Best backing/studio bands?

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person 1) "I'm not actually IN the band, I just play drums on their studio albums" person 2) "Check, please!"

The hardest working men and women in showbiz?

My obvious picks: Wrecking Crew with Hal Blaine and Carol Kaye, among ohers, and the Philly International house band.

― Aaron G!, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Booker T. & the MGs and Motown's house band seem to be 1 and 2 here. The session players who backed up Little Richard deserve a mention also.

― J Blount, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Willie Mitchell's magnificent Hi Records crew, featuring the Hodges brothers: Leroy on bass, Charles on keys and Teenie on guitar, along with the great Al Jackson on drums. For Al Green, Ann Peebles and Syl Johnson, these guys created a sound that was restrained and tense as a watchspring, yet irresistably funky. I think they still work together - I had the pleasure of seeing them a few years ago with Ann Peebles.

My second place goes to another skin-tight brother act: Carlton & Family Man Barrett and their Hippy Boys/Wailers band.

― briania, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Briania, that is my absolute favourite setup too, with Booker T & the MGs a close second. Both had the peerless Al Jackson on drums - he was killed in 1975, but yes, I believe the Hodges brothers still play together.

― Martin Skidmore, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Wrecking Crew, Wrecking Crew, Wrecking Crew!

Carol Kaye = GODDESS OF THE BASS!!!

She gave us bass lessons in Seattle. Coolest woman on earth.

― kate, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

The Meters. They're all over New Orleans soul/funk recordings of the 1970s, in addition to their own stuff.

Crazy Horse.

― Vic Funk, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

bar-kays deserve a mention

― Ron, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Cliché but worthy answer #1:
Booker T. & the MGs and Motown's house band seem to be 1 and 2 here. The session players who backed up Little Richard deserve a mention also.
Cliché but worthy answer #2:
The Hawks (backed Bob Dylan and became The Band.)

― Lord Custos III, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

the invisible girls

― mark s, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Heh. Good choice, Mark S...

Not one mention of the Sugar Hill house band yet? Skip McDonald, Doug Wimbish, Keith LeBlanc? This will now be rectified.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Is it Sly and Robbie on Grace Jones's "Warm Leatherette"? Great band sound, it may be them on "Broken English" too...

― Sean, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

how about the spiders from mars? challenge: name another spider but mick ronson, WITHOUT consulting and references. i can't, but i'd wager someone else can. making this a rather poor challenge.

― matthew james, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

yes Carol Kaye is quite amazing... I first learned about her when I read a column in a drumming magazine that featured musicians other than drummers... there was a picture of an older woman with glasses holding her bass in one hand and her cat in the other... she didn't look like one of the funkiest people on the planet (for those who don't know, she played on many motown sessions even though this was not advertised).

― Aaron G!, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

speaking of sly and robbie, someone with greater reggae knowledge than i should talk about some of the session-ey players such as s&r, scully, family man, chinna, horsemouth, sky juice etc. i don't know if anybody combines to form a consistent "band", maybe the upsetters? i don't know enough to say... but some of these guys are on soooo many records!

― Ron, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Trevor Bolder, Woody Woodmansy?

― Sean, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

"The Roots Radics Band was formed in 1978 when bass player Flabba Holt joined forces with the now late guitarist Bingy Bunny. Since then, they have been joined by such excellent musicians like Dwight Pickney, Steely 'Wycliffe' Johnson, Lincoln 'Style' Scott, Gladstone 'Gladdy' Anderson, Christopher 'Sky Juice' Burt and Noel 'Scully' Simms. Other musicians filled in when needed. Some of these included Noel 'Sowell' Bailey, Eric 'Fish' Clarke and Carlton 'Santa' Davis. When a horn section was required, David Madden, Headly Bennett and Dean Fraser were brought in. As a combined force the Roots Radics became the most respected studio and stage band, which dominated the sound in the first half of the eighties. They supported artists like Bunny Wailer, Gregory Isaacs and Israel Vibration and have several albums to their name as well."

from: http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1392/RootsRadics.html

― Ron, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

roots radics on artist direct

― Ron, Saturday, 3 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

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