Having played on literally thousands of studio sessions, Carol Kaye’s credits are enough to humble even the greatest names in music. That’s her on The Beach Boys Pet Sounds album, on records by Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Simon & Garfunkel, Elvis Presley, Sonny & Cher, Frank Sinatra, the score for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and the theme from Mission Impossible.
As one of LA's top session players during the 60s, Kaye was a favourite among producers like Phil Spector and Lou Adler, while Quincy Jones wouldn’t book a film session without her. Jones later wrote in his 2001 autobiography, “The Fender bass player Carol Kaye could do anything and leave the men in the dust.”
One of the important things about bass playing styles of this period was that almost everybody used a plectrum with flatwound strings. Kaye also used a piece of foam to dampen the strings at the bridge. “We were all mute-conscious back then, because when you go into the studio, you can't possibly have all the same sounds that you do playing live. Since I played with a pick, I took a piece of felt, doubled it up, and taped it on the strings.”
Aside from her special muting technique, we’ve selected 10 things you probably didn’t know about one of the most recorded bass players in history.
