Hey Friend,
Did you have a chance to watch Steve Krenz’s live training on Major Triads last Tuesday?
Part Two is tonight, same Bat time, same Bat channel!
Speaking of session guitarists, here’s something for you to ponder...
Riddle me this: What do these three songs have in common?
Okay, they all ended up on the pop charts (and did well there).
They’re all from unrelated artists.
Each has a different style and sound. Last Train to Clarksville is considered Rock. I Want You Back is an R&B tune, and Hello is recognized as Adult Contemporary.
Besides that, does anything else stand out?
What you probably don’t know is they were all largely fleshed out instrumentally and recorded by studio musicians (although Lionel Richie did play piano on Hello).
Of those musicians, there is one common player on all three songs.
Louie Shelton.
He’s played on thousands of songs, many of which you’d recognize instantly. Since the 1960s, he’s had a hand in writing and recording some of the most iconic riffs for some of the most recognized artists in the music industry.
And yet, I’d bet you’d never heard his name before today.
Unsung heroes
When you start looking at the role studio musicians have in the creative process...
... the ideas and inspirations, the writing of instrument parts, and the actual recording of tracks...
... it’ll probably surprise you to find out how often it’s NOT the artist playing those catchy, “ear candy” guitar parts we obsess over.
We hear them every day on our favorite songs, never thinking that we’re NOT hearing members of the band playing.
That always got me - a studio musician created and recorded a guitar part that the band’s guitar player now needs to learn how to play so he can perform it!
Most of the time, the artist/songwriter or producer has a rough “sketch” of a song when they show up at the recording studio - maybe even a clear idea in their mind of a sound they’re going for, but they haven’t been able to physically reproduce it.
This is when a producer brings in one (or more) of these “hired gun” musicians to quickly take those ideas and translate them into a working song.
Think of these guys and gals like painters that take a sketch and turn it into a work of art.
You’ve probably heard of some of these guys, but others have been happy enough to enjoy steady work and plenty of opportunities to leave their mark on the world.
There’s all sorts of material showing up on the interwebs every day, so if you want to find out more about any of them, just do a quick search online.
Top artists don’t usually have their own musicians - - they hire them.
That’s something most of us don't really think about, and most bands don’t talk about.
So there you have it.
Peace~
Dave
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