Session players whose solos/hooks made the record a hit?

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 6 Sep 2007 7:35 am

I'm thinking of writing an oral history piece for Fretboard Journal on session musicians whose solo or creative hook made a record famous. This will be 75% guitar but could include steel, mandolin, and banjo. Not great solos by famous artists, but more the anoymous session player whose contributions live on even if the public doesn't know their name. A few that come to mind:

- Bud Iaasacs - Slowly
- Amos Garett – Midnight at the Oasis
- Eric Weissberg – Dueling Banjos
- Elliott Randall – Reelin’ in the Years
- Carol Kaye – The Beat Goes On
- Buddy Emmons, Nightlife
- The Nashville acoustic guy who played the intro to Paul Simon's "The
Boxer" ... I'm blanking on the name.
- Who played mandolin on Rod Stewart's Maggie May?

Who else????

Bob Knetzger · Post by **Bob Knetzger** » 6 Sep 2007 8:04 am

Andy-

Cool idea for an article!

FJ is one of my fave reads as the articles are often more in depth and the photography and printing are top notch. There's also usually some great detail stuff about the player's individual instruments themselves--that might be a nice point of difference for your article idea. Why not choose hit songs with memorable hooks that have a unique instrument or effect, too?

Here's one idea: Vinnie Bell and the Electric Sitar, as used in "Hooked on A Feeling," "Cry LIke a Baby," etc.

Bob Knetzger · Post by **Bob Knetzger** » 6 Sep 2007 8:04 am

(sorry --double post)

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 6 Sep 2007 8:08 am

Ah ... Fred Carter, Jr.

Fred settled into the Nashville session scene in the early 1960s, becoming one of its most prominent players for the next two decades. His influence was not confined to Nashville however and he was a fixture in the folk music genre of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Fred can be heard on a multitude of Simon and Garfunkel classics - most notably "The Boxer" in which he played four guitars, including the memorable finger-picking intro and conclusion. He can also be heard playing bass on Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" as well as principal guitar with Joan Baez, Neil Young, The Band and others. Fred was instrumental in bringing these acts to Nashville to record, helping Nashville's music landscape expand beyond its traditional boundaries. This influence can be heard on songs such as "The Boxer" which includes harmonica legend Charlie McCoy who Fred brought in to be part of the record.

Steve Hinson · Post by **Steve Hinson** » 6 Sep 2007 8:37 am

Reggie Young played the electric sitar on"Hooked on a Feeling"and"Cry Like a Baby".

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 6 Sep 2007 9:35 am

The ever-amazing Google ... Ray Jackson played mandolin on Maggie May. In 2003, he sued Rod Stewart for royalties. A musician's cautionary tale if ever there was ....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2816253.stm

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 6 Sep 2007 9:51 am

Ok, well, who created the intro guitar hook for The Temptations', 'My Girl'. Has to be an all-time classic riff.

Michael Douchette · Post by **Michael Douchette** » 6 Sep 2007 10:09 am

FWIW, "Deuling Banjos" was an Arthur Smith that was, uh, "used" incorrectly. I believe a lawsuit settled it, in Arthur's favor.

If Pete, Lloyd, Buddy, Hal, Weldon, etc. came up with the lick on whatever record... it was the ID.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 6 Sep 2007 10:23 am

Robert White played the "My Girl" lick. Did he create it? Carol Kaye was famous for coming up with a song's hook in the studio. Was the Pretty woman riff Roy Orbisons?"

Anyway, I'm trying to come up with currently living players.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 6 Sep 2007 10:24 am

double

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Sep 2007 10:30 am

Steve Cropper

His signature guitar riffs are all over the biggest soul hits of the ’60s and 70’s… Sam & Dave's “Soul Man”, Otis Redding‘s “Dock of the Bay“ (which Steve co-wrote). Steve also recorded with Aretha Franklin, Booker T, Rod Stewart, Eddie Floyd, Jerry Lee Lewis, and others. Then there was the Blues Brothers movie... Yet most people don’t know who he is.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Sep 2007 10:32 am

Andy, the Pretty Woman riff was played by Grady Martin. ...he's another candidate for your article!

Other Grady Martin guitar hooks:

El Paso, Marty Robbins
Don't Worry About Me, Marty Robbins
On the Road Again, Willie Nelson
Honky Tonk Man, Johnny Horton
Coal Miner's Daughter, Loretta Lynn

My band opened for Willie Nelson at the Oakdale Theater in CT back in 1993, and Grady Martin was in Willie's band. Every time he stood up and played a solo the crowd applauded, so I guess They certainly knew who he was.

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 6 Sep 2007 10:40 am

Pete Drake on Dylan's "Lady, Lady Lay".

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 6 Sep 2007 11:16 am

Grady would have been at the top of my list, Doug, but he died a few years ago. Likewise Robert White. I'm looking for musicians whom I can still interview. Reggie Young's a good name. Thanks for your posts everyone. Any more names come to mind .... a musician whose hook or solo made the record memorable?

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 6 Sep 2007 11:26 am

The into riff to "Secret Agent Man" stands out to me as one of the more recognizable riffs, both as an intro riff and a hook throughout the tune.
Johnny Rivers played it on the session with a 335 thru a Gibson amp.
BTW, the riff is done on the 3rd & 1st strings, and not the 2nd & 1st strings.

Also, Pete Anderson's intro and solos on Dwight's "Guitars and Cadillacs" is pretty integral to the sound and success of that record.

Mark Vinbury · Post by **Mark Vinbury** » 6 Sep 2007 2:56 pm

Waddy Wachtel would be another one to think about.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 6 Sep 2007 3:56 pm

Doug Beaumier wrote:Andy, the Pretty Woman riff was played by Grady Martin. ...he's another candidate for your article!

I think that was Wayne Moss, he also did "Only Daddy That'll Walk The Line" with the same Fender Jazzmaster.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 6 Sep 2007 3:58 pm

If Grady Martin had called in sick on the day Roy Orbison recorded "Pretty Woman", and they had called Frank Zappa as a sub, would it have made any difference to the bottom line?

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Sep 2007 4:19 pm

Andy, the Pretty Woman riff was played by Grady Martin. ...he's another candidate for your article!

I think that was Wayne Moss...

Wayne Moss did record with Roy Orbison, but according to several web sites Grady Martin played the riff on Pretty Woman.

Gregg Galbraith · Post by **Gregg Galbraith** » 6 Sep 2007 5:19 pm

Doug,
I spoke with Wayne Moss a few months ago about this very subject, and he said that the lick was played in unison on the record, by him and a couple other players. I'm pretty sure he said that one of them was Fred Carter. He didn't mention the other, but I have no trouble believing that it could have been Grady. Wayne did emphasize, however, that he was the one who came up with the lick, and that the other guys did the unison parts in order to "fatten" it up. (This was before the days of harmonizers or a player doubling his own parts.) So I suppose there's a very good chance that everyone involved in this discussion is correct!

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 6 Sep 2007 5:31 pm

Hey guys,don't forget that great hook on Ray Charles "What I Say" and " Memphis" or "Johnny Be good ",hot licks. Leo J.Eiffert,Jr.

Dave Harmonson · Post by **Dave Harmonson** » 6 Sep 2007 5:31 pm

You've gotta include Tom Brumley: Together Again
James Burton: Gram Parsons' Ooh Las Vegas, Elvis' Suspicious Minds and all those Ricky Nelson hits.
Ralph Mooney: Rainy Day Woman, and Merle's Swinging Doors
Hal Rugg all over those Loretta Lynn tunes.

LJ Eiffert · Post by **LJ Eiffert** » 6 Sep 2007 5:32 pm

Hey guys,don't forget that great hook on Ray Charles "What I Say" and " Memphis" or "Johnny Be good ",hot licks. Leo J.Eiffert,Jr.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Sep 2007 5:33 pm

Thanks Gregg! I knew the riff had been doubled, but it's good to have the 'inside scoop' on it.

Edward Meisse · Post by **Edward Meisse** » 6 Sep 2007 7:23 pm

No one has mentioned Blue Bayou! I don't remember seeing Together Again or Stand By Your Man, either. If you want to go back farther, it seems to me that Don Helms deserved some credit for Hey Good Lookin', Your Cheatin' Heart, and some others. I know that it was his steel playing that made those rcordings for me.