On March 18, 2014, Joseph Anthony Lala died aged 66. He was musician (percussion), singer and actor, worked with many musicians and bands including The Byrds, Ringo Starr, Bill Wyman, Stephen Stills, Barbra Streisand, Dan Fogelberg, Manassas, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Neil Young, Dione Warwick, The Stills-Young Band, Rod Stewart, Graham Nash, The Bee Gees, Neil Diamond, Jackson Browne, Whitney Houston and Joe Walsh, but was best known as founding member and leader of the band Blues Image.
Tag Archives: Neil Diamond
Hal Blaine
On March 11, 2019, Harold Simon Belsky aka Hal Blaine died aged 90. He was musician (drums) regarded to be one of the most recorded studio drummers in the history of the modern music. He had more than 35,000 recording sessions in various music genres including big number of film and TV soundtracks. He worked with Shelley Fabares, The Crystals, Jan & Dean, The Beach Boys, Dean Martin, Lorne Greene, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, The Byrds, Sonny & Cher, Barry McGuire, Petula Clark, Nancy Sinatra, The Mamas & the Papas, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Rivers, The Supremes, The Association, Simon & Garfunkel, Tommy Roe, The 5th Dimension, Henry Mancini, The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, The Partridge Family, The Raiders, Barbra Streisand, John Denver, Captain & Tennille, Diana Ross, Sam Cooke, Van Dyke Parks, John Lennon, Lulu, Dennis Wilson, Paul Simon, Richard Harris, Glen Campbell, Emitt Rhodes, Art Garfunkel, Juice Newton, Michael Nesmith, Cher, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, J.J. Cale, José Feliciano, Bobby Darin, Rosanne Cash, Cass Elliot, Rodney Crowell, Dion DiMucci, Paul Anka, Barry Mann, Emmylou Harris, Jackie Lomax, Elkie Brooks, Helen Reddy, John Philips, Thelma Houston and Leonard Cohen. As leader Blaine released five albums.
Neil Diamond: The Best Years of Our Lives
On December 13, 1988, “Columbia” label released “The Best Years of Our Lives”, the eighteenth Neil Diamond studio album. It was recorded in 1988, at “Chartmaker Studios”, “Lion Share Recording Studios”, “Village Recorders”, “Ocean Way Recording” in Los Angeles, “A&M Studios” in Hollywood, “Omnisound Recording Studios” in Nashville, “Seacost Sound” in Victoria, British Columbia, and was produced by David Foster.
Personnel:
- Neil Diamond – lead vocals
- Bill Champlin, Tamara Champlin, Renée Geyer, Richard Page – backing vocals
- Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar
- Dean Parks – acoustic and electric guitar
- Michael Landau, Steve Lukather – electric guitar
- Michael Boddicker, Robbie Buchanan, David Foster, Tom Hensley, Alan Lindgren, Michael Omartian, David Paich – keyboards
- Mike Brignardello, Reinie Press – bass guitar
- Tris Imboden, Paul Leim, Carlos Vega – drums
- Rick Bowen, Rhett Lawrence, Kevin Maloney – synthesizer programming
- Gary Grant, Jerry Hey, Dan Higgins, Bill Reichenbach Jr., Larry Williams – horns
- David Foster, Jerry Hey – horn arrangements
- Jeremy Lubbock – string arrangements
- David Foster – arranger
- Jeffrey Woodruff – engineer
- Jesse Kanner, Ray Pyle, Dave Reitzas – engineer assistant
- Humberto Gatica – mixing
- Mauricio Guerrero, Laura Livingston – mixing assistant
- George Marino – mastering
- David Kirschner – art direction, design
- Beverley Lazor-Bahr – additional design
- Matthew Rolston – photography
- Sam Cole, Chris Earthy – production coordination
- Ned Brown, Barry Cardinale, Larry E. Williams, Alison Zanetos – production assistant
Track listing:
All tracks by Neil Diamond, except where noted.
- The Best Years of Our Lives
- Hard Times for Lovers
- This Time – Neil Diamond, David Foster, Jeremy Lubbock
- Everything’s Gonna Be Fine – Neil Diamond, Weldon Dean Parks
- Hooked on the Memory of You
- Take Care of Me – Neil Diamond, David Foster
- Baby Can I Hold You – Tracy Chapman
- Carmelita’s Eyes – Neil Diamond, David Foster
- Courtin’ Disaster – Neil Diamond, David Foster
- If I Couldn’t See You Again
- Long Hard Climb – Neil Diamond, Tom Hensley, Alan Lindgren
Thomas Tedesco
On November 10, 1997, Thomas J. Tedesco died aged 67. He was a musician (guitar), part of the loose collective of Los Angeles area’s session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. As he played on hundreds studio recordings, “Guitar Player” magazine described him as “the most recorded guitarist in music history”. He recorded with the Beach Boys, Chet Baker, the Mamas & the Papas, the Everly Brothers, the Association, Bobby Darrin, Barbra Streisand, Jan and Dean, the 5th Dimension, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Zappa, Ricky Nelson, Cher, Neil Diamond, Van Dyke Parks, Michael Franks, Nancy and Frank Sinatra, Richard Harris, Peggy Lee, Johnny Rivers, Al Kooper, Michael Nesmith, Paul Anka, Don Ellis, Minnie Riperton, Maria Muldaur, Leon Russell, Aretha Franklin, Art Garfunkel, J.J. Cale, Quincy Jones, Stephen Bishop, Kenny Loggins, Jack Nitzsche, Sarah Vaughan, Lalo Schifrin, Randy Newman, Hugh Masakela, and Joan Baez. Tedesco performed on soundtracks including The French Connection, Jaws, The Godfather, Field of Dreams, and The Deer Hunter. As a leader he released ten albums.
Jay Migliori
On September 2, 2001, Jay Migliori died aged 70. He was a musician (saxophone), a founding member of Supersax, a Charlie Parker tribute band. Some artists he performed and recorded with include Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, The Beach Boys, Frank Zappa, Frank Sinatra, Maynard Ferguson, The 5th Dimension, Cannonball Adderley, Nat Adderley, Gene Ammons, Paul Anka, David Axelrod, Hoyt Axton, The Byrds, Captain & Tennille, Harry Chapin, Leonard Cohen, Albert Collins, Dick Dale, Neil Diamond, Woody Herman, Tito Puente, The Manhattan Transfer, Harry Nilsson, Van Dyke Parks, Esther Phillips, Helen Reddy, The Righteous Brothers, The Tubes, Loudon Wainwright III, Joe Williams, Brian Wilson, and Neil Young. As a leader, Migliori released three albums.
Lawrence Knechtel
On August 20, 2009, Lawrence William Knechtel died aged 69. He was a musician (keyboards, bass), a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians, and the band Bread. He recorded with big number of renowned artists including Elvis Presley, The Byrds, Barbra Streisand, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Cher, Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Mamas & the Papas, The Monkees, the Partridge Family, Paul Simon, Chet Baker, Jerry Garcia, Dave mason, Nancy Sinatra, Howard Roberts, Thelma Houston, Glen Campbell, Peter Allen, Barry Mann, Lalo Schifrin, Jimmy Webb, José Feliciano, Jackie DeShannon, Brian Cadd, Bobby Darin, Art Garfunkel, Stephen Bishop, David Clayton-Thomas, Billy Joel, Barry McGuire, Paul Young, Dolly Parton, Al Kooper, Johnny Rivers, John Denver, Chet Atkins, Helen Reddy, Joan Baez, Alen Roth, and Neil Diamond. Knechtel released two solo albums.
Gary Kellgren
On July 20, 1977, Gary Kellgren died aged 38. He was an audio engineer and co-founder of “The Record Plant” recording studios (with Chris Stone). He worked with musicians John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman, Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Bobby Goldsboro, The Animals, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Frank Zappa, Sly, and the Family Stone, Velvet Underground, Rod Stewart, Ravi Shankar, Keith Moon, CSNY, Barbra Streisand, and Neil Diamond. He also worked with producers Chas Chandler, Jack Douglas, Robert Margouleff, Phil Spector, Wes Farrell, Tom Wilson, and Bill Szymczyk.
Jerry Cole
On May 28, 2008, Jerald Kolbrak aka Jerry Cole died aged 68. He was musician (guitar), started the career in the bands The Champs (together with Glen Campbell), and Gee Cee’s. He has worked as session musician with many famous musicians and bands including The Byrds, Nancy Sinatra, The Beach Boys, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Roger McGuinn, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Aretha Franklin, The Righteous Brothers, Little Richard, Dean Martin, Merle Haggard, Ray Charles, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Lou Rawls, Johnny Rivers, Gregg Allman, Lee Hazlewood, Blood Sweat & Tears, Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond, Steely Dan and Isaac Hayes.
Wayne Jackson
On June 21, 2016, Wayne Lamar Jackson died aged 74. He was musician (trumpet, trombone, French horn). song writer and producer, playing trumpet in the “Stax Records” house band The Mar – Keys, but best known as co-founder, together with Andrew Love, and member of The Memphis Horns, regarded as “arguably the greatest soul horn section ever”. Jackson and Love played together on 52 No. 1 songs, and recorded and toured with many famous names, including Elvis Presley, Otis Reding, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, The Doobie Brothers, Al Green, Dusty Springfield, Jimmy Buffet, Robert Cray, Sam & Dave and many others. In 2012, the Memphis Horns received a “Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award” for outstanding artistic significance in music.
Andrew Love
On April 12, 2012, Andrew Love died aged 70. He was musician (saxophone), best known for being a member of The Memphis Horns. He was session musician at “Stax Records”, and together with trumpet player Wayne Jackson, he created the signature of Stax horn sound. Love has recorded and toured with many famous artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, The Doobie Brothers, Jimmy Buffett and Robert Cray.
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