Carol Kaye, Bass Deity, Is ‘Stunned’ by Her Rock Hall Honor

Among the unexpected names for this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction class was Carol Kaye, the peerless session bassist who played on some of the most important recordings of all time. (Just try the one-two punch of “Good Vibrations” and “Wichita Lineman” and see where the day takes you.) Kaye, at 90 years old, now joins some of her other Wrecking Crew members under the Musical Excellence Award umbrella, which honors artists whose “originality and influence have had a dramatic impact on music.” Over on her official Facebook page — which serves as a delightful archive of sorts about her history as a studio musician — Kaye has been responding to comments from fans praising the overdue award, stating she was “stunned” when she found out and it came as “a surprise” to her. “I appreciate so highly all the nice things you have said here,” Kaye wrote in a post on April 29, “and appreciate the wonderful loyalty!”

Kaye is taking issue, though, with the Rock Hall’s use of the term Wrecking Crew to describe the collective work she did with her fellow studio musicians during the 1960s and ’70s. “Please know our only name was Studio Musicians,” she wrote back to a commenter, “not the name a drummer made up for his own quest for fame.” (She was referring to Hal Blaine, who coined the term.) She noted in another response that “some things need to be ironed out first” about the induction and she’s “not sure if I can put up with their ‘wrecker’ ID to go to it.” Also, as a nonagenarian, Kaye admitted that a trek to Los Angeles for the ceremony was unlikely for reasons of comfort: “Am not feeling up to much.” With that, we’ll blast one of her hits out of respect and hope she keeps feelin’ all right.

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