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[Music] Session musicians who you may never heard of who have played with big bands



Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
A bit random I know but I am watching Stevie Nicks on Sky Arts and I have seen the lead guitarist before, just looked him up and am STAGGERED to see how many musicians he has played with.

Are there others I should be aware of?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waddy_Wachtel
 




KZNSeagull

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
19,891
Wolsingham, County Durham
Vic Flick. Most famous for doing the James Bond theme but played with loads of musicians/bands.

Edit: He also sold one of his guitars on Pawn Stars for $55,000. They lost $30,000 on it! Hee hee
 






Jul 7, 2003
8,650
Bernard Fowler - long term sideman for the Rolling Stones but also played on songs for a wide variety of acts, Alice Cooper, Herp Albert, Michael Hutchence, Living Color, Yoko Ono, Duran Duran, Philip Glass and Herbie Hancock to name a few
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Bernard Fowler - long term sideman for the Rolling Stones but also played on songs for a wide variety of acts, Alice Cooper, Herp Albert, Michael Hutchence, Living Color, Yoko Ono, Duran Duran, Philip Glass and Herbie Hancock to name a few

Still playing with the Stones I think? I hope they are treating him better than they did Mick Taylor, stand out musician for the Stones in their best ever line up imo
 


clapham_gull

Legacy Fan
Aug 20, 2003
25,447
I went to a school with a bloke who a guitar prodigy even back then. Took the session musician route and has worked from everyone from Paul McCartney to Shirley Bassey.

Some people that an academic approach to it and shun the fame. I'd imagine he is wealthier than 99.9 percent of musicians who prefer the limelight.
 


Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
34,346
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
Huey Morgan did a whole series of these on 6 Music on Saturday mornings, called "the players' ball". Not sure if it's on Sounds or not. One of those featured was Brighton fan and drummer Steve Ferrone.
 






Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
34,346
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
A bit random I know but I am watching Stevie Nicks on Sky Arts and I have seen the lead guitarist before, just looked him up and am STAGGERED to see how many musicians he has played with.

Are there others I should be aware of?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waddy_Wachtel

Incidentally, we've just come back from our annual activity holiday to Devon, a drive which takes three hours forty five mins in perfect traffic and five hours plus if anything at all goes wrong.

When our kids were younger my wife assumed they liked modern chart music and the stuff that she'd watch on the X-Factor (e.g. The Wanted, Little Mix, Ed Sheeran) and got a selection of utterly hideous "Now that's what I call....." CDs 'so the kids don't get bored on the trip'.

Now they're older they have access to the family Spotify and their own headphones and, it turns out, they hate the shit we were playing, So do I. So does Mrs GB. So this year they listened to their own playlists on headphones while we played Fleetwood Mac*, Eels, Paulo Nutini and Labi Siffre. I think we all enjoyed the journey far more :lol:





*yup, there's the tenuous link to your post.
 


WATFORD zero

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 10, 2003
25,946
If we are talking Brighton born and bred muso's then someone I have mentioned before

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
Freddie King
Average White Band
Real Thing
Chaka Khan
Roberta Flack
Bette Midler
Aretha Franklyn
Jeffery Osbourne
Paul Simon
George Benson
Christine McVie
Mick Jagger
Peabo Bryson
Duran Duran
Al Jarreau
Howard Jones
Stevie Winwood
Daryl Hall
Diana Ross
Cyndi Lauper
Peter Frampton
Bee Gees
Eric Clapton
Carole King
Whitney Houston
Anita Baker
George Harrison
Etta James
Bryan Ferry
Lulu
Carly Simon
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tracy Chapman
Michael Jackson
Johnny Cash
Donovan
Celine Dion
Tom Jones
Brian May
Stevie Nicks
Robbie Williams
Slash
Ronnie Wood
Steve Cropper

Isn't a bad discography. And a thoroughly nice bloke to boot :wink:
 




WATFORD zero

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 10, 2003
25,946
Just seen my previous one has already been mentioned. Less prestigious, but another excellent south coast musician and top bloke appears in



 


knocky1

Well-known member
Jan 20, 2010
12,982
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie_Flowers

Herbie Flowers. Played on Walk on The Wild Side, composed Grandad, played with T-Rex and now lives around Shoreham I believe. Met him at a friend’s wedding anniversary he played at. Very nice man.

Wonderful man. Had a tour from him of his garden on the Steyning open garden weekend.
Playing the bass line on Walk on Wild Side was huge and will last the test of time, Blue Minx's Melting Pot definitely not.
Grandad, Melting Pot and Walk on the Wild Side. 😆
 


GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,840
Gloucester
A bit random I know but I am watching Stevie Nicks on Sky Arts and I have seen the lead guitarist before, just looked him up and am STAGGERED to see how many musicians he has played with.

Are there others I should be aware of?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waddy_Wachtel
There's loads of them - but their whole point, mainly, is that we never hear of them. Some of them eventually emerge from behind the anonymity, like Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck - who probably had more top ten hits before they were famous than afterwards, but most just stay in the background, like Carol Kay who played bass on most of the Tamla Motown hits of the 1960s, along with Barbara Streisand, The Monkees, Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Simon and Garfunkel. Older NSCers will remember the bass line on Nancy Sinatra's These Boots are made for Walking......and she only took up bass because rhe booked bass player failed to turn up for a session!

Look at some of the biggest barnstormers around - the likes of Kylie, Madonna, Beyonce - not to mention all the boy bands and girl bands who don't play any instruments - they all have superb backing musucians - probably in some cases some of the same ones! But do we know who they are? Even if you go to a gig and buy a programme, you probably still won't know.
 








GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,840
Gloucester
Miller Anderson - last seen (last seen by me anyway) playing a solo gig in a half empty Brighton pub about 15-20 years ago. Maybe still doing it as far as I know! Impresssive record of having played with just about anybody and everybody ever associated with the British blues boom in the late 60s/early 70s - and probably a whole lot since!
 


Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Incidentally, we've just come back from our annual activity holiday to Devon, a drive which takes three hours forty five mins in perfect traffic and five hours plus if anything at all goes wrong.

When our kids were younger my wife assumed they liked modern chart music and the stuff that she'd watch on the X-Factor (e.g. The Wanted, Little Mix, Ed Sheeran) and got a selection of utterly hideous "Now that's what I call....." CDs 'so the kids don't get bored on the trip'.

Now they're older they have access to the family Spotify and their own headphones and, it turns out, they hate the shit we were playing, So do I. So does Mrs GB. So this year they listened to their own playlists on headphones while we played Fleetwood Mac*, Eels, Paulo Nutini and Labi Siffre. I think we all enjoyed the journey far more :lolol:





*yup, there's the tenuous link to your post.

There is something wrong with kids who like their parents choice of music when they are in their teens. The light comes on when they are older… I think :lolol:
 




zefarelly

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
21,864
Sussex, by the sea
Miller Anderson - last seen (last seen by me anyway) playing a solo gig in a half empty Brighton pub about 15-20 years ago. Maybe still doing it as far as I know! Impresssive record of having played with just about anybody and everybody ever associated with the British blues boom in the late 60s/early 70s - and probably a whole lot since!

Still gigging . . And probably near the top of the pile of weapons grade guitarists whio can sing well at the same time, but are relatively unknown. He's done it all, better than Clapton IMO and most people have never heard of him.

Keef Hartley band (inc @ Woodstock), T-Rex, Deep Purple, SPencer Davis, to name but a few.

This is off his solo album in '68 . . . Live 10 years ago now, but still has a great voice. . . .unlike most of his peers.

https://youtu.be/B97irnaZhRU
 


Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
If we are talking Brighton born and bred muso's then someone I have mentioned before

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express
Freddie King
Average White Band
Real Thing
Chaka Khan
Roberta Flack
Bette Midler
Aretha Franklyn
Jeffery Osbourne
Paul Simon
George Benson
Christine McVie
Mick Jagger
Peabo Bryson
Duran Duran
Al Jarreau
Howard Jones
Stevie Winwood
Daryl Hall
Diana Ross
Cyndi Lauper
Peter Frampton
Bee Gees
Eric Clapton
Carole King
Whitney Houston
Anita Baker
George Harrison
Etta James
Bryan Ferry
Lulu
Carly Simon
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tracy Chapman
Michael Jackson
Johnny Cash
Donovan
Celine Dion
Tom Jones
Brian May
Stevie Nicks
Robbie Williams
Slash
Ronnie Wood
Steve Cropper

Isn't a bad discography. And a thoroughly nice bloke to boot :wink:

Be good if you gave us a name :smile:

That is an impressive list
 


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