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Women Session Musicians

LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
edited March 2015 in Strut Central
I think I am going to watch the Wrecking Crew doc soon, just to see Carol Kaye. (I hate the premiss that these guys were the true musicians behind all the great 60s rock records.)

Recently seen Muscle Shoals and Stax docs. No women session musicians there.
Who were the great (non vocal) female session musicians?
I got:
Bobbye Hall.
Carole King, Dorothy Ashby, Mary Watkins... Help me out, I am really reaching here.

  Comments

  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    Don't think I'd call Dorothy Ashby a session musician, she mostly led her own groups.

    Replace with Corky Hale.
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,960 Posts
    The impression I get is that it was like a locker room and women would have found it tough to break that clique. Singers, sure. But not many female instrumentalists I can think of - classical music may have had more?
  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    Cindy Blackman Santana
    Geri Alan

    But they are both kind of also touring musicians as well..
  • JimsterJimster Cruffiton.etsy.com 6,960 Posts
    Geri Allen has had her own recording trio for a long time. I don't know if she was rubbing shoulders with the Wrecking Crew and Dem back in their heyday.
  • mrmatthewmrmatthew 1,575 Posts
    Chances are pretty good that they there were some solid go-to female string players who probably got alot of work in the seventies.
    I bet a quick perusal of some basic CTI gatefolds might get that ball rolling.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Mention of CBS brought Shelia Escovedo to mind.
  • magpaulmagpaul 1,314 Posts
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    sue evans

    if we are counting background singers, we could go much deeper..

    venetta fields
    clydie king
    merry clayton
    lani groves
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Patrice Rushen
  • ketanketan Warmly booming riffs 3,180 Posts
    Joanne Brackeen
  • fishmongerfunkfishmongerfunk 4,154 Posts
    but patrice and joanne were basically working jazz musicians who led their own groups and had a bunch of recordings out under their own names...also didn't patrice become known mostly as a producer?
  • ketanketan Warmly booming riffs 3,180 Posts
    crabmongerfunk said:
    but patrice and joanne were basically working jazz musicians who led their own groups and had a bunch of recordings out under their own names...also didn't patrice become known mostly as a producer?

    Id just listening through a Freddie Hubbard album with Joanne on piano. So jazz ensemble members are distinguished from session players then? That makes some sense.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    I would say jazz session players are session players.
    I was originally thinking of people who played on soul/rock/pop records.

    The Atlantic/Chess/Stax/LA/NY/Gold Star/Nashville/Houston/Miami type players.
    But since women session players are so few and far between lets open this up.
    No back ground singers please.
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