california dreamin'

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one last question, 3/3 -

is that really glen campbell playing the intro to california dreamin'?

― robert dennis, Friday, 27 August 2004 01:34 (twenty-one years ago)

sounds like an urban legend variation on this:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_319a.html

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 27 August 2004 01:49 (twenty-one years ago)

dunno, but it's Hal Blaine on drums. And the group of musicians who played on those records included Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco and Billy Strange, guitars; Blaine and Earl Palmer, drums; Carol Kaye and Red Callender, bass; Leon Russell, Larry Knetchel, Don Randi, piano. So it's perfectly plausible that Campbell played guitar on "California Dreamin'." I'll have to find out for sure now...

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Friday, 27 August 2004 14:55 (twenty-one years ago)

no reason to think it's urban legend...Glen played session guitar on probably 90% of everything that came out of LA in the 60s. Any urban legend re: the byrds probably stems from the fact that their first singles were mostly studio musicians, though I think Mguinn always appears on guitar, and after the first single or two, it was supposedly mostly the band.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 27 August 2004 15:12 (twenty-one years ago)

hi Dan!

the timing as such, what with Glen was already well into his 3rd/4th solo single by the time "California Dreamin'" came out so the likelihood of him being coming back from Japan around this time, then recording his singles and still playing session work is, as Cecil says in the link above, probaby not very high.

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 27 August 2004 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

my thinking is, he's among those credited and the part just not sound like tedesco to me. of course, if he was off in japan at the time... perhaps the tradition of phoning in your part might have had its early roots there!

― robert dennis, Friday, 27 August 2004 16:17 (twenty-one years ago)

ah, but playing devil's advocate, what Cecil doesn't mention is that Glen's solo career, which started in 62, didn't take off untill around 67 when Gentle on My Mind came out. Prior to that it was a big dud. While California Dreaming was recorded in late 65, and it is known that Glen played on some of their records.

Just sayin'

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Friday, 27 August 2004 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

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