#mudcrutch

(October 20, 1950 - October 2, 2017)

Tom Petty in New York, October 1977

Al Kooper Turns 80 Today and Remains Bafflingly Anonymous

One of the few things the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has done right in recent years was finally - finally - inducting Al Kooper in 2023.

It’s just too bad the RRHOF’s tone-deaf brain trust waited until Kooper was nearly 80 - which he is as of today, Feb. 5, 2024 - to do it.

For while Kooper’s name is known by virtually no one, virtually everyone knows his music and his accomplishments. And he’s revered by his fellow musicians.

“I would describe Al as the best musician I have ever seen,” Joe Walsh once said.

Here are a few of the restless genius’ career highlights.

* He co-wrote Gary Lewis and the Playboys’ “This Diamond Ring.”

* He co-founded the Blues Project.

* He co-founded and fronted Blood, Sweat & Tears on Child is Father to the Man before ceding the band to David Clayton-Thomas.

* He played the signature organ riffs on Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”

* He played the French horn for the Rolling Stones on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

* He organized and produced Stephen Stills and Mike Bloomfield’s Super Session.

* He declined to sign Tom Petty’s first band, Mudcrutch, because, they “weren’t that good yet.”

* He discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd and produced their initial run of LPs.

“I think Lynyrd Skynyrd owes its success to Al Kooper,” Ed King once said. “Being a Yankee from the North, he provided a bird’s-eye view of how the Southern band should be presented to the world.”

Kooper’s the one turning 80 today. He’s also the one who’s been doing the gift-giving for decades.