Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Throughout much of the 1960s and 1970s he was a prolific studio musician, including playing organ on the Bob Dylan song "Like a Rolling Stone", French horn and piano 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". He also formed and named Blood, Sweat & Tears, though he did not stay with the group long enough to share in its subsequent popularity.
In the 1970s Kooper was a successful manager and producer, recording Lynyrd Skynyrd's first three albums. He has had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition. Kooper was selected for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Early life
Kooper was Alan Peter Kuperschmidt born in
Brooklyn, New York City, on February 5, 1944.
He grew up in a Jewish family in Hollis Hills, Queens.
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 song "
Short Shorts" (although Kooper did not play on that recording).
[ Friedman, Tyler, "Al Kooper: An Appreciation", Perfect Sound Forever, April 2007)] 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 Greenwich Village in
Manhattan.
With Bob Dylan
He first performed with
Bob Dylan playing the
Hammond organ riffs on "Like a Rolling Stone".
He had been invited to watch the recording by producer Tom Wilson. In those recording sessions, Kooper met and befriended
Mike Bloomfield, whose guitar playing he admired. He worked with Bloomfield for several years. In 1965, Kooper played with Dylan in concert and played Hammond organ with Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival and in the recording studio in 1965 and 1966. He played organ once again with Dylan during his 1981 world tour.
The Blues Project and Blood, Sweat & Tears
Kooper joined the Blues Project as their keyboardist in 1965. He left the band shortly before their
concert at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, although he did play a solo set, as evidenced by The Criterion Collection Blu-ray extended edition 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.
He recorded
Super Session with Bloomfield and
Stephen Stills in 1968,
and in 1969 he collaborated with 15-year-old guitarist
Shuggie Otis on the album
Kooper Session. In 1972, he rejoined The Blues Project at a charity concert promoted by
Bruce Blakeman at Valley Stream Central High School.
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 overdubbed his own efforts, as on
The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper and other albums, under the pseudonym "Roosevelt Gook".
As record producer
In 1969, Kooper produced, arranged, and conducted the album
Appaloosa, a "folk-baroque" style of music that combined rock and classical. Among other artists who were all arranging folk-oriented material with classical-influenced orchestration were
Judy Collins,
Donovan,
Tim Hardin, and
Tom Rush. Kooper was joined by Boston musicians John Parker Compton, singer and acoustic guitarist, Robin Batteau on violin, Eugene Rosov on cello, and David Reiser on electric bass. Contributing to the album was saxophonist
Fred Lipsius and Blood, Sweat & Tears drummer
Bobby Colomby.
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 1975 he produced the debut album of
the Tubes.
TV scores
Kooper wrote the scores for the TV series
Crime Story and the film
The Landlord, as well as several made-for-television movies. He was the musical force behind many pop tunes, including "You're the Lovin' End", for
The Banana Splits, a children's television program.
Studio
In the late 1980s, Kooper had his own dedicated keyboard studio 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, Barbara Kingsolver,
Stephen King,
Amy Tan, and
Matt Groening.
New Music For Old People
Kooper wrote a column called "New Music For Old People" for the online publication The Morton Report
from April 2014 to April 2015. This later led to a radio show by the same name, which began in October 2018, for Martha's Vineyard community radio station
WVVY-LP. The first 11 editions can be found online.
Magazine writer
Kooper profiled
Steve Martin for Crawdaddy Magazine in 1977.
Kooperkast
Kooper's podcast,
Kooperkast, started in late 2020. Hosted by webmaster Jon Sachs, Kooper discusses his experiences in his more than 60 years in the music industry, including his solo albums, Bob Dylan and Lynyrd Skynyrd. He answers questions that can be submitted on the Kooperkast page on his website.
Honors, awards, and legacy
In May 2001, Kooper was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston.
He taught songwriting and recording production there. He plays weekend concerts with his bands the ReKooperators and the Funky Faculty. In 2008, he participated in the production of the album
Psalngs,
the debut release of Canadian musician
John Lefebvre.
Kooper was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, in Nashville, in 2008.
In 2005, Martin Scorsese produced a documentary titled for the PBS American Masters Series, in which Kooper's contributions are recognized.
In 2023, Kooper was selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Award for Musical Excellence category.
Memoir
Kooper published a memoir,
Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life in the Sixties (1977), which was revised and published as
(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.
Discography
Solo
Studio albums
-
I Stand Alone (February 1969)
-
You Never Know Who Your Friends Are (October 1969)
-
Easy Does It (September 1970)
-
New York City (You're a Woman) (June 1971)
-
A Possible Projection of the Future / Childhood's End (April 1972)
-
Naked Songs (1973)
-
Act Like Nothing's Wrong (January 1977)
-
Championship Wrestling (featuring Jeff "Skunk" Baxter) (1982)
-
Rekooperation (June 1994)
-
Black Coffee (August 2005)
-
White Chocolate (2008)
Live albums
-
Soul of a Man (February 1995)
Soundtracks
-
The Landlord: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (with the Staple Singers and Lorraine Ellison)
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)
-
50/50 (50 Tracks/50 Years) (2008)
Collaborations
-
Super Session (with Stephen Stills and Mike Bloomfield) (1968)
-
The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper (February 1969)
-
Fillmore East: The Lost Concert Tapes 12/13/68 (with Mike Bloomfield, recorded 1968, issued April 2003)
-
Kooper Session: Super Session Vol. 2 (with Shuggie Otis) (1969)
-
Johnnie B. Live (with Johnnie Johnson) (1997)
Other appearances
|
| Piano, organ |
| Organ, guitar |
| Electric guitar, celesta, liner notes |
| Organ, vocals |
| Keyboards, vocals |
| Keyboards |
| Organ |
| Organ, piano, vocals, ondioline |
| Piano |
| Producer |
| The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground |
| piano, French horn and organ |
| Piano |
| Guitar, horn, keyboards |
| Organ, piano, electric guitar, French horn |
| Hammond organ |
| Keyboards, guitar |
| Organ |
| Lead guitar |
| Arranger, composer, keyboards, main personnel |
| Producer |
| Synthesiser, ARP |
| Producer, engineer, bass, Mellotron, back-up harmony, mandolin, bass drum, organ |
| Producer, backing vocals, piano |
| Guitar, piano, clavinet, arrangements, conductor |
| Producer |
| The Tubes |
| Organ, synthesizer, keyboards, performer |
| Producer |
| Keyboards, synthesisers |
| Piano, electric guitar |
| Rhythm guitar |
| Keyboards |
| Organ |
| Hammond organ, keyboards |
| Guest artist |
| Producer |
| Hammond organ |
| Guest artist, Hammond organ |
| Keyboards |
Keyboards |
| Guest artist, Keyboards |
Keyboards |
Sources
-
Mike Bloomfield, Me and Big Joe, Re/Search Publications, 1999, , .
-
Jan Mark Wolkin and Bill Keenom, Michael Bloomfield -- If You Love These Blues: An Oral History, Backbeat Books, 2000, (with CD of unissued music).
-
Ken Brooks, The Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper with Paul Butterfield and David Clayton Thomas, Agenda, 1999, , .
-
Al Kooper, Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life in the Sixties, Stein & Day, 1977, , .
-
Al Kooper, Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'n' Roll Survivor (updated ed.), Billboard Books, 1998, , .
-
Al Kooper, Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards (new ed.), Hal Leonard, 2008, , .
-
Ed Ward, Michael Bloomfield: The Rise and Fall of an American Guitar Hero, Cherry Lane Books,1983, , .
Notes
External links
