Browsing: session musicians

Clare Torry’s wordless vocal on “Great Gig” took hours to record, decades to credit, and changed how we value improvised genius.

Jeff Beck’s 1966 super-session spawned a rock classic – and a credit mystery: did Eric Clapton really play on “Beck’s Bolero”?

Before capes and prog epics, Rick Wakeman was a first-call studio weapon – shaping Cat Stevens and Bowie with piano sparkle and Mellotron haze.

Session ace, songwriter, ringmaster: how Leon Russell quietly shaped rock, country, gospel, and the big touring machine.

Before the ’70s spotlight, Leon Russell was LA’s stealth piano ace, shaping hits as a first-call session weapon long before the credits caught up.