Larry Knechtel

Born

1940-08-04

Died

2009-08-20

Birthplace

Bell, California, USA

Biography

Larry was born August 4th, 1940 in Bell, California. Larry took piano lessons in his pre-teen years. Naturally gifted with perfect pitch, Larry moved beyond sheet music and started playing by ear. An interest in radio and electronics prompted him to build his own crystal radio, which introduced him to the blues and early rock-n-roll which was being aired by local R&B stations. Excited by what he heard, Larry purchased 45's of black R&B artists and studied them intently. He also joined an inner-city youth band which included players from several local schools in the central Los Angeles area. This proved to be a fertile experience which introduced him to other good players, some of whom later became noted session musicians, among them saxophonist Jim Horn and guitarist Mike Deasey. Caught up in the soulful feel of R & B and Rock & Roll, Larry and his friends were jamming, performing, and recording -- Larry recorded his first original single at age 16, an instrumental titled 'Pigeon-Toed', which became a local hit and paid some modest royalties. Larry became a member of Kip Tyler and the Flips, and frequently played on 'demo' sessions for other local artists, which were actually recordings produced for local airplay. Upon completing high school, Larry enrolled in a local college to study electronic engineering, but his heart wasn't in it. When Duane Eddy offered him a job touring with The Rebels in 1959, he quit school and hit the road. After touring the US, Europe, and Australia, Larry spent time in Arizona as did other members of the band. When they weren't playing local gigs, they worked as extras in cowboy western movies which were being filmed locally, the most notable of these is Thunder of Drums, which features Duane Eddy and members of The Rebels in several scenes. During this time, Larry borrowed an electric bass guitar from Duane and soon was playing gigs on this instrument. Duane subsequently cut the band lineup from 5 players to 4 and Larry became the bassist. Unlike some artists, Duane used his road musicians on the albums he recorded. Following further tours with The Rebels, Larry returned to L.A. to start a family and broaden his horizons. Initially, he worked in club bands in which Larry was often the only white member of the otherwise all-black lineup. Then he got a break which launched him into the Hollywood recording scene. Saxophonist and former band-mate Steve Douglas was the musical contractor for Phil Spector, and called Larry to play on the 'Ronnettes' Christmas album. Larry then served as a keyboardist on many of Spector's 'wall of sound' sessions, and soon was working with other producers as Hollywood's pop recording industry began to bloom. In 1964, Larry was recruited as the bassist in the house band for the TV music show Shindig!. For a time, he was doing more sessions playing bass than he was playing keyboards. He also became known as a harmonica player. Some sessions saw him playing all three instruments. As the L.A. pop music industry matured, Larry was a first-call session player alongside other first-call musicians, among them his high-school friends Jim Horn and Mike Deasey, guitarist Glen Campbell, pianist Leon Russell, drummer Hal Blaine, bassists Joe Osbourne and Carol Kaye, and other members of what was later dubbed The Wrecking Crew.