Last Updated on May 7, 2025 by Christian Adams
If you’ve listened to popular music from the 1960s and 70s, you know bassist Carol Kaye; perhaps you just don’t know you know Carol Kaye.
This statement could also hold for the following names: Leon Russell, Larry Knechtel, Barney Kessel, Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, and hundreds of other musicians who worked the West Coast studio circuit from 1950 until the early 1990s, when technology made the studio musician system obsolete.
Now, you could argue, “Hey, I’m not a big fan of 60s music, and I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a Beach Boys song.”
Have you ever watched a movie from the 1960s? Or any 1970s and 80s television show? Most of us have been listening to West Coast studio musicians from the cradle because all the TV and film companies, like 20th Century Fox and Universal, are located in Hollywood.
You Know Carol Kaye From…
One of the quintessential studio musicians of the era, Carol Kaye’s bass (and guitar) credits are far too numerous (visit her website for an exhaustive list), but she played bass on the theme songs to:
Carol Kaye is probably best known for her work with the Beach Boys, particularly on Pet Sounds, but she’s all over their stuff from “Surfin’ U.S.A.” up until 1969, when she decided to stop doing rock/pop sessions, a decision based on her background as a jazz musician.
Meanwhile, in addition to being the number one bass player on the West Coast studio scene, Carol was also in high demand as a guitar player. That’s her on “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by The Righteous Brothers, and that’s her on “La Bamba” by Richie Valens.
A Selection of Tracks Featuring Carol Kaye
The following is a condensed list of the biggest hits featuring Carol on bass, and only the big ones:
- Good Vibrations, Help Me Rhonda, Sloop John B, I Get Around, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, California. Girls, God Only Knows, Pet Sounds, Heroes & Villains, Caroline No, Surf’s Up, the whole Smile LP, Cabinessence – Beach Boys
- These Boots Are Made For Walking – Nancy Sinatra
- Feelin’ Alright – Joe Cocker
- The Way We Were – Barbra Streisand
- Love Story, Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You – Andy Williams
- I Don’t Need No Doctor – Ray Charles
- Romeo & Juliet Theme (A Time For Love), Godfather Theme – Henry Mancini
- Rhythm Of The Rain – Cascades
- I Was Made To Love Her – Stevie Wonder
- Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley
- Candy Man, Mr. Bojangles – Sammy Davis Jr.
- Wichita Lineman – Glen Campbell
- Someday We’ll Be Together Again – Diana Ross
- Ain’t Nothin’ But The Real Thing – Marvin Gaye & Tami Terrell
- Don’t Pull Your Love Out On Me, Baby – Hamilton, Joe Franks & Reynolds
- Memories – Johnny Mathis
- Tiny Bubbles – Don Ho
- Batman Theme – Marketts
- I’m A Believer, Last Train To Clarksville & others – The Monkees
- Homeward Bound, I Am A Rock, Scarborough Fair – Simon & Garfunkel
- River Deep, Mountain High – Tina Turner
- It’s A Small World – Mike Curb & Congregation
- Light My Fire – The Doors
- Love Child, Baby Love, Stop In The Name Of Love, Back In My Arms Again, You Can’t Hurry Love,
- My World Is Empty Without You – The Supremes
- I Can’t Help Myself – The Four Tops
- Get Ready, I Second That Emotion – The Temptations
- Da Doo Ron Ron – The Crystals
- Midnight Confessions – Grass Roots
- You Made Me So Very Happy – Brenda Holloway
- Sixteen Tons – Tennessee Ernie Ford
- Alone Again Or, Daily Planet – Love
- Winter Wonderland – Darlene Love
- The Summer Wind – Wayne Newton
The Pet Sounds Connection
I’d been thinking a lot about Carol for a couple of reasons. My family listens to Pet Sounds at home, and the bass is transcendent.
I’ve always been a big fan of liner notes. When Capitol released the 40th Anniversary Edition, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the CD, as it contained extensive liner notes and a track-by-track analysis of Who Played What?
Brian Wilson’s production techniques rarely used just one of anything. A track like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”, in addition to the five Beach Boys’ vocals, features 16 session musicians.
- Jerry Cole – guitar
- Bill Pitman – guitar
- Larry Knechtel – piano
- Al de Lory – piano
- Barney Kessel – 12-string mandolin
- Ray Pohlman – 6-string bass guitar
- Carl Fortina – accordion
- Frank Marocco – accordion
- Roy Caton – trumpet
- Steve Douglas – saxophone
- Plas Johnson – saxophone
- Jay Migliori – saxophone
- Carol Kaye – bass guitar
- Lyle Ritz – double bass
- Hal Blaine – drums
- Frank Capp – percussion
Cycling through the tracks, a pattern emerged:
Carol Kaye – bass guitar
Lyle Ritz – upright bass
Carol & The Wrecking Crew
Carol is frequently associated with “The Wrecking Crew”—coined by Hal Blaine for the main group of West Coast studio musicians who often worked together on random dates, doing so in many cases anonymously.
Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew: The Story of the World’s Most Recorded Musician, co-written by Blaine with David Goggin, (1990), recounts Blaine’s experiences as a professional drummer, playing with/for such greats as Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, and a host of other well-known artists, beginning in the late 1950s.
Certainly, Hal Blaine is one of the most prolific drummers in recording music history and the mortal enemy of drum machines everywhere—so I love this fucking guy. He has played on 50 number-one hits, over 150 top 10 hits, and has recorded, and is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In his book, Blaine goes OFF on the erosion of organic music via the rise of technology, and while he’s right, fellow Wrecking Crew drummer Jim Keltner once said of digital music, “You could see it coming—it shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone.”
Fall Out From the Documentary
An eponymous documentary premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival. According to the Wikipedia entry, The Wrecking Crew featured interviews include Al Casey (guitar), Bill Pitman (guitar, bass), Bones Howe, Brian Wilson, Cher, Dick Clark, Don Randi (piano), Earl Palmer (drums), Gary Lewis, Glen Campbell (guitar), Hal Blaine (drums), Herb Alpert, Jimmy Webb, Joe Osborn (bass), Julius Wechter (percussion), Lou Adler, Lew McCreary (trombone), Micky Dolenz, Nancy Sinatra, Plas Johnson (sax), Roger McGuinn, Tommy “Snuff” Garrett, and Tommy Tedesco (guitar).
Now, what name don’t you see there? Carol Kaye. You’re telling me they made a movie about the so-called Wrecking Crew and she’s not in it? Can’t be true. Because it’s not. Carol Kaye is in the film. In fact, she’s all over the film. So why is she completely scrubbed from the film’s official website?
The answer, which is now common knowledge among Carol Kaye fans, is that since the movie premiered, Carol has essentially denounced her involvement in the film as well as refuted the term The Wrecking Crew.
The Carol Kaye Interview That Didn’t Happen
I reached out to Carol via her website (or it might have been Facebook) in March 2013. She originally agreed to a Skype interview, but cancelled at the last minute. Apparently, she made a cursory review of the website and decided I was a “rock guy” and didn’t have time for me. Carol was only interested in jazz—playing and teaching online bass lessons.
In the meantime, we corresponded via email for a week or two. It was mostly one-sided, and I had the transcripts posted here for many years. You can probably find them on the Internet Archive if you’re interested. Overall, it was an honor to communicate with one of the all-time greatest studio musicians.
1 Comment
Raj, yes. Probably. I was 10 years old, so the whole band looked like Epstein to me – except Mike Shrieve. But big props to the Escovedos. Shiela E. is a top 10 drummer in my book. Her work on Prince’s Lovesexy is jaw-dropping (see: “Dance On”).