Al Kooper

Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt, February 5, 1944) is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity.[1] Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s, he was a prolific studio musician, playing organ on the Bob Dylan song "Like A Rolling Stone", French horn on the Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and lead guitar on Rita Coolidge's "The Lady's Not for Sale", among many other appearances. He also produced a number of one-off collaboration albums, such as the Super Session album that brought together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills. In the 1970s he was a successful manager and producer, notably recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums. He has also had a successful solo career, written music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition. He continues to perform live.

Not to be confused with Al Cooper or Alice Cooper.

Al Kooper
Al Kooper during an interview in 2009
Background information
Birth nameAlan Peter Kuperschmidt
Also known asRoosevelt Gook
Born (1944-02-05) February 5, 1944
Brooklyn, New York, US
GenresBlues, R&B, pop rock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, producer
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, bass, Hammond organ, keyboards, percussion, mandolin
Years active1958–present
LabelsABC Records
Associated actsMike Bloomfield, The Blues Project, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Bob Dylan, The Royal Teens
Websitealkooper.com

Early life

Kooper, born in Brooklyn[2] to Sam and Natalie Kooper, grew up in a Jewish family[3] in Hollis Hills, Queens, New York.

Career

Professional debut

Kooper's first professional work was as a 14-year-old guitarist in the Royal Teens, best known for their 1958 ABC Records novelty 12-bar blues riff, "Short Shorts" (although Kooper did not play on the recording[4]). In 1960, he teamed up with songwriters Bob Brass and Irwin Levine to write and record demos for Sea-Lark Music Publishing. The trio's biggest hits were "This Diamond Ring", recorded by Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and "I Must Be Seeing Things", recorded by Gene Pitney (both 1965). When he was 21, Kooper moved to Manhattan's Greenwich Village, then teeming with artists, writers, and musicians.

With Dylan

He performed with Bob Dylan in concert in 1965, including playing Hammond organ with Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival, and in the recording studio in 1965 and 1966. Kooper also played the Hammond organ riffs on Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone". It was in those recording sessions that Kooper met and befriended Mike Bloomfield, whose guitar playing he admired. He worked extensively with Bloomfield for several years. Kooper played organ once again with Dylan during his 1981 world tour.

Blues Project

Kooper joined the Blues Project as their keyboardist in 1965; he left the band shortly before their gig at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, although he did play a solo set at the famous festival, as evidenced by bootlegs of the event. He formed Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1967, leaving due to creative differences in 1968, after the release of the group's first album, Child Is Father to the Man.[5] He recorded Super Session with Bloomfield and Stills in 1968,[6] and in 1969 he collaborated with 15-year-old guitarist Shuggie Otis on the album Kooper Session. In 1975 he produced the debut album by the Tubes.

Other work

As musician

Kooper has played on hundreds of records, including ones by the Rolling Stones, B. B. King, the Who, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Alice Cooper, and Cream. On occasion, he has even overdubbed his own efforts, as on The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper and other albums, under the pseudonym "Roosevelt Gook".[7]

As record producer

After moving to Atlanta in 1972, he discovered the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced and performed on their first three albums, including the singles "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". In 1972 he rejoined the Blues Project at a charity concert promoted by Bruce Blakeman at Valley Stream Central High School.

TV scores

He wrote the score for the TV series Crime Story and for the film The Landlord and wrote music for several made-for-television movies. He was the musical force behind many of the pop tunes, including "You're the Lovin' End", for The Banana Splits, a children's television program.

Studio

During the late 1980s Kooper had his own dedicated keyboard studio room in the historic Sound Emporium recording studio in Nashville, next to studio B.

Rock Bottom Remainders

Kooper's status as a published author enabled him to join (and act as musical director of) the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band made up of writers, including Dave Barry, Stephen King, Amy Tan, and Matt Groening.

Honors, awards, and legacy
Kooper celebrating his 68th birthday at the Regatta Bar in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Feb. 4, 2012

In May 2001, Kooper was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.[8] Kooper is retired from teaching songwriting and recording production at Berklee College of Music, in Boston, and plays weekend concerts with his bands the ReKooperators and the Funky Faculty. In 2008, he participated in the production of the album Psalngs,[9] the debut release of Canadian musician John Lefebvre.

Kooper was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, in Nashville, in 2008.[10]

In 2005, Martin Scorsese produced a documentary titled No Direction Home: Bob Dylan for the PBS American Masters Series in which Kooper's contributions are recognized.

Memoir

Kooper published a memoir, Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life in the Sixties (1977), which was revised and published as Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'n' Roll Survivor (1998). The revised edition includes indictments of "manipulators" in the music industry, including his one-time business manager, Stan Polley. An updated edition, including supplementary material, was published by Backbeat Books in 2008.[11]

Discography

Solo

Studio albums

Live albums
  • Soul of a Man (February 1995)

Soundtracks

Compilation albums
  • Al's Big Deal - Unclaimed Freight (An Al Kooper Anthology) (1975)
  • Rare and Well Done: The Greatest and Most Obscure Recordings 1964-2001 (2001)

Collaborations

Other Appearances
Year Artist Album name Role(s)
1965Bob DylanHighway 61 RevisitedPiano, organ
1966Blonde on BlondeOrgan, guitar
Tom RushTake a Little Walk with MeElectric guitar, celesta, liner notes
The Blues ProjectLive at The Cafe Au Go GoOrgan, vocals
ProjectionsKeyboards, vocals
1967The Blues Project Live at Town HallKeyboards
The WhoThe Who Sell OutOrgan
1968Blood, Sweat and TearsChild is Father to the ManOrgan, piano, vocals, ondioline
The Jimi Hendrix ExperienceElectric LadylandPiano
Don EllisAutumnProducer
1969The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground
The Rolling StonesLet It Bleedpiano, French horn and organ
B.B. KingLive & WellPiano
1970Bob DylanSelf PortraitGuitar, horn, keyboards
New MorningOrgan, piano, electric guitar, French horn
1971The WhoWho's NextHammond organ
Bo DiddleyAnother DimensionKeyboards, guitar
Rita CoolidgeNice Feelin'Organ
1972The Lady's Not for SaleLead guitar
1973Betty WrightHard To StopArranger, composer, keyboards, main personnel
Frankie & JohnnyThe Sweetheart SamplerProducer
Atlanta Rhythm SectionBack Up Against the WallSynthesiser, ARP
Lynyrd SkynyrdPronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-NerdProducer, engineer, bass, Mellotron, back-up harmony, mandolin, bass drum, organ
1974Second HelpingProducer, backing vocals, piano
Roger McGuinnPeace on YouGuitar, piano, clavinet, arrangements, conductor
1975Lynyrd SkynyrdNuthin' FancyProducer
The TubesThe Tubes
1979Leo SayerHereOrgan, synthesizer, keyboards, performer
4 on the Floor4 on the FloorProducer
1981George HarrisonSomewhere in EnglandKeyboards, synthesisers
Ringo StarrStop and Smell the RosesPiano, electric guitar
1985Bob DylanEmpire BurlesqueRhythm guitar
1986Knocked Out LoadedKeyboards
1989Roy OrbisonMystery GirlOrgan
1990Bob DylanUnder the Red SkyHammond organ, keyboards
1991Dave SharpHard TravelingGuest artist
Green On RedScapegoatsProducer
1996Neil DiamondTennessee MoonHammond organ
1998Phoebe SnowI Can't ComplainGuest artist, Hammond organ
2000Dan PennBlue Nite LoungeKeyboards

Sources
  • Mike Bloomfield, Me and Big Joe, Re/Search Publications, 1999, ISBN 1-889307-05-X, ISBN 978-1-889307-05-3.
  • Jan Mark Wolkin and Bill Keenom, Michael Bloomfield -- If You Love These Blues: An Oral History, Backbeat Books, 2000, ISBN 978-0-87930-617-5 (with CD of uniussed music).
  • Ken Brooks, The Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper with Paul Butterfield and David Clayton Thomas, Agenda, 1999, ISBN 1-899882-90-1, ISBN 978-1-899882-90-8.
  • Al Kooper, Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life in the Sixties, Stein & Day, 1977, ISBN 0-8128-2171-8, ISBN 978-0-8128-2171-0.
  • Al Kooper, Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'n' Roll Survivor (updated ed.), Billboard Books, 1998, ISBN 0-8230-8257-1, ISBN 978-0823082575.
  • Al Kooper, Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards (new ed.), Hal Leonard, 2008, ISBN 0-87930-922-9, ISBN 978-0-87930-922-0.
  • Ed Ward, Michael Bloomfield: The Rise and Fall of an American Guitar Hero, Cherry Lane Books,1983, ISBN 0-89524-157-9, ISBN 978-0895241573.

References
  1. James, Gary, "Gary James' Interview With Al Kooper" at Classicbands.com
  2. Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 543–544. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  3. Wilentz, Sean (April 8, 2013). "Like a Rolling Stone: Rock legend Al Kooper opens up to Princeton's Sean Wilentz about making music with Bob Dylan, and more". tabletmag.com. Nextbook Inc. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  4. Friedman, Tyler, "Al Kooper: An Appreciation," Perfect Sound Forever, April 2007)
  5. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 232. CN 5585.
  6. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 259. CN 5585.
  7. "Tom Rush's "Take a Little Walk with Me" Liner Notes". www.richieunterberger.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  8. "Elvin Jones, Al Kooper Receive Honorary Doctorates - Mixonline". Mixonline.com. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  9. Archived March 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Daniel Kreps (October 29, 2008). "Kid Rock, Keith Richards Help Induct Crickets, Muscle Shoals into Musicians Hall of Fame | Music News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  11. Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards at Hal Leonard Books
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