Larry Knechtel
| Larry Knechtel | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Lawrence William Knechtel |
| Born |
August 4, 1940 Bell, California, United States |
| Died | August 20, 2009 (aged 69) Yakima, Washington, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Session musician |
| Instruments | Piano, Hammond organ, electric piano, harpsichord, harmonium, guitar, keyboards, bass, harmonica |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
Lawrence William "Larry" Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist, best known as a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, the Beach Boys, the Mamas & the Papas, the Monkees, the Partridge Family, the Doors, the Grass Roots,Jerry Garcia, and Elvis Presley, and as a member of the 1970s band Bread.
Born in Bell, California, in 1940, Knechtel began his musical education with piano lessons. In 1957, he joined the Los Angeles-based rock and roll band Kip Tyler and the Flips. In August 1959, he joined instrumentalist Duane Eddy as a member of his band the Rebels. After four years on the road with the band, and continuing to work with Eddy in the recording studio, Knechtel became part of the Los Angeles session musician scene, working with Phil Spector as a pianist to help create Spector's famous "Wall of Sound". Knechtel became a prominent member of session musicians the Wrecking Crew, performing on many hit songs of the period and earning him entry into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007.
In 1970 Knechtel won a Grammy Award for his piano work on "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. He also played the piano on Johnny Rivers' 1972 hit "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu".
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