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Topic: Louis Shelton |
Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 16 Sep 2018 4:46 am |
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Louie is such a tasty, melodic player and has such an amazing resume in the music business. He played on, arranged and/or produced so many hits yet he's invisible to the public at large. Licks he played on records 50 years ago still resonate with listeners and musicians alike. He reminds me a bit of George Harrison because they had a similar knack for creating simple, yet beautiful catchy, earworm licks that helped make a record memorable.
I interviewed Louie for my Guitar Dreams book. Louie said that riff he played on the Monkees hit "Valerie" was created on the fly as a gag before the tape rolled; he was just playing around with pseudo-flamenco runs when the producer said "Great! Gotta put that on the record!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=607&v=zv9J6-6Fmfc
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Jeremy Reeves
From:
Chatham, IL, USA
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Posted 16 Sep 2018 5:02 am
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| thanks for posting - I'm a huge fan of Louis Shelton! he played on tons of stuff |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 16 Sep 2018 10:54 am
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Man! He was flat pickin'! (I thought that guitar work was finger-style, but no.)
So I hung around for the next video of Louie with the Larry Carlton Quartet, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEDX3PYXXZc
and by way of introduction Carlton read a partial list of records Louie played on, and the list went on and on, "... more hit records than any other session guitarist in history."
Now I believe it. They did some sweet guitar playing, trading bars, that LA sound where you're rolling down the boulevard in a convertible.... Thanks again, Andy. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 16 Sep 2018 11:43 am
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Wow, does that bring back memories! Larry's tune "Smiles and smiles to go." Circa 1987 .... one of the first tunes I ever tried to play with a band, scuffling to find a lick for every chord. I and the other guys could barely play it but over a 20 min jam, we finally got the groove. Great clip, Charlie. Two unique artists.
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 16 Sep 2018 1:34 pm
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And very simpatico. They must've been studio buddies for some time. Paints a picture where there's no competing.
But really: trading eight-bar solos is one thing; they're trading bars, knowing where the other guy is headed, finishing his sentence.
And funny how the greatest guys are humble and self-effacing. 'I'm out of my league here,' Louie says when he comes on stage. Now that's funny. |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 16 Sep 2018 6:25 pm
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I'm a huge fan of Louie also. He played the jazzy break on Lionel Richie's "Hello", which I think is the best instrumental break I've ever heard.
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Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, as well as some older MSAs, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Recently added a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored blue Rose, named the "Blue Bird" to the herd. Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic again that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also added a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 17 Sep 2018 5:18 am
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I still love it.
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Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, as well as some older MSAs, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Recently added a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored blue Rose, named the "Blue Bird" to the herd. Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic again that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also added a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks. |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 19 Sep 2018 11:19 am
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Might it be him who played on this song by the Association? I guess I'll never know.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-14v-1YcVq8
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Jerry Erickson
From:
Atlanta,IL 61723
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Posted 27 Sep 2018 9:24 pm
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IIRC,in a Guitar Player magazine interview with Larry, he credits Louie with being a big influence on his playing early in his studio career. I've probably seen the videos that have been posted above, but that won't stop me from watching and enjoying them again!
Last edited by Jerry Erickson on 28 Sep 2018 5:42 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 28 Sep 2018 4:40 am
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Thanks, Jerry. You other guys may have known who was playing on these hits, but I'm brand new on this. It really puts me in my place musically, and that's a good thing.
And Norman's blows me away. I get a huge kick out of listening to unsung heroes, and Louis is so smooth and so humble. This is Louie demonstrating finger-style versatility,
beginning with the Beverly Hillbillies theme. "Finger Lickin' Chicken Pickin", part of a Louis Shelton mix on Utube. Check him out on the Electro Harmonix Leslie pedal. |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 28 Sep 2018 5:21 am
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| I'm sorry (not) but forget all that other stuff, you gotta hear him play on Lowdown. Nuff said. |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 28 Sep 2018 5:26 am
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Wow, I love that Smooth Jazz sound.
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Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, as well as some older MSAs, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Recently added a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored blue Rose, named the "Blue Bird" to the herd. Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic again that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also added a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks. |
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Charlie McDonald
From:
out of the blue
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Posted 28 Sep 2018 6:11 am
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| I know it. It makes me think Shelton is the template for Larry Carlton and every guitar track from Steely Dan, but he'd just laugh. |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 28 Sep 2018 9:06 am
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And I always the G to F part in "Clarksville" was played on a harpsichord.
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Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 28 Sep 2018 11:11 am
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Just two young pickers from Arkansas ...
_________________
Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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Jack Stanton
From:
Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
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Posted 28 Sep 2018 3:23 pm
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| Loved Louie since his work with with Seals & Croft. Super smooth, fat sustainy sound. Only years later I learned of all the other stuff he did. Amazing player |
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Tony Glassman
From:
The Great Northwest
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Oct 2018 4:19 am
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What I found most interesting is that Louis said that almost none of the session guitarists back then could read music.  |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 25 Oct 2018 5:57 am
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I guess they just played from the heart, and had excellent memories. For the most part, the music was better back then than it is today.
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Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, as well as some older MSAs, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Recently added a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored blue Rose, named the "Blue Bird" to the herd. Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic again that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also added a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks. |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 25 Oct 2018 3:02 pm
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| Quote: |
| none of the session guitarists back then could read music. |
Maybe in his circles, where players like himself and Campbell could come up with amazing stuff without any need to read. But in the LA studio world of movie and TV scores reading was essential. Howard Roberts, Barney Kessel, Dennis Budimir, Tommy Tedesco, Bill Pitman, Bob Bain etc. were all strong readers.
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Steel Guitar Books! Website: www.volkmediabooks.com |
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