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Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) [1] is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. One of the most sought after guitarists of his era, Carlton has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorded on hundreds of albums in many genres ...
Larry Carlton’s own musical story began in Southern California. He picked up his first guitar when he was only six years old. He was introduced to jazz in junior high school after hearing The Gerald Wilson Big Band album, Moment of Truth, with guitarist Joe Pass.
- The Four Tops – Ain’T No Woman
- Joni Mitchell – Court and Spark
- Marlena Shaw – Feel Like Makin’ Love
- Carmen Mcrae – only Women Bleed
- Michele Pillar – Look Who Loves You Now
- Larry Carlton – Smiles and Smiles to Go
When the Four Tops left Motown and moved to ABC/Dunhill, Steve Barri and writers Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter co-produced the triumphant Keeper of the Castle. This single, featuring Larry’s distinctive guitar fills, brought the Four Tops their third #1 R&B hit and a top 10 pop hit.
“I was playing at The Baked Potato…and one night [Joni] came in to hang out. She told [the saxophonist / arranger] Tom Scott, ‘I’d like to go in the studio with you guys,’” he recalled to Guitar Player. Larry played on eight of Court and Spark’s eleven songs. The album earned four Grammy nominations and one win.
Jazz chanteuse Marlena Shaw was redefining her sound when she entered the studio in 1974 to record Who Is This Bitch, Anyways? Larry brought his pop and jazz sensibilities to center stage on this sexy, swinging version, helping Shaw score the best-selling album of her tenure at Blue Note Records.
“During the last couple of years of my session work, I was also being called as an arranger. It felt good to just not play the guitar, but to write the parts out and lead the sessions,” he explained to Premiere Guitar. “Only Women Bleed,” popularized by Alice Cooper, showcases Larry’s inventive ideas – and is a rare chance to hear him on piano.
In 1984, Larry produced his first album in the contemporary Christian market for Michele Pillar, resulting in her third Grammy nomination. Pillar told Billboard, “[Larry] had such high standards. If he said [a song] was only ‘pretty good,’ we’d set it aside.” The title track spent 13 weeks at #1 on CCM Magazine’s Top 40 Airplay chart.
Of one of his most streamed compositions, Larry recounted to Guitar Player: “I wrote it at the keyboard, but I’d never played guitar on it until the session.” He credits bassist Abraham Laboriel for helping him find the melody line in one of his piano parts before the session began. “We did a couple of takes, and that was it.” Looking for more? Che...
Aug 18, 2000 · Instead, Carlton says he moved here for two reasons: To be close to his two children, who had moved to Lebanon, Tenn., with their mother, Carlton’s ex-wife; and to fulfill a lifelong dream to ...
He displayed an aptitude for music early in life. Picking up the guitar at the age of six, he subsequently discovered jazz while in junior high school after hearing the album Moment of Truth by the Gerald Wilson Big Band, featuring guitarist Joe Pass.
Feb 15, 2022 · In the late 60s, L.C. wrote jingles and radio commercials and even appeared on television as “Larry Guitar” on a children’s show. As his musical reputation grew, he received calls for recording dates requesting the sweet tone that he delivered from his Gibson 335.
Jul 25, 2014 · 1. What was your first guitar, and when did you get it? "The first guitar that I played belonged to my mother when she was a teenager, because she played guitar in south-eastern Oklahoma when she was growing up. She played rhythm guitar, and her father played the fiddle - and they would play at some of the local dances and at church.
