Carol Kaye facts for kids

Carol Kaye (born March 24, 1935) is an amazing American musician. She is one of the most recorded bass guitarists in rock and pop music history! She has played on an estimated 10,000 songs over a career that has lasted more than 65 years.

Carol started playing guitar when she was a teenager. After teaching guitar for a while, she began performing jazz music in Los Angeles. In 1957, she started working as a session musician. This means she was hired to play instruments on recordings for other artists. She worked with famous producers like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson.

In 1963, a bass player didn't show up for a recording session, so Carol stepped in to play the bass. She quickly became known as one of the most in-demand bass players of the 1960s, playing on many hit songs. Later, she started playing for film soundtracks and also wrote books to teach others how to play the electric bass. Carol has continued her career and is highly respected by other musicians.

During her busiest years, Carol Kaye was part of a group of Los Angeles musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. She even appeared in a 2008 documentary film about them. In 2025, Carol Kaye was chosen to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her musical excellence.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Carol Kaye was born in Everett, Washington. Her parents, Clyde and Dot Smith, were both professional musicians. Her father played the trombone in big bands. In 1942, her family moved to Wilmington, California.

When Carol was 13, her mother gave her a steel string guitar. She quickly started playing in jazz clubs around Los Angeles. During the 1950s, Carol played bebop jazz guitar with different groups. She also toured the United States with the Henry Busse Orchestra.

A Career in Music

Becoming a Pop Session Star

In 1957, Carol was playing at a club in Hollywood when a producer named Robert "Bumps" Blackwell invited her to a recording session. She realized she could earn much more money playing on recordings than in clubs, so she decided to become a full-time session musician.

In 1958, she played acoustic guitar on Ritchie Valens' famous song "La Bamba". She then started working with producer Phil Spector. She played electric guitar on songs like "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" by Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans and "Then He Kissed Me" by The Crystals. Her work with Spector and other musicians like drummer Hal Blaine made her very popular, and soon she was in high demand.

In 1963, Carol was asked to play bass guitar during a session because the original bassist didn't arrive. She loved playing the bass and found it allowed her to be more creative. It was also easier to carry one bass to sessions instead of many guitars! After another bass player left studio work, Carol became the most sought-after session bassist in Los Angeles.

Carol also continued to play guitar on many hit songs, including twelve-string electric guitar on some Sonny & Cher songs. It was unusual for women to be experienced session players back then, but Carol remembered the sessions as fun and focused on the music.

Carol was the only regular female member of The Wrecking Crew. This was a group of studio musicians who played on a huge number of hit records in the 1960s. Even though the public didn't know their names, Carol played bass on countless songs that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. She played for artists like Frank Sinatra, Simon & Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, The Supremes, The Temptations, and The Monkees. She even helped create the famous introduction to Glen Campbell's song "Wichita Lineman". Carol often played three or four sessions a day and was happy that so many became hits.

Through her work with Phil Spector, Carol got the attention of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Wilson hired her for several of their albums, including Pet Sounds. Unlike other sessions where she could create her own bass lines, Brian Wilson always had very specific ideas about what he wanted her to play.

Soundtracks, Teaching, and Later Work

By 1969, Carol was tired from all the pop session work. She decided to change her career path. She started playing mostly for film and TV soundtracks, and also began writing and teaching. She wrote How To Play The Electric Bass, which was the first of many teaching books and videos.

Her soundtrack work included playing on the themes for M.A.S.H., The Streets of San Francisco, and Across 110th Street. She also worked closely with Lalo Schifrin, playing on the theme for Mission: Impossible and the soundtrack for Bullitt. Carol often worked with Quincy Jones, who she said wrote some of the most beautiful music.

In the early 1970s, she continued to do sessions. In 1976, she was in a car accident and took a break from music. She slowly started playing again, appearing on J. J. Cale's 1981 album Shades.

In 1994, Carol had surgery to help with her injuries from the accident. After that, she started playing and recording more. She even worked with Fender to create a lighter bass guitar that was more comfortable for her to play. In 1997, she worked with Brian Wilson again. In 2008, she was featured in The Wrecking Crew film, where she mentioned that at her busiest, she earned more money than the US president!

Her Style and Instruments

Carol Kaye's main instrument in the 1960s was the Fender Precision Bass. She also sometimes used the Danelectro bass. She uses special flatwound strings and prefers to use guitar amplifiers in the studio when playing bass.

Carol mostly uses a pick, or plectrum, to play both guitar and bass, instead of her fingers. She also often muted her bass strings with a piece of felt near the bridge. This helped her get a clear, focused sound. She said, "for 25 cents, you could get the best sound in town."

Carol liked to play melodic and rhythmic bass lines, making them interesting rather than simple. In the studio, she often played higher notes on her bass, while a double bass would play the lower notes.

Her Amazing Legacy

Carol Kaye is known as one of the greatest session bassists of all time. Michael Molenda from Bass Player magazine said that Carol could instantly create a memorable bass line that fit perfectly with any song.

Paul McCartney of the Beatles said that his bass playing on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was inspired by Carol's work on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. Alison Richter from Bass Guitar magazine called Carol the "First Lady" of bass playing, saying her style has influenced music deeply.

Carol never expected to be so well-remembered. At the time, most musicians thought pop music wouldn't last long. She is surprised that people still listen to the songs she played on. While the TV show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel had a character named Carole Keen who was inspired by Carol Kaye, Carol said the character wasn't really like her. In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Carol Kaye number five on its list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time.

Carol Kaye was chosen for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her incredible musical talent.

Personal Life

Carol Kaye has been married three times and has two living children. When she was 13, she took guitar lessons from Horace Hatchett, a respected teacher.

Later, she married musician Al Kaye and they had one son together. She later divorced and married again, having a daughter. Carol's third husband was jazz drummer Spider Webb. They even started a jazz/funk group called Spiders Webb, which recorded an album in 1976.

Selected Discography

See also

In Spanish: Carol Kaye para niños

Images for kids

• Carol Kaye playing in a concert, 1955.jpg

  Carol Kaye playing in a concert, 1955