitar “twangy” sound. It made the song, over AM playback radio-— this awesome sound. Carol Kaye— simply a genius musician.
Repeat of the 2nd chorus-— “And I need you, more than want you....and I want you for all time”-— iconic line for the era— the loneliness and emotional need for duration of life,expressed as “want”. “And the Witchita Lineman...is STILL on the line”.
The awesome bass line in Sonny & Cher’s hit “And The Beat Goes On”
was created by Carol Kaye.
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