A new friend on my facebook page became a fan of a group entitled "Put Carol Kaye In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame." Not knowing the name off hand, I went to the page, and COMPLETELY FORGOT... I had seen her in a documentary on Brian Wilson two years prior discussing her work during the Smile period, and detailing work on "Good Vibrations"... where shortly after, I filed her name away in my brain and completely forgot about her.If you were to do a biased search on the history of rock & roll via her recording cannon as a session player, you will see her rhythms have graced some of the most sacred of recorded music from the fifties through the early seventies.
She started performing as a bop jazz guitarist doing the club circuit in Los Angeles in the '40's. In 1957, knowing her locally as a professional, she sat in playing guitar as a session player for some Sam Cooke sides, and the rest was history. First rock music, strictly as a guitar player, and then in '63 as a fluke, she picked up a fender bass to fill in for an absent musician. The bass became an equally signature sound, creeping in the background of some of the most surprising sessions of the psychedelic era. She also sat in recording television themes, commercial jingles, film scores; working with geniuses such as Jerry Goldsmith, Quincy Jones, Michel Legrand, Elmer Bernstein, Lalo Schifrin, David Rose, Phil Spector, Hugo Montenegro and David Axelrod just to name a few. For over a decade she maintained a seven-day workweek/on call 24 hour schedule.
Aside from her instrumental contemporaries, she also appears on the pop hits of such vocalists as Brian Wilson, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Lou Rawls, Nancy Sinatra and Dean Martin to name a few more. Not to mention writing the first music instructional lesson guide on how to play electric Bass, and teaching several notable musicians such as Simpson composer Alf Clausen.So... now that we got that out of the way, I have a special treat! I've compiled a double-disc set's worth of her most popular recording sessions, giving a versatile look at her career! I put it together yesterday, but the internet was acting up, so I am posting it a day late... Here ya go, 46 slices of pure music euphoria....
Note:even though the track lists 48 tracks, there are only 46, I miss-counted
Here's the track list... just incase you don't want to blindly download something without knowing what exactly is on it.
Disc One
01. Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys02. Then He Kissed Me - The Crystals
03. La Bamba - Ritchie Valens
04. River Deep Mountain High - Ike & Tina Turner
05. Help Me, Rhonda - The Beach Boys
06. Ironside Theme - Quincy Jones
07. Hungry Freaks Daddy - Frank Zappa
08. Andmoreagain - Love
09. Sloop John B - The Beach Boys
10. Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkle
11. Witchita Lineman - Glen Campbell
12. I Think He's Hiding -Randy Newman
13. California Girls - The Beach Boys
14. Going Out Of My Head & Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - The Lettermen
15. Little Honda - The Hondells
16. I'm A Believer - The Monkees
17. Heroes And Villains - The Beach Boys
18. Indian Reservation - Paul Revere & The Raiders
19. I Don't Need No Doctor - Ray Charles
20. It Must Be Him - Vikki Carr
21. Little Green Apples - O.C. Smith
22. Midnight Confessions - The Grass Roots
23. America The Beautiful - Ray Charles
Disc Two
01. Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell02. Scarborough Fair & Canticle - Simon & Garfunkle
03. Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford
04. Something Stupid - Nancy & Frank Sinatra
05. This Diamond Ring - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
06. The Twelfth Of Never - Johnny Mathis
07. The Way We Were - Barbara Streisand
08. These Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra
09. You're My Soul And Inspiration - The Righteous Brothers
10. Suspicious Mind - Elvis Presley
11. Song Of Innocence - David Axelrod
12. Holy Are You - The Elecric Prunes
13. You've Lost That Loving Feeling - The Righteous Brothers
14. Your Good Thing - Lou Rawls
15. The Duke Of Prunes - Frank Zappa
16. Danke Schoen - Wayne Newton
17. Johnny Angel - Shelley Fabares
18. Let's Dance - Chris Montez
19. Little Old Lady From Pasadena - Jan & Dean
20. Needles And Pins - Jackie DeShannon
21. The Birds And The Bees - Jewel Akens
22. The Daily Planet - Love
23. Surf City - Jan & Dean
Learned about Carol while reading about Freak Out. Amazing that one person is on so much memorable music.
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