Somehow, I keep circling around The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album. This isn't a bad thing, but it must be the Universe's way of telling me to do a proper research. I will, Universe, I will! Promise! Just not yet. Instead, I want to tell you about a bass player. The bassist in mind is Carol Kaye.
Carol Kaye is responsible for the bass line on The Beach Boys' Wouldn't It Be Nice (First track from Pet Sounds. See what I mean?). You've probably heard her playing in lots of other songs too. Spanning a 55 year career as a session musician, Kaye can be heard on recordings from The Beach Boys, Phil Spector, The Doors, Joe Cocker, Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, John Williams, and about a zillion others. Also a guitar player, she can be heard on Ritchie Valens' La Bamba.
She's also a teacher. In 1969, she wrote and published a bass method book: How to Play the Electric Bass. Since 1949, she played and taught guitar professionally, and got into session work accidentally in 1957, with Sam Cooke recordings. An impressive career, all in all. The First Lady of bass continues to perform and teach.
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