by Robert Wilkinson
I’ve always found it interesting the two amazing and unique talents who have somewhat the same name were born on consecutive days. Both are completely unique, WAY ahead of their time, and gave us some great tunes! Today we’ll celebrate both of them and take a deep dive, getting our imagination moving to the great music of the legendary Al Kooper.
Al Kooper (born Alan Kuperschmidt February 5, 1944) is a major league record producer and performer. He’s played on hundreds of records, and was THE organ on Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.” He was the keyboard player for the mid-60s folk-rock jazz fusion group the Blues Project, which morphed into the original Blood Sweat & Tears when they actually were a unique, pioneering sound.
From there he brought Mike Bloomfield (the guitarist for the “Like A Rolling Stone” session) and Stephen Stills together in the groundbreaking first Super Session album, followed by the second one with Shuggie Otis. After that he discovered and produced Leonard Skynyrd, and went on to a thousand projects.
In my opinion, one of the greatest things he ever did was get CBS to release Odessey and Oracle, the masterwork by the Zombies consistently voted as one of the best albums of all time, when he was a staff producer for CBS. (Correction: Thanks to an alert fan of the site, though Al played with the Royal Teens as a guitarist, it was after their hit “Short Shorts,” featuring the great Bob Gaudio in his pre-4 Seasons days on keyboards! :-))
From Wikipedia:
He performed with Bob Dylan in concert in 1965,and in the recording studio in 1965 and 1966, including playing Hammond organ with Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Kooper also played on Dylan's “Like A Rolling Stone" It was in those recording sessions that Kooper met and befriended Mike Bloomfield, whose guitar-playing he admired. He worked extensively with Bloomfield for a number of years. Kooper played organ once again with Dylan during his 1981 world tour.
So on with the show! For this year’s tribute, I’ve chosen to focus on his early work, since it’s all too good for words!
First, history in the making! When Dylan went electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he had Al on the organ for “Maggie’s Farm” and “Like A Rolling Stone”
1965 was the year when Highway 61 Revisited blew everyone’s minds! He played the Hammond organ on “Like A Rolling Stone" and the fairly spooky “Ballad of A Thin Man” He also played the Hohner Pianet on “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”
Dylan tapped him again for his double album masterpiece Blonde On Blonde, where he was the musical director and played on every song. So if you want to hear him at his best, here’s the studio version of Blonde On Blonde. From that album, a few great ones!In no particular order, we begin with “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat,” followed by “Absolutely Sweet Marie.” For the middle of the set, we have “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)” and to close, “Visions of Johanna” and one of my favorites, “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again."
From his days with the Blues Project,
Here’s a site where going to the first link takes you to the entire album in sequence.
The Blues Project Live at the Café Au Go Go - 1966
From the Projections album, the original studio version of “I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes”
“Wake Me Shake Me” (Not the 4 Tops song!)
Al split from the Blues Project just before the legendary 1967 Summer of Love Monterey Pop Festival. But he did play a set there. All we have of those sets are these two songs.
Here's Al offering up “Wake Me Shake Me”
And here's the Blues Project performing “Flute Thing.”
We’ll close out the Blues Project part of his career with this gem which just surfaced! The Blues Project had a reunion in Central Park in 1973, and here’s there 54 minute show! The Blues Project Reunion in Central Park - 1973
From here we move on to an album I consider a masterpiece to this day! He was the driving force behind an idea to fuse a rock and roll band with a big band horn section, and created Blood Sweat & Tears. Their first album is not honk. Child Is Father To The Man is a masterpiece, a one of a kind effort at creating a sound that has only been approached by Chicago since then. A great work of blending rock and roll, jazz, blues, psychedelia, and whatever into a unique piece of work!
Here’s the entire album! It’s really worth your time, since it’s a 50 minute unique piece of work that stands the test of time. Child Is Father To the Man
For those who don’t have the time right now, here are a few of the better tunes!
One of Al’s truly great compositions, “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know”
Another AK composition, “My Days Are Numbered”
The great Harry Nilsson tune, “Without Her”
Here’s a great arrangement of the equally great Randy Newman tune “Just One Smile”
Al Kooper co-wrote this great rocker, “I Can’t Quit Her”
Two more Al Kooper compositions, “Somethin’ Goin’ On” and “House In The Country”
Here’s the closer, written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, the beautiful “So Much Love/Underture”
Now to a few clips from Super Session!
Written by the great Bob Dylan, “It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes A Train to Cry”
And what I consider to be the high point of the album, the incredible Donovan tune “Season of the Witch”
From his 1969 Kooper Session: Super Session Vol. II with 15-year old Shuggie Otis, “Shuggie’s Shuffle”
Here’s Al Kooper Performs at the Milestone Awards
Live in NY in 1994, here’s Al Kooper and friends live performing “Somethin’ Goin’ On” and “Morning Glory”
I found a great live performance by Al at BB King’s in NYC at his 2012 birthday celebration! For your enjoyment, Al Kooper and the Funky Faculty sending up “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know.”
A gem from 2015! Al did an hour and 38 solo performance in Washington DC for a very worthy organization. Songs from throughout his career. Here's the video of Al Kooper Live at The O Museum In The Mansion (10.24.2015)
We’ll close this tribute where we began! It’s Al Kooper reunited with Danny Kalb knocking out a great performance of “I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes”
For the encore, we'll revisit the tune which introduced Al to the world. Take a second look at Al's organ work combined with Mike Bloomfield's guitar wizardry when Dylan went electric at Newport in 1965, revolutionizing folk music forever! For your amazement, history in the making with the live performance of "Like A Rolling Stone."
Our second and final encore is a song on Electric Ladyland. Al played piano on "Long Hot Summer Night."
Here's a 9 minute interview with Al talking about Monterey, Jimi, and more! Al Kooper's Memories of Monterey Pop, Electric Lady Studios & More
Al, I’ve been one of your biggest fans since the beginning! Thanks for all the tunes across the years, and mos def thanks for the Zombies! And if you want to keep this tribute rolling, for your enjoyment, the brilliant and unique “Odessey and Oracle”
© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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