Joe Osborn

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Joe Osborn (2012)

Joe Osborn (born August 28, 1937 in Mound , Madison Parish , Louisiana , † December 14, 2018 ) was one of the most important American studio musicians in the 1960s and 1970s when he played bass guitar in recording studios in Hollywood and Nashville .

Career

Osborn learned the guitar in 1949 from his uncle, who taught him some chords on the melody guitar; his role model was Chet Atkins . His first guitar was an acoustic Silvertone for $ 15, then a Gibson ES-176 and a Fender Telecaster . Osborn worked in 1956 as a salesman at the department store chain Sears Roebuck , where he later met Dale Hawkins . This invited him in June 1958 to recordings (La-Do-Da-Da) and hired him for tours. Osborn accompanied Hawkins studios until 1997. It is often claimed that Osborn also the biggest hit and Evergreen Suzie Q participated by Dale Hawkins and even the intro - reef he came from. Hawkins' biggest hit, however, was recorded on February 14, 1957, long before the two first met. Incidentally, the recording session registered James "Sonny" Trammell as bass guitarist in the recordings of the session, James Burton was responsible for the famous guitar riff.

Bob Luman hired Osborn for his band in March 1958. Osborn performed with Luman at the Showboat Hotel ( Las Vegas ) for one year from 1959. During recordings for Bob Luman from June 4, 1959, he played electric bass ( Fender Precision Bass ), as Roy Buchanan was preferred as a guitarist. Between 1960 and 1964 Osborn played in the backing band of Ricky Nelson . Osborn first appeared as Nelson's studio musician in Hollywood on October 26, 1960, after buying a Fender Jazz Bass in September 1960 , the strings of which he did not change until 1962. He appears for Nelson in a total of 49 studio sessions. Among them was the later million seller Travelin 'Man proposed by Osborn , recorded on March 13, 1961. The song contained a striking and continuous bass line for the first time. On March 6, 1961, Osborn first took on Bill Putnam's United Recording for Nelson and remained Nelson's studio musician until March 18, 1968. From February 3, 1962, he played rockabilly with the Burnette brothers . From June 16, 1962 he appeared in some sessions with Glen Campbell (interpreter), who later belonged to The Wrecking Crew himself .

After the opening of the discotheque Whiskey a Go Go in Los Angeles (January 11, 1964), Osborn accompanied Johnny Rivers ; the live recordings were made between April and July 1964 and were published on the LP At the Whiskey à Go Go , published in July 1964 . The second live LP Here we à Go Go Again (1964) with Osborn contained cover versions of classic rock and roll standards. From November 19, 1965 he played in a few sessions for the Everly Brothers .

The wrecking crew

Osborn met with colleagues from The Wrecking Crew ( Billy Strange , Plas Johnson , Earl Palmer ) to record Pat Boone on June 13, 1961. After Osborn left Ricky Nelson’s band in September 1964 and after performing live with Johnny Rivers, Joe Osborn wanted to become a studio musician. Between 1964 and 1974 bass guitarist Osborn was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a loose community of studio musicians in Los Angeles who were used to provide musical accompaniment or reinforcement for performers during studio recordings. Obviously Osborn never played for Phil Spector , who used members of The Wrecking Crew for his Wall of Sound productions.

Along with Leon Russell (keyboards) and Hal Blaine (drums), Osborn played bass on This Diamond Ring (recorded November 19, 1964; and the LP) for Gary Lewis & the Playboys , although the group itself consisted of musicians. With this, producer Snuff Garrett wanted to increase the chances of winning, which he succeeded. The title became the number one hit and million seller, also for Osborn the first success as a member of the Wrecking Crew.

Barry McGuire's protest song Eve of Destruction (recorded July 15, 1965) was composed with Joe Osborn's bass runs. Together with composer PF Sloan (vocals / guitar), Larry Knechtel (keyboards) and Bones Howe (drums), Osborn played bass guitar on the demo recording Where Were You When I Needed You under the pseudonym Grass Roots , which was broadcast to various radio stations in the May 1966 San Francisco area . Another band was selected, took the name and sang to the finished music track (released June 1966). At the beginning of May 1967 he was bassist with Western Recorders for Scott McKenzie's Flower Power World Hit San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) . The soft rock group Association relied on his musical support for two LPs (LP Insight Out , March 27 to June 3, 1967 and LP Birthday , September 12, 1967 to February 23, 1968), which became number one -Hit Windy (May 1967) released. Osborn also worked on the LPs of The Fifth Dimension Up, Up And Away (April 1966 to March 11, 1967), The Magic Garden (July 15 to November 1967) and Stoned Soul Picnic (March 11 to June 19, 1968 ), The Dillards LP Wheatstraw Suite (August 1968), the Richard Harris LP A Tramp Shining (December 1967 to January 1968) or the LP The Papas & The Mamas for Mamas & Papas (May 1968). The Monkees also used him (LP The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees , released on April 22, 1968, as well as on the tracks PO Box 9847 and the single hit Valleri , recorded on December 26 and 28, 1967 by United Recorder). On Richard Harris's epic hit MacArthur Park , Joe Osborn played an 8-string bass for the only time (recorded between December 21, 29, and 30, 1967 and January 6, 1968 on Sound Recorders). A recording that was just as difficult from a production point of view was Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In , on whose music track it can be heard (recorded in October 1968 by Wally Heider). He was also involved in another number one hit, Wedding Bell Blues (September 1969). Tommy Roe's LP Dizzy (February 1969) with the single hit of the same name also contains Osborn's bass runs.

Carpenters

Joe Osborn is considered to be the discoverer of the singing duo Carpenters . In April 1966, Osborn met the still young Carpenter siblings, with whom he produced recordings in his home studio. Here Karen Carpenter's first single Looking For Love was recorded on May 13, 1966 on Osborn's 4-track recorder in his converted garage; the single only sold 500 copies. They also accompany brother Richard Carpenter (keyboards) and Wes Jacobs (bass) on 3 other tracks with Karen Carpenter (drums / vocals). Karen signed the record deal here on May 9, 1966. The singles were released on Osborn's own short-lived record label Magic Lamp (# 704). His label only existed for 3 years, at the end of 1967 the label ended its activities. Osborn brokered the still unknown Carpenters to Herb Alpert's A&M record label, where they signed a record deal on April 22, 1969. In the A&M studios they recorded the LP Offering with Osborn (bass guitar) on April 29, 1969 (later renamed Ticket To Ride ), which was released on October 9, 1969, and only swallowed up relatively high production costs of $ 47,000 18,000 units sold. Only the renaming brought a total turnover of 250,000 units. The breakthrough came with the LP Close to You , released on August 19, 1970 (again with Osborn; recorded between March 24, 1970 and July 28, 1970). After its release on May 15, 1970, the single of the same name, which was extracted from this, reached the first position of the hit parade within 6 weeks, which it held for four weeks. Osborn also accompanied her on the following LPs Carpenters (released May 14, 1971), A Song For You (June 22, 1972), Now & Then (May 1, 1973), Horizon (June 6, 1975), A Kind of Hush (June 11, 1976), Passage (September 23, 1977), Christmas Portrait (October 3, 1978), Made in America (June 16, 1981), and Voice of the Heart (October 18, 1983).

Simon & Garfunkel

Simon & Garfunkel enlisted Osborn's help for their fifth and final studio album Bridge over Troubled Water , which was released as the single Bridge over Troubled Water (August 14, 1969 backing track ), Cecilia and El cóndor pasa (November 2 1969) included. The Boxer alone required a recording time of over 100 hours (from November 8, 1969), whereby in addition to the Columbia Studios in Nashville (basics and backing track) and New York (violin parts), the acoustics of St. Paul's Chapel in Manhattan (for the end phase of the song) was used. For this purpose, Columbia record boss Clive Davis approved the purchase of a 16-track tape machine. Simon & Garfunkel's producer Roy Hallee said of Osborn: “You don't have to stop the tape because of a mistake, because there isn't one.” During the recording sessions, Simon & Garfunkel went on a US tour with 10 concerts (October 31 to November 29, 1969 ). To improve their sound, members of The Wrecking Crew (Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborn, Fred Carter Jr. and Hal Blaine) supported them musically on stage. Osborn's work is particularly evident in the album title The Only Living Boy in New York City , as producer Roy Halee qualified the 8-string bass here as the outstanding musical element of the song.

Osborn appeared on the Kenny Rogers & The First Editions hit Something's Burnin ' (released October 1969). Even Helen Reddy's feminist -Song I Am a Woman (June 1972) contains Osborn's contribution. His bass runs in Albert Hammond's singles It Never Rains in Southern California (October 1972) and Free Electric Band (April 1973) are unmistakable. Neil Diamond also used Joe Osborn's services for his hits, for example Osborn contributed the haunting bass lines in Holly Holy (October 1969) as well as in Cracklin 'Rosie (August 1970) or Longfellow Serenade (October 1974). Shortly after the session for that song, Joe Osborn left Los Angeles after 10 years with The Wrecking Crew and moved to Nashville with his family. In Los Angeles, more than 20 recording sessions a week had taken a toll on him.

Nashville

Osborn spent the longest time between October 1974 and 1988 as a session musician in Nashville, partly as an independent member of the Nashville A-Team . His intention to work less when moving to Nashville did not materialize, however. He flew from Nashville to Los Angeles for a variety of shots of the Carpenters.

In Nashville, he is sometimes counted on the Nashville A-Team, again a loose grouping of session musicians who provided the background music for country music recordings. However, the A-team had been playing in a more or less strict composition since 1956, which in 1974 was already in the process of dissolution due to age. The Nashville Musician doesn't count Osborn on the A-Team, but on The Wrecking Crew. Osborn's first assignment was seen to be Neil Young's LP Comes a Time , which took almost two years to produce. It was created between November 28, 1975 and November 21, 1977 in 6 recording studios, including the Nashville Sound Shop (published October 2, 1978). Osborn played bass on Eddie Rabbitt's debut LP (LP Eddie Rabbitt , January 1976), the Oak Ridge Boys (LP Y'all Come Back Saloon , May 1977), Kenny Rogers' LPs Daytime Friends (July 1977) and Love Or Something Like It (July 1978), several LPs for Roy Head (from September 1977), Tompall Glaser (LP The Wonder of it All , October 1977), Bobby Bare (LP Big Dupree , January 1978; single When I Get Home , 28 January 1985), Donna Fargo (LP Dark-Eyed Lady , October 1978), Ronnie Milsap (LP Images , January 1979), Mel Tillis (LPs Are You Sincere? 1979; Me And Pepper , October 1979), Hank Williams Jr. (LPs Family Tradition , June 1979; Whiskey Bent And Hellbound , November 1979; Habits Old And New , June 1980; Rowdy , January 1981; The Pressure is on , August 1981). Osborn has also been hired by Mickey Gilley (from February 1980), Terry Bradshaw (LP Until You , March 1980), Tanya Tucker (LP Dreamlovers , May 1980), Art Garfunkel (LP Scissors Cut , October 1980 to May 1981), Cristy Lane (from March 11, 1982), Billy Joel (LP Cold Spring Harbor , first published July 1971, new recordings July – September 1983), Reba McEntire (LP My Kind of Country , July 1984). Since October 15, 1985 he played in the background for Russell Smith. Osborn worked on Mo Bandy (LP Keepin 'it Country , January 1986), Paul Overstreet (LP SKO , April 1986), Dana McVicker's LP of the same name (1988) and Art Garfunkel (LP Lefty , March 1988). In 1989, Osborn ended his career as a session musician at the age of 52.

Statistics and reception

Joe Osborn was the bass player in around 200 top 40 pop hits and over 400 top 40 country hits. He can be heard on 20 number one hits (pop) and 53 top 1 country hits. He was portrayed as a studio musician with a number of his work colleagues in the documentary The Wrecking Crew , which hit theaters in 2008. Osborn was the founder of the short-lived record label Magic Lamp Records in 1964, which released a single from Osborn friend Johnny Burnette's on August 29, 1964 ( Less Than A Heartbeat / Bigger Man ) and was liquidated in 1967. He also recorded Dale Hawkins in his garage studio in 1969 . Son Darren Osborn (* 1969 in Hollywood) plays drums. He has been running Louisiana Recording Studios since 1987 . In 1997 he accompanied the old rocker Dale Hawkins with his father. Joe Osborn had not retired entirely from the music business, because until 1997 he accompanied Dale Hawkins on studio recordings. With his Fender Jazz Bass, Osborn appeared on the Matthew Davidson EP Step Up (released September 2012). Osborn spent a large part of his life in recording studios.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tracey EW Laird, Louisiana Hayride: Radio And Roots Music Along The Red River , 2005, p. 134.
  2. ↑ Kip Lornell / Tracey El W. Laird, Shreveport Sounds in Black & White , 2008, p. 300 f., Footnote 76.
  3. ↑ a b Kip Lornell / Tracey El W. Laird, Shreveport Sounds in Black & White , 2008, p. 126f.
  4. ↑ CD Johnny Rivers - Totally Live at the Whiskey à Go Go , released May 25, 1995
  5. ^ Mickey Jones, That Would Be Me , 2007, p. 105.
  6. ↑ Randy L. Schmidt, Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters Reader , 2012, p. 31.
  7. ↑ Peter Wicke, Rock Music: Culture, Aesthetics And Sociology , 1990, p. 6.
  8. ↑ Rockers With Low Profiles and Perfect Timing , The New York Times, February 19, 2012.
  9. ↑ Simon & Garfunkel tour on WordPress
  10. ↑ David Browne, Fire and Rain , 2011, pp. 29 ff.
  11. ↑ The Nashville Musician  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Number 1, Jan-March 2008, p. 1 (PDF; 3.5 MB) @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / nashvillemusicians.org  
  12. ↑ Kip Lornell / Tracey El W. Laird, Shreveport Sounds in Black & White , 2008, p. 262.
  13. ^ Tom Aswell, Louisiana Rocks: The True Genesis of Rock and Roll , 2009, p. 360.
  14. ^ Mickey Jones, That Would Be Me , 2007, p. 106.
personal data
SURNAME Osborn, Joe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician
DATE OF BIRTH August 28, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Mound , Louisiana
DATE OF DEATH December 14, 2018