Post by Rob Durkee on Aug 23, 2009 21:51:53 GMT -5
By ROCKIN' ROBIN
Larry Knechtel, who was a member of the soft-rock pioneer 70's group Bread and played piano on the Simon and Garfunkel classic #1 hit, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," died Thursday (August 20, 2009) at Yakima (Washington) Valley Memorial Hospital. He had turned 69 earlier this month (August 4). According to the Yakima Herald-Republic, he'd suffered a heart attack.
Knechtel played guitar, bass, keyboards and harmonica for Bread, which had 11 Cash Box pop chart Top 40 hits in the 1970's. Bread helped pioneer that decade's soft rock sound. It should be pointed out, though, that Knechtel wasn't part of the initial hit success of Bread. He wasn't with the group yet when it hit #1 in 1970 with "Make It With You," and probably wasn't with the group on its followup, "It Don't Matter To Me."
Knechtel replaced Robb Royer in Bread, starting with the group's third album. David Gates, Bread's lead singer and leader, told writer Keith Thursby of the Los Angeles Times, "We needed somebody to play bass and keyboards and to provide a strong element that we'd been lacking. Larry was just what we needed."
It's believed Knechtel was part of Bread and its top 10 hits "If," ""Baby I'm A Want You," "Everything I Own" and "The Guitar Man." Bread had three other hits that narrowly missed the top 10 with two #11's--"Sweet Surrender" and "Aubrey"--and the #12-peaking "Lost Without Your Love."
"It just snowballed," Knechtel told the Yakima newspaper. "I was in the right place at the right time. It was a lotta fun. We were all young. I was making big money and hearing myself on the radio."
The list of acts Knechtel has worked with is impressive. He worked for some four hours on the piano arrangement for Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which was not only the #1 single of 1970, but also one of the most honored songs in Grammy Award history. "Bridge" won both Song And Record of the Year Grammys, for instance.
Knechtel played guitar for Elvis Presley for the soundtrack of "Speedway" in the summer of 1967 as well as for Elvis' historic late 1968 TV comeback special. He also worked with the Beach Boys on their famous "Pet Sounds" album as well as their "Smile" LP. Knechtel has also worked with the Doors, the Mamas and the Papas, the Byrds, Neil Diamond and the Dixie Chicks.
Knechtel's career began in 1957, when he joined the Los Angeles rock and roll band Kip Tyler and the Flips. Two years later in 1959, he joined Duane Eddy's backup group, the Rebels. He was also a member of the legendary Wrecking Crew, a Los Angeles studio group that included Glen Campbell, Leon Russell and session drummer Hal Blaine. In 2007, the Wrecking Crew was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville.
Larry Knechtel, who was a member of the soft-rock pioneer 70's group Bread and played piano on the Simon and Garfunkel classic #1 hit, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," died Thursday (August 20, 2009) at Yakima (Washington) Valley Memorial Hospital. He had turned 69 earlier this month (August 4). According to the Yakima Herald-Republic, he'd suffered a heart attack.
Knechtel played guitar, bass, keyboards and harmonica for Bread, which had 11 Cash Box pop chart Top 40 hits in the 1970's. Bread helped pioneer that decade's soft rock sound. It should be pointed out, though, that Knechtel wasn't part of the initial hit success of Bread. He wasn't with the group yet when it hit #1 in 1970 with "Make It With You," and probably wasn't with the group on its followup, "It Don't Matter To Me."
Knechtel replaced Robb Royer in Bread, starting with the group's third album. David Gates, Bread's lead singer and leader, told writer Keith Thursby of the Los Angeles Times, "We needed somebody to play bass and keyboards and to provide a strong element that we'd been lacking. Larry was just what we needed."
It's believed Knechtel was part of Bread and its top 10 hits "If," ""Baby I'm A Want You," "Everything I Own" and "The Guitar Man." Bread had three other hits that narrowly missed the top 10 with two #11's--"Sweet Surrender" and "Aubrey"--and the #12-peaking "Lost Without Your Love."
"It just snowballed," Knechtel told the Yakima newspaper. "I was in the right place at the right time. It was a lotta fun. We were all young. I was making big money and hearing myself on the radio."
The list of acts Knechtel has worked with is impressive. He worked for some four hours on the piano arrangement for Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which was not only the #1 single of 1970, but also one of the most honored songs in Grammy Award history. "Bridge" won both Song And Record of the Year Grammys, for instance.
Knechtel played guitar for Elvis Presley for the soundtrack of "Speedway" in the summer of 1967 as well as for Elvis' historic late 1968 TV comeback special. He also worked with the Beach Boys on their famous "Pet Sounds" album as well as their "Smile" LP. Knechtel has also worked with the Doors, the Mamas and the Papas, the Byrds, Neil Diamond and the Dixie Chicks.
Knechtel's career began in 1957, when he joined the Los Angeles rock and roll band Kip Tyler and the Flips. Two years later in 1959, he joined Duane Eddy's backup group, the Rebels. He was also a member of the legendary Wrecking Crew, a Los Angeles studio group that included Glen Campbell, Leon Russell and session drummer Hal Blaine. In 2007, the Wrecking Crew was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville.
