Page 75 - Been There… Done That!

Been There... Done That!
incredible. Anyone who was stuck in a recording session just called Glen. He was always current and always had terrific ideas for any genre of music. Whenever I stood in line with him at Union Local 47, he always had great stories from the past week.
The drummer who got the most credit for studio sessions was Hal Blaine. It was well deserved, but the drummer who blew me away was Mickey Jones. The first time I saw Mickey play was with Johnny Rivers at the Whisky a Go Go and I was mesmerized by how great their trio sounded with Mickey on drums, Joe Osborn on bass and Johnny on guitar. The problem I had at the time was I simply couldn’t afford to hire musicians like them. The 60s in Hollywood were incredible, with groups like Johnny Rivers’ band, the Righteous Brothers and Roger Miller performing within a mile of where we were and a few of the acts in Hollywood and in the San Fernando Valley. Now there are probably thirty acts performing just on Sunset in Hollywood.
The thing that made the songs great, many of which we still hear today, was the exceptional playing of musicians like Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine, Joe Osborne, Barney Kessel, Billy Strange, Howard Roberts and my favorite engineer Bones Howe. Their credits alone would take up a hundred books... and to think that I was there.
Signed to perform at the Pussycat in Las Vegas I was really concerned as to what they would expect, but owner Garwood Van said just to do what we do in PJ’s and the Whisky. What about getting a Sheriff’s card and all of the things that would be required for us to do? Mr. Van told us not to worry because the Sheriff, Ralph
73