The Smiley Smile Message Board

Billy Strange passed away yesterday aged 81: another Crew member gone. Condolences to his family and friends.

I loved his work as an arranger, especially on Nancy Sinatra albums. Condolences to those close to him.

He played the wonderful 12 string guitar opening on Sloop John B

RIP, Billy.

RIP 

That's sad. I love his work with the BBs, Jan & Dean and hundreds of others including Elvis. Billy co-wrote "A little less conversation" and "Memories" among others that Presley recorded, and worked as arranger with him.


(http://www.biwa.ne.jp/~presley/celeb/BillyStrange.jpg)

http://www.myvideo.de/watch/2165683/Elvis_Presley_Memories (http://www.myvideo.de/watch/2165683/Elvis_Presley_Memories)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7gzSAmlLyI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7gzSAmlLyI)



Here's an german article and video interview (english) with Strange from 2010
http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/pop-und-jazz/Das-unbekannte-Genie-hinter-Elvis-und-Sinatra/story/18265168 (http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/kultur/pop-und-jazz/Das-unbekannte-Genie-hinter-Elvis-und-Sinatra/story/18265168)

Sad news but what a legacy he left behind! Amazing talent.

Another Wrecking Crew musician gone - unfortunately this will become more frequent as the years go by.

I'm giving advice that I myself haven't followed as much as I should, but if anyone is a fan of these musicians, has a question for them, or just wants to thank them for the music, search out their websites and send them an email, or post a comment to them. It's a mutual benefit! And you can get in touch before it's too late, as was the case with Billy this week and Al Vescovo months ago, among others who have passed.

I was on Billy's message board and website and posted a few questions, I don't even remember what they were but two of them were about Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West...Billy was involved with those amazing sessions and played rhythm guitar in the early 50's for them, he's even shown in one of the CD package photos with them. Ironically and maybe fittingly, Billy was cast in the movie "Coal Miner's Daughter" to play Speedy West! :-D It was really, really cool to get a reply from him, that was awesome for me as a fan.

He's one of those musicians like Blaine and Tedesco who you've heard thousands of times, wondered "Who is THAT playing guitar?" or "Who wrote that song?", and later you discover it's someone like Billy, the formerly anonymous musician who is found all over your favorite music.

He definitely made a mark on Brian's recordings and Beach Boys history in general.
 

I really liked the story of how Brian got him to come down to the studio and play on Sloop John B. What a great musician he was - he played on a whole lot of records, didn't he?

Mikie, that Sloop story is one of my favorites of the whole studio scene legend! It shows what kind of a guy Brian was, how he treated the musicians, and why he'd be able to get the upper echelon of players to work on his sessions. I don't believe I've heard any musician of that era have a bad word about Brian, unlike other producers like Spector who some really came to despise and avoid because of how they were treated. Musicians would cancel other dates to play for Brian, while some had a "blacklist" of producers they wouldn't work with.

For anyone who doesn't know the Sloop story, Brian needed a guitar overdub for Sloop. They called Billy, who was spending time with his family that day, to come in and play a 12-string electric overdub. He showed up but didn't have the setup, so Brian arranged for a new Fender 12-string and new amp to be brought to the studio. After Billy played the part - a masterful part, BTW - Brian not only paid him but told him to take the new guitar and amp as well. What a gift. :)

Billy made a handful of instrumental albums and had a few semi-hit singles with them. Besides guitar, he became perhaps more well-known as a producer, arranger, and songwriter. His website says the writing royalties for his song "Limbo Rock" paid his mortgage bills for decades.

Yep!  More on the Sloop story and other stuff from Billy regarding Brian:

Billy Strange on Sloop John B: "I had just gotten a divorce, and I had my son one day a month. Brian called me on that Sunday. I had gone to pick up my son, and he tracked me down at my ex-wife's house in the Hollywood Hills. He said, 'You gotta come to Western 3 right now and listen to this right now and see if there's something you can do on it I said, 'I have my son, and I don't have a guitar.' He said, 'Don't worry about it.' So we went there, and he played it for me. It was 'Sloop John B.' He said 'What I need is an electric 12-string guitar solo right here.' I said, 'Brian, I don't even own an electric 12-string.'

'So he called Glenn Wallichs at home, the owner of Wallichs Music City and he sent somebody down to the music store. [Wallichs was one of the founders of Capitol Records; his store was located on the northwest corner of Sunset and Vine] They opened the store up, got a Fender 12-string and a Fender Twin amplifier, brought it to the studio. I tuned it up. I made one pass at this thing, it was either eight or sixteen bars, and Brian was happy with t. He said 'That's it.' He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills and gave me $500 and said 'Don't forget to take your guitar and amplifier.' That's the kind of guy he was."

Brian: "Oh! Billy Strange! Do you remember 'Sloop John B?' Do you wanna hear what happened? I cut the track, right? Billy Strange was playing direct in the booth. Guitar. Direct in the booth. He was not in the studio. And after it was done, I went 'Well, that's a wrap, guys! That's it!' He goes, 'Hey, wait a minute. What if I played a third above that (sings) do-do-do-do-doot.' And we overdubbed that onto it and the whole track started to sparkle! I couldn't believe it, you know? It was like the difference between night and day. Really something."


Billy Strange: "Working with Brian was always an experience unlike working with anybody else. Over and above his composing, the man's brilliance shown through as an arranger. He would build things in his mind, and then try to convey them to you. He would play it to you on piano, and we would spend so much time, sitting and listening, waiting for what was gonna come out of his mouth next. The man was a genius when it came to putting harmonic lines together. The chord structures were just brilliant. We didn't know the name of the song; we just knew it was building into a helluva feel. Two months later, you would hear the finished product, and it sounded completely different but everything melded together in a perfect manner. There were never vocal mistakes. He was very much influenced by the pop musical sounds of that era and integrated it into his writing and arranging. There were several pop vocal groups that were successful back then, like the Hi-Los, and Brian took some of those harmonies, those vocal attitudes and transposed them to the rock 'n' roll field and it was just marvelous.

"The session would start with Brian at the piano displaying something he wanted to hear; he played almost every instrument. He was able to sit at a piano and play not just a chord pattern but the inside movements within a given chord structure. There would be a bass line that would stand out, and there would be inside movements like a raised third or a suspension of sorts built into a chord pattern. He didn't say 'Play an E9 Suspended 4th.' Rather than verbiage, it was more 'show and tell.' It was a teaching process and a learning process for all of us; we all gathered little bits and pieces of what he was doing. But his attitude in the studio was always so creative, so giving. Like, 'I'm creating something brand spanking new and if you just listen, I'll teach you.' We would do it our own way, trying to emulate what he was laying down for us.


Billy: "Everything Brian did was so innovative; at that time that you couldn't help but be impressed by his final outcome. It was unlike anything else any other writer/producer was doing. We were playing with rock 'n rollers like Jan & Dean, and Spector had the black sound, but Brian's things stood out because they were musically different. If Brian could have been something, he would have been the Rachmaninoff of rock 'n' roll. He was writing things that varied from the three-chord genre of blues and rock. He was coming up with things that were very classical. Very classical musical moves in his rock. His ballads were just dynamite. They could have been cut by Sinatra.

"Wild things happened on practically every date. We would be called for sessions, and in those days, there were no cartage companies, so you carried everything in your car, a ukulele and a banjo and three different types of rhythm and four electric guitars and amplifiers. You were called to play stringed instruments, and you carried everything into the studio. With Brian, there was always experimentation of qualities of sounds. It was more the quality of what you played than the line. The sound color that he was able to build in, not so much the basic tracks. Brian's forte was building things that were different musically, then on top of it, the overlay of vocals used to astound me."


Billy again: "One time, there was a song we were recording, and Brian was just not happy with what was happening with the bass pedals on the organ. We recorded and recorded trying to get this thing right. Brian ended up laying down on the floor, under the bench, playing the bass notes with his hands. Whoever the other piano player was, said 'I can do that.' And sat down and played it. Brian said, 'No, it doesn't sound right with your feet! So the guy lay down on the bench and played the bass pedals with his hands. Every session was something else. And every time you would hear one of those tracks on the air, driving to work, you would recall things from the date. His songwriting, combined with his genius for production...his innovative and very contemporary thinking and leadership...all came together to create what was, and will continue to be, an era that will live in our musical history. There was never a man more dedicated to his craft than Brian Wilson. It was simple. If he wasn't happy with what he heard, Brian wouldn't let it come out until it was perfect. His love for the music and the process by which he creates it were, and still are, a marvel to behold. Very simply, he is one of the most talented human beings who ever walked into a recording studio. Brian's music will live on long after all of us, hopefully, are playing in that 'much larger rock and roll band' with all the rest of the greats who have gone before. What a show that will be! I imagine that Brian will be arranging and producing for us all."



Billy's parents were both guitar players, and as a five-year old, Billy Strange sang on his dad's radio show; by the time he was ten, he had picked up his first guitar. Later on, as a full-time professional, he began branching out, playing all sorts of club dates, and in the early '50s in LA., he began cutting demos that led to studio work. Like all the versatile players of his era, he could play with Tennessee Ernie Ford on "Hometown Jamboree with Cliffie Stone" one day and then with the likes of Nelson Riddle, Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole or Elvis Presley the next. By the early sixties, he and Glen Campbell had become the two busiest guitar players in town, and as a member of Spector's regular studio orchestra, it was no surprise when Billy got the call to play with Brian at Western Studio 3.

Secret Agent Man!   RIP, Billy Strange.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSob=c&GSlh=1&GRid=85562219&

"Don't forget to take your guitar and amplifier"

WHAT A COMPLETE RIOT!!!!!

Terrific stories!  Thanks much for posting, Mikie!

I edited my post and put a link there with a video where Billy tells the story of Brian and Sloop although in short. Check it out

This is really sad.

From the back of 'Nancy & Lee', a record which Billy Strange arranged.

"Is Billy really Strange?"

"Yeah he is.... But he's the best arranger in the world.... So let him be what he wants."


 :)