Carol Kaye: God Only Knows What We’d Be Without Her

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I first discovered Carol Kaye while watching a documentary called “The Wrecking Crew.” In this documentary we enter into the world of professional recording artists in the 1960s and early 1970s. Many, including myself, were unaware that recording musicians would play in place of the original artists for the sake of a great recording. These artists include Frank and Nancy Sinatra, The Mamas and the Papas, The Beach Boys, Diana Ross, Tony Bennett, The Ronettes, and even Disneyland’s It’s A Small World.  Theme songs to TV shows like Batman, MASH, and a few tunes that were often played on game shows and at parties. Since The Wrecking Crew consisted of 350 musicians with the majority of them being male, the only female musician was bound to stand out.

This woman is Carol Kaye. Kaye is one of the bass players who provided the groove in the Wrecking Crew. The musicians were often given sheet music from the original artists, played the heck out of them, and were even granted the freedom to add rhythmic parts of their own. A great example of this is when Kaye created the famous bass part of the Mission Impossible theme song. Kaye explains in the documentary her muted palm technique she used to play for the riff. You can find more of Kaye’s clever guitar and bass lines here. Kaye influenced music in such a great way that it even seeped into Paul McCartney’s work.

“The thing that really made me sit up and take notice was the bass lines [...] it set me off on a period I had then for a couple of years of nearly always writing quite melodic bass lines. ‘God Only Knows’ is a big favorite of mine […] very emotional, always a bit of a choker for me, that one,” said McCartney.

Kaye’s father was a trombone player and her mother a pianist. She picked up a guitar at age fourteen and began playing bebop jazz guitar in night clubs around Los Angeles. Luckily for us, she accidentally got into studio work in the late 1950s for singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. When a Fender bass player didn’t show up for a session at Capitol Records, Kaye stepped in and eventually became the number one call for record companies, TV, movie and film. Kaye was a respected musician and seen as “one of the guys” by her peers. She let her playing do the talking and paved the way for women to succeed in the music industry.

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Not only was Kaye a great musician, she also had an iconic and note-worthy style. She wasn’t afraid to express her feminine wardrobe that embodied the ‘60s. On any given day she could be seen reppin’ her favorite white cat-eye sunglasses (worn even inside the studio), a leopard print jumpsuit, and coiffed bleached hair.

I find it inspirational to see a woman build a career for herself in a man’s world. Kaye talks about how it was common to see women become successful musicians at the time, but often quit after becoming a Mrs., for it was more important to have a family and settle down. Even though she got married, Kaye still continued to play and thrive in her music career.

As a student studying music and barely finishing up college, I hope to be this successful one day and grow as a musician. There are countless interviews of Kaye talking about music theory, music scales, and how to emulate emotion when playing. I find her sophistication and dedication to music enjoyable because you can tell it’s her passion. Anyone can watch her play and say, “Well damn, she really knows what she’s doing.” On her website, Kaye talks about the countless hours she dedicated to becoming a really good recording bass player.

“‘The coffee and vending machines got a work out too as sometimes we had to eat out of cans (no time to eat), sleep on our 5-minute break on the floor (get 8 hours sleep a night, are you kidding?), run to the next date. People used to ask how you got in the studios, we'd all say: ‘learn how to grab a parking place, don't be late, and carry a pencil, don't be egotistical, oh and yes, know how to create, read music and play your --- off’", said Kaye.

Today, Carol Kaye teaches guitar and bass lessons online through her website. At age 83, this definitely makes her the coolest grandma on the planet. God only knows where the recording industry would be without her.

MusicAbby FlowersCarol Kaye, The Wrecking Crew, music, musician, 60's, 70'sComment