Joe Osborn

Joe Osborn

Photo: Greg Campbell/WireImage

News

Wrecking Crew Bassist Joe Osborn Dies At 81

Facebook Twitter Email
A session bassist on so many hits we've all heard and loved leaves an uncanny musical legacy
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Dec 17, 2018 - 4:09 pm

Outstanding Los Angeles session bass player Joe Osborn died on Dec. 14 of pancreatic cancer. A member of the legendary Wrecking Crew group until he left L.A. for Nashville in 1974, Osborn performed on countless classic recordings during his career, including the Partridge Family, Simon & Garfunkel and fellow Wrecking Crew member, Glen Campbell. Osborn was 81 years old.

Osborn was born on Aug. 28, 1937 in Mound, Louisiana. His biography at The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame describes the struggles Osborn went through "to cut back on his workload." He finally succeeded, moving back to Shreveport in 1988, occasionally flying to big cities for sessions but mostly recording at home on an old-fashioned four-track deck. Osborn and one of his four-tracks made the first professional recording of the GRAMMY-winning Carpenters siblings in 1966.

Los Angeles session drummer Hal Blaine, another member of the Wrecking Crew  and recipient of the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, is often credited with having named the "clique" of "first call" session musicians that both he and Osborn belonged to as "The Wrecking Crew" based on accusations their embrace of rock was going to wreck commercial music. Osborn was a key component of the group's success, and made critical contributions to GRAMMY-winning recordings including Campbell's  "Gentle On My Mind" and the big winner at the 10th GRAMMY Awards, "Up, Up And Away" by the 5th Dimension.

A few years later at the 13th GRAMMY Awards, the Simon And Garfunkel single "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which showcased Osborn on bass, won four GRAMMY awards and its album of the same name took Album Of The Year. At the 15th GRAMMY Awards, Helen Reddy won Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for "I Am Woman," another classic track of Osborn's.

Those are just a taste of Osborn's extensive body of work that most American music lovers' ears know well, whether or not they recognize the names of the studio musicians who helped create such classic hits.

In a Dec. 15 Facebook post on Osborn's passing, Denny Tedesco, the director of the 2008 documentary The Wrecking Crew!, wrote, "Even though he was a quiet man, I could see the sparkle in his eyes when he saw the love of his fans. I called him a gentle bear." Denny's dad Tommy was another member of the clique as a guitarist.

"My favorite line from Joe," Denny related. "He was asked why he kept the same strings on his bass for 17 years. His answer, 'No one told me I was supposed to change them.' He will truly be missed but not forgotten."

Herb Alpert To Honor Hal Blaine On "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends"

Hal Blaine

Hal Blaine

Photo: Newsmakers/Getty Images

News

Wrecking Crew Drummer Hal Blaine Has Died At 90

Facebook Twitter Email
Millions heard his percussion through the decades on countless hits, such as Record Of The Year winners "Mrs. Robinson" and "Up, Up And Away"
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 12, 2019 - 1:15 pm

Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine, the man who brought the beat to the "Wall of Sound" and a staggering array of hits and classics, is confirmed to have died on March 11, 2019. 

A recipient of the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, Blaine provided some of music's coolest grooves and with his fellow A-list, Los Angeles session musicians, helped define rock and pop music's top sounds through the late '60s and beyond.

Herb Alpert To Honor Hal Blaine

"Hal Blaine was a legendary session drummer whose contributions as a member of the Wrecking Crew helped propel countless hits to the top of the Billboard charts in the '60s and '70s," said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow. "He contributed to tens of thousands of songs throughout his career, including the Beach Boys' 'Caroline, No' and Simon & Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Water.' We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and fellow music creators."

The Record Of The Year winners between 1965 and 1970 all had Blaine on drums. Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" closed that streak at the 13th GRAMMY Awards, two years after their ROTY win for "Mrs. Robinson" at the 11th GRAMMY Awards. Another twofer was the 5th Dimension, winning ROTY at the 10th GRAMMY Awards for 1967's "Up, Up And Away" and again at the 12th GRAMMY Awards for "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In (The Flesh Failures)," a song medley from the musical Hair.

Blaine's Record Of The Year streak began at the 8th GRAMMY Awards with Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass' win for 1965's "A Taste Of Honey." The follow-up was "Strangers In The Night" by Frank Sinatra at the 9th GRAMMY Awards. the sounds of both these songs as well as Blaine's too-many-to-mention other recordings became part of the musical cultural fabric of the era. 

Wrecking Crew Bassist Joe Osborn Dies At 81

GRAMMYs
News

Tune In Tonight On PBS: "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends"

Facebook Twitter Email
Special performances and all-star appearances make tonight's broadcast one to watch
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Oct 5, 2018 - 4:57 pm

Each year the Recording Academy's Special Merit Awards honor the music community's finest. Tonight on PBS, "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" presents musical moments and heritage not to be missed.

"GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" On PBS Oct. 5

Lifetime Achievement Award recipients for 2018 honored tonight are the Wrecking Crew's Hal Blaine, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Louis Jordan, the Meters, Queen, and Tina Turner. Master of ceremonies Yolanda Adams and Micky Dolenz will honor Diamond. Trisha Yearwood will perform a duet with Harris. Sheléa will be honoring Turner, Sammy Hagar for Queen, and Herb Alpert honoring Wrecking Crew drummer Blaine. Ledisi is performing a medley in honor of Jordan.

The Trustees Award recognizes those whose leadership may be outside performance and this year's honorees are Bill Graham, Sire Records co-founder Seymour Stein, and the 24-time GRAMMY winner, composer and conductor John Williams. Composer Gustavo Dudamel and violinist  Anne Akiko Meyers will honor Williams.

Technical GRAMMY Award recipients this year are Tony Agnello and Richard Factor, whose company Eventide made an enormous contribution to the craft. This year's recipient of the Music Educator Award is Melissa Salguero.

Check your local listings for the PBS station near you, tonight at 9p.m. "GRAMMY Salute To Music Legends" will later be available at PBS Great Performances online. This is an array of legends honoring legends who represent the finest in music excellence.

900 Music Creators Invited To Join Recording Academy As Voting Members

Scott Walker

Scott Walker

Photo: Michael Putland/Getty Images

News

Art-Rock Singer/Composer Scott Walker Of The Walker Brothers Dies At 76

Facebook Twitter Email
The musical non-conformist left America, only to return as part of rock's '60s British Invasion
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 25, 2019 - 5:57 pm

'60s pop-rock idol Scott Walker has died. Born Noel Scott Engel in Ohio, Walker was 76 years old. The news was confirmed by his label, 4AD Records.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich were among the first, along with Nadine Shah, to publicly express sadness at Walker's passing.

After relocating to the U.K. in the 60s, the Walker Brothers' fame was comparable to the Beatles. Later, Scott found solo success with albums titled Scott, Scott 2, Scott 3, Scott 4, which culminated with his 1969 Scott Sings Songs from His TV Series album. 

On March 25, David Bowie's official website blogged their Farewell to Scott Walker, noting Bowie's past remark, "I think he's probably been my idol since I was a kid." (In 1993, Bowie covered the Walker Brothers' song "Nite Flights" on his album Black Tie White Noise.)

The 2006 documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man tried to do justice to the man's hard-to-categorize and wide-ranging talent. Walker's musical gifts were so strong, he got session work as a bassist in his teens. His singing made the Walker Brothers teen idols. His final solo album was 2012's Bish Bosch, but Walker also kept busy with collaborations and composing for film.

In 2017, Walker's lyrics were published by Faber & Faber, while the Los Angeles Philharmonic commissioned and performed a special work of his. Also, the BBC threw him a tribute concert. In 2018, the music movie Vox Lux featured songs by Sia alongside Walker's original score.

Few musicians of such stature have managed to be obscure cult figures at the same time. Convention-breaking contradictions were part of Scott Walker's signature style, but this appears to have been artistically organic rather than a result of trying to be unconventional. Even Britain's own BBC, knowing Walker's history intimately and having honored him in 2017, described him as an "enigma" in their obituary headline on March 25.

Deerhunter's Bradford Cox: "I'm The Closest Thing That Our Age Has To A Bowie"

Christina Applegate and Hugh Fordin

Christina Applegate and Hugh Fordin

Photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

News

DRG Records Founder & Broadway Musicals Album Producer Hugh Fordin Dies At 83

Facebook Twitter Email
Fordin helped build the recorded legacy that preserves sensational Broadway stage performances
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Mar 7, 2019 - 12:02 pm

Record producer and label executive Hugh Fordin died of cardiac arrest at 83 at his home in New Jersey on Feb. 26. In addition to his own Best Musical Show Album win at the 44th GRAMMY Awards for The Producers, the label he founded in 1976, DRG Records released distinguished albums that brought GRAMMY wins to legends including Gerry Mulligan and Patti Page.

Hailing Fordin as an "exceptional" and "versatile" producer, Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow noted that "he achieved success as both a producer and label executive. He will be deeply missed, but remembered for crafting dynamic records for the theater community." Fordin's other GRAMMY-nominated cast albums include Flower Drum Song, Guys And Dolls, Kiss Me Kate, The Music Man, and Wonderful Town.

This Producers-producer's engineer since 1985, Cynthia Daniels shared in Fordin's GRAMMY win. "No other record company or producer filled this particular space for the recorded version of these timeless songs," she told The New York Times. Fordin was also the author of two books, about the musicals of MGM as well as a biography of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Daniels also recalled times in the studio with Fordin when "I would inevitably hear chuckling and then everyone in the room break into laughter."

Broadway Has Highest Grossing Year In 2018, Thanks To 'Harry Potter And The Cursed Child' & More