The Smiley Smile Message Board

I just found out that Jerry Cole, the legendary guitarist who helped shape a the guitar sound of the '60s and played on many a Beach Boys session, has passed away at age 68.

I had the privilege of recording literally side by side with Jerry late last year and even gigged with him earlier this year at NAMM.  He was a brilliant guitarist, and a real character.

I posted a blog about him on my myspace page, but given that it's an insufficient tribute I won't repost it here.  I know he was much admired by many of us, and wanted to let folks know.

adam marsland
www.myspace.com/adammarsland

Wow, very sad to hear, but thanks for letting us know Adam.  First Larry Levine, and now Jerry Cole.
It'll add a certain sad poignancy to alot of Beach Boys records now, knowing that Jerry has passed on.

Oh man.  Thanks, Adam.  This is a sad day.  As if the intro to Wouldn't it be Nice didn't make me weep enough already.

I was just reading Jerry Cole's MySpace and came across the following:

"In what may be a truly fitting final tribute, Jerry and some of the original Wrecking Crew have been recording with Brian Wilson, for the first time since Pet Sounds".

He lives on in the music he recorded.

A quick perusal of the back of 15BO shows Jerry Cole credited on "Palisades Park" at least.

Yeah, Jerry recorded with the Beach Boys plenty of times after Pet Sounds...

Interesting, I just realized that Jerry was pretty young compared to some of the other Wrecking Crewers, He would have only been 25-26 circa Pet Sounds...so playing across from Barney Kessel who was in his 40s must've been great fun and a great education.

He would have been more of a peer to Brian.

Do we know what Jerry and the crew were recording with Brian recently?  I'd imagine it not being TLOS since as far as I know that was using most of the BWBand... 

Jerry Cole, 68; guitarist, songwriter recorded surf music albums
From a Times Staff Writer
June 6, 2008


Jerry Cole, a guitarist and songwriter who released several surf music albums in the 1960s and recorded with prominent bands such as the Beach Boys and the Byrds, died of a heart attack May 28 at his Corona home, said his wife, Gale. He was 68.

With his own group, the Spacemen, Cole released four albums of "space-age surf music" in just over two years, beginning with "Outer Limits" in 1963, according to the Allmusic Internet database.

Cole was a member of producer Phil Spector's Wrecking Crew studio collective, a group of musicians who played on many pop hits in the 1960s. Cole can be heard on the Beach Boys' 1966 album "Pet Sounds," the Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man" single and the band Them's self-titled 1965 album.

Born Jerald Edward Kolbrak on Sept. 23, 1939, in Green Bay, Wis., Cole moved to Los Angeles and joined the Champs in 1959 after the instrumental quintet had recorded the chart-topping "Tequila." Fellow band members included Glen Campbell as well as Jimmy Seals and Dash Crofts, who became successful as the duo Seals and Crofts in the 1970s.

On television, Cole led the pit bands for the mid-1960s rock-'n'-roll-oriented shows "Shindig" and "Hullabaloo." He also cut a number of instrumental rock albums under a variety of names.

Cole went in a country-rock direction after session work with Roger Miller and country singers Chuck Howard and Susie Allanson, Allmusic reported.

In 2004, Cole was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

In addition to Gale, whom he married in 1984, Cole is survived by daughters Monique and Katrina and a son, Cane.

A celebration of his life will be held at 1 p.m. June 28 at Corona Christian Center, 1901 W. Ontario Ave., Corona.

news.obits@latimes.com