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Eric Gale

( 1938 Births )

Biography
Discography

As leader
As sideman

References
See also
External links

C O N T E N T S

Atlantic Columbia Cti Kudu

Rank: 100%

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Eric Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz and jazz fusion guitarist.

Biography

Eric Gale was born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York

(1995). 085112674X, Guinness Publishing. 085112674X

to an American mother and British father. His grandfather was English so he spent his holidays visiting family in the UK, which allowed him to look at the world through a different perspective. He was fluent in German and Spanish. Gale started playing the guitar at age 12.

(1993). 9780851127330, Guinness Publishing. ISBN 9780851127330

He attended private, all-boys Catholic schools and was exceptionally skilled at math. He skipped junior high school and, while in high school, frequently visited John Coltrane's home where he sat in on jam sessions, and was given after-school snacks by John Coltrane's wife, which he appreciated.

Patrick T. Will (2026). 9781561592845, Grove's Dictionaries Inc.. ISBN 9781561592845

Gale received his Masters in chemistry at Niagara University. Eric Gale rockandrollparadise.com Retrieved 13 May 2024 While a professor at Penn State University he made the momentous decision to pursue a musical career instead of a Ph.D. in Chemistry, which displeased his mother. In the late 1960's, Van Morrison recorded "Brown Eyed Girl", which was originally titled "Brown Skinned Girl". You can hear Eric's catchy riff in the session, but the radio stations requested the title be changed to "Brown Eyed Girl", as the original was considered too controversial for the times. Soon after, Frank Sinatra approached Eric to work on the hit song "My Way," as mentioned in Sinatra's autobiography. Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway's "Where Is the Love" (1972), Phil Upchurch and George Benson. Eric Gale and Phil Upchurch, New directionsinmusic.com, Retrieved 11 April 2025 to name a few.

Roberta Flack called Gale and begged him to come back home to New York to help her with her Killing Me Softly (1973) album. Gale was reluctant, so she flew the band members to him instead. After some persuading, they ended up returning to the United States. A close, intelligent friend of his, Flack worked together with Gale on her Killing Me Softly album. He had just finished recording his Negril album with Cedric Brooks, Richard Tee, the Wailers, along with Peter Tosh on vocals, in Kingston, Jamaica. Negril Jamaica Gleaner Online Retrieved 29 May 2024 He flew out to Montego Bay, Jamaica, to clear his mind and reconnect with nature, then was able to finish an album in Kingston with his friends who understood the inexplicable injustice of politics. This was mentioned in Aston "Familyman" Barrett's autobiography.

Gale often worked as a session musician, recording with musicians such as Bobby Lewis, King Curtis, Quincy Jones, Roberta Flack, Van McCoy, Jesse Belvin, Maxine Brown, Bobby Timmons, George Benson, Lena Horne, Joe Cocker, The Drifters, The Flamingos, Ashford & Simpson, Illinois Jacquet, Billy Joel, Herbie Mann, David "Fathead" Newman, Patti Austin, Mongo Santamaria, Paul Simon, Nina Simone, Jimmy Smith, Clark Terry, Fania All-Stars, and Jackie Wilson.

(2026). 9781617130236, Backbeat. ISBN 9781617130236

In the 1970s he became a studio guitarist for CTI Records, recording with Bob James, Stanley Turrentine, and Grover Washington Jr., and was a member of the R&B band Stuff with Steve Gadd and others.

(2026). 9780195074185, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195074185

His first of many albums as a solo act was released by Kudu Records. Gale played guitar on Van McCoy's hit "The Hustle"(1975) and Grover Washington Jr.'s "Just the Two of Us". Just the Two of Us Sessiondays.com, Retrieved 13 May 2024

Gale died of lung cancer in 1994 at the age of 55 and is survived by his wife Masako Gale, their three daughters, and three grandchildren.

Discography

As leader