# Most Respected Session Musicians? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 30, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619 "2017-09-30T00:18:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/41 "2017-10-04T20:11:20Z")
Another big '70s session drummer -[Russ Kunkel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ_Kunkel) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/42 "2017-10-04T21:05:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And Steve Gadd’s clone. > > (very obscure reference) Believe it or not, that’s where I first heard the name… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/43 "2017-10-04T21:27:20Z")
[Mike Garson](http://www.mikegarson.com/) is best known for his work with Bowie - especially the amazing piano work on Aladdin Sane, both the song and the album - but has worked for Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Seal, No Doubt, and many others, as well as put out many solo albums. ---
**Author:** ![SingleMalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/singlemalt/32/3961_2.png) [@SingleMalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SingleMalt)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/44 "2017-10-04T21:38:07Z")
[Larry Carlton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Carlton). Though he’s had a number of solo releases, he did amazing work with Steely Dan. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/45 "2017-10-04T21:43:48Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > [Mike Garson](http://www.mikegarson.com/) is best known for his work with Bowie - especially the amazing piano work on Aladdin Sane, both the song and the album - but has worked for Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Seal, No Doubt, and many others, as well as put out many solo albums. God I love his work. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/46 "2017-10-04T21:51:46Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > God I love his work. Isn’t he amazing? I still remember the first time I really _listened_ to the piano on Aladdin Sane, how dumbfounded and transported I was. I’m not a musician, I can’t give the technical whys and hows, but Jesus Christ. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/47 "2017-10-04T22:09:59Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > **EHund** - argh, yes, Gene Parsons!! :smack: > > I don’t hear the Bender on that track - some sublime harmonies, great banjo and chicken pickin Tele, but no strings ended. What’s chicken picking anyway? You made me curious when you mentioned that James Burton invented it. I always was aware that Burton’s and White’s playing had something special in common, but I could never nail it, because I’m not a guitar player. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/48 "2017-10-05T00:20:45Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > What’s chicken picking anyway? You made me curious when you mentioned that James Burton invented it. I always was aware that Burton’s and White’s playing had something special in common, but I could never nail it, because I’m not a guitar player. Brad Paisley’s Cluster Pluck, featuring some of the best, including Burton, Albert Lee, Redd Volkaert, Vince Gill, etc: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OB6KxhiFkJg](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OB6KxhiFkJg) You’re basically using your picking hand to palm mute the strings so the notes are pulses/staccato. You play quick clusters of notes, and you keep your fingers moving at this quick beat - if there’s s bit where a finger doesn’t have a note, it plays a deadened string in time. When you play some of those deadened notes in rapid succession it sounds kind of like a clucking chicken = chicken picken. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/49 "2017-10-05T02:03:05Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Brad Paisley’s Cluster Pluck, featuring some of the best, including Burton, Albert Lee, Redd Volkaert, Vince Gill, etc: [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OB6KxhiFkJg](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OB6KxhiFkJg) > > You’re basically using your picking hand to palm mute the strings so the notes are pulses/staccato. You play quick clusters of notes, and you keep your fingers moving at this quick beat - if there’s s bit where a finger doesn’t have a note, it plays a deadened string in time. When you play some of those deadened notes in rapid succession it sounds kind of like a clucking chicken = chicken picken. Wow. Thanks for this. I let Youtube run through a few Brad Paisley songs after that one, and I never realized just how freaking amazing he is. “Nervous Breakdown” is just insane. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/50 "2017-10-05T16:48:57Z")
In America, every other hit record of the Sixties seemed to have Hal Blaine on drums. In England, during that same period, every other hit seemed to have Anglo-Italian session man Clem Cattini on drums. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/51 "2017-10-05T17:59:33Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > He’s a bit more than a session player ;). Pretty much one of the best fiddlers and guitarists out there. I saw him play Hot Club jazz with Frank Vignola, then switch to bluegrass when Chris Thile came out and sat in. Just a huge talent. I follow his Facebook page. He said he hadn’t picked up a guitar in 20 years. He recently put out a few videos playing acoustic. Holy shit if that’s what he can do after 20 years of nothing… > [@Chefguy](#): > > He shared Grammy honors with Ali Farka Toure on their album _Talking Timbuktu_. Cooder also played Ralph Macchio’s blues parts in the movie Crossroads. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/52 "2017-10-05T18:03:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Wow. Thanks for this. I let Youtube run through a few Brad Paisley songs after that one, and I never realized just how freaking amazing he is. “Nervous Breakdown” is just insane. Yay! Yeah, he’s a monster player. By the way, chicken pickin is typically done on a Telecaater - all the folks listed are Tele Masters - with a big clean Fender amp sound and a compressor pedal set to “squishy” - hard to explain, but it evens out the sound and adds a bit of grit and sustain to the tone. ETA: **Loach** - oh yeah, O’Connor’s insane, so fluid. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/53 "2017-10-05T19:27:58Z")
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter before he changed careers to be an expert consulting in missile defense. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/54 "2017-10-06T01:09:24Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > ETA: **Loach** - oh yeah, O’Connor’s insane, so fluid. I first found him when he played with the Dregs. O’Connor and Steve Morse were doing amazing things in their instruments. And they did them together. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/55 "2017-10-06T01:25:03Z")
Hank Garland, of the Nashville A-team, and really, the whole team. > **[The Nashville A-Team](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nashville_A-Team)** > > The Nashville A-Team was a nickname given to a group of session musicians in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, who earned wide acclaim in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. They backed dozens of popular singers, including Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Bob Dylan, Moon Mullican, Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee, and others. > The Nashville A-Team's members typically had backgrounds in country music but were highly versatile. Examples of their jazz inclinations can be found in the Nashvill... ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/56 "2017-10-06T01:59:27Z")
I don’t know how accurate Garlands biopic is, but there’s a scene where he’s having a conflict with the producer (I think), and Roy Orbison pulls the producer aside to remind him that Roy’s contract gives him final say in the sessionists, and Garland ain’t gonna be the one that walks. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/57 "2017-10-06T06:00:52Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Cooder also played Ralph Macchio’s blues parts in the movie Crossroads. Arlen Roth did some or most of that, too. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/58 "2017-10-06T10:04:38Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Hank Garland, of the Nashville A-team, and really, the whole team. > > [The Nashville A-Team - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nashville_A-Team) And part of the source f the name of the Gibson Byrdland guitar, alongside Billy Byrd. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/59 "2017-10-06T13:28:00Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Gotta share some love for [Nicky Hopkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Hopkins), who played piano for everybody who was anybody in the '60s, including but not limited to the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, the Jeff Beck Group, and scores of others. On the Woodstock soundtrack, Jefferson Airplane’s lead-in to “Volunteers”, Grace Slick introduces “…the regular guys, and Nicky Hopkins”. My wife mentioned once that she was a friend of a friend of Nicky Hopkins (met him, once)…and ever after, whenever our kids would hear a classic rock song on the radio with a prominent piano part (e.g., Layla), would ask “Is that your friend, Mom?” ---
**Author:** ![SantaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@SantaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SantaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619/60 "2017-10-06T15:17:30Z")
This is quite a pantheon. Are there a handful that performers and session players look up to or consider an inspiration? Anyone who started as a session player who ended up in the limelight or are the genres different worlds? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-respected-session-musicians/797619.md?page=4)