“We weren’t allowed to play on our record... the Wrecking Crew guys all played. I’m looking through the window, going, ‘Wow, these are the cats’”: How Leland Sklar went from being banned from the studio to a session legend

Bass player Leland Sklar of The Immediate Family performs onstage during the Wild Honey tribute to Warren Zevon benefiting the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the Ed Asner Family Center at The Granada Theatre on September 27, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California.

Nowadays, Leland Sklar is an undisputed session legend. Over the years, he's been the first-call bass player for the likes of Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Steve Lukather, Phil Collins, and Lyle Lovett – with a versatile playing style that's impossible to label under just one category.

So you might be surprised to learn that the bass wizard wasn't allowed to play on the record of one of his earlier bands.