Larry Knechtel (born Lawrence William Knechtel, died he was 69. Knechtel was a keyboard player and bassist, best known for his work as a session musician with Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Beach Boys (Pet Sounds, Smile), The Mamas & the Papas, The Doors, Elvis Presley ('68 NBC-TV Special),and as a member of the 1970s band, Bread.(August 4, 1940, Bell, California, died August 20, 2009)
Knechtel's musical education began with piano lessons. In 1957, he joined the Los Angeles based rock and roll band Kip Tyler and the Flips. His career took a giant leap forward in August 1959, when he joined legendary Rock and Roll instrumentalist Duane Eddy as a member of his band, The Rebels. After four years on the road as a Rebel, and continuing to work with Eddy in the recording studio, Knechtel became part of the Hollywood session musician scene, working with Phil Spector as a pianist to help create the famous Wall of Sound effect. His most famous piano work is his 1970 Grammy Award winning contribution to "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel.
Like many session musicians, Knechtel was proficient in other instruments, notably the harmonica and also the electric bass guitar (which can be heard on "Mr. Tambourine Man" by The Byrds) and on tracks by The Doors who did not have their own bass guitarist. In 1971, he joined Bread, where his many contributions include the memorable guitar solo on the hit single "The Guitar Man".
In recent years, Knechtel lived in semi-retirement in Yakima, Washington, until his death. He had, however, worked with record producer Rick Rubin, contributing with the keyboards to albums by Neil Diamond and the Dixie Chicks, and touring with the Dixie Chicks in support of their Grammy Award winning album Taking the Long Way. In 2007 he was inducted into The Musician's Hall of Fame with his fellow members of The Wrecking Crew.
Knechtel died on August 20, 2009, in Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Washington, at the age of 69 of an apparent heart attack.[1]
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