Leland Sklar

Sklar was born May 28, 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He moved to Los Angeles, California with his family when he was 4 years old. He was inspired to take up the piano when he was five by watching Liberace on his TV show. Sklar's natural talents saw him winning awards from the Hollywood Bowl Association. By age twelve, Sklar was burning out on the piano and was diverted to a Kay upright bass by his junior high school orchestra teacher, Mr. Ted Lynn.[2][3] While attending Birmingham High School (class of 1965),[4] Sklar gave up the bass drum in the marching band and became a drum major.[5] He went to Redlands University in the summer to drum major school. He still has his baton.[6]

Sklar went to college at California State University, Northridge, but his music career intervened. He was briefly the bass player for a hard rock band managed by Bill Graham called Wolfgang, consisting of Bryn Haworth, Ricky Lancelotti, Kevin Kelley, Randy Zacuto and Warren 'Bugs' Pemberton. Their only recordings were unreleased demo tracks.[7] It was during that time Sklar met James Taylor, when a friend of Wolfgang's drummer Bug Pemberton, John Fishbeck, co-owner of Crystal Sound on Vine Street in Hollywood, brought his friend James Taylor around to Wolfgang's rehearsal house. Taylor spent a couple of days with the band.[8] Later, Taylor was offered an appearance at the Troubadour and, remembering Sklar, invited him to play bass at that show. Both musicians thought that the work would be short-term, but soon Taylor's career took off with his first hit record, Sweet Baby James. Sklar became part of Taylor's backing band, along with Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, and Carole King, all joining Taylor in his rise to fame. Soon, with that exposure, Sklar was being asked to record with many other artists.[9]

In the 1970s, Sklar worked together so frequently with drummer Russ Kunkel, guitarist Danny Kortchmar, and keyboardist Craig Doerge, who replaced King, that they became "The Section," a distinction Taylor had bestowed upon them as his rhythm section. They backed other artists, such as Jackson Browne. The Section recorded three rock fusion albums of their own under that name in 1972, 1973 and 1977. With little label support, The Section disbanded in 1978, in favor of more lucrative endeavors.

In the 1980s, Sklar focused on session work in Los Angeles, Nashville, and Europe. However, with the advent of CDs and digital copying, album revenue dropped and session budgets shrank. Live performances and touring became more important to the music industry.

Sklar worked on the Phil Collins' album No Jacket Required and toured as part of Collins' band on The No Jacket Required World Tour from February through July of 1985. Sklar worked again with Collins on the album ...But Seriously in 1989 and toured with the Seriously, Live! World Tour, which ran between February and October 1990, covering 121 dates. Sklar toured again with Collins in 2004-2005 and 2017-2019.

In 1993 while recording at The Site[10] in Marin County on what would become Linda Ronstadt's album Winter Light, Sklar got a phone call from Michael Frondelli, who ran Capitol Records Studios and was producing a band, the Barefoot Servants, that needed a bass player, would he be interested. Frondelli sent Sklar a demo cassette and, after three notes, Sklar said "count me in". Sklar had never met the three other seasoned musicians before: Jon Butcher (Guitar, Vocals), Ben Schultz (Guitar, Mandolin, Slide Guitar), and Ray Brinker (Drums, Percussion). The foursome rehearsed and cut the first, self-titled album, Barefoot Servants, live in the studio. The band followed by going on The Southern Spirit Tour in 1994 with The Marshall Tucker Band, 38 Special, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and the Outlaws. They called it Bubbapolooza. Over time, the Barefoot Servants became a cult band; the label (Epic) offered little support. Eleven years after their first album, the Barefoot Servants recorded a second album at Ben Schultz's home studio, this time with Neal Wilkinson on drums. They called it Barefoot Servants 2, reminiscent of the line from the Bob Dylan song All Along the Watchtower. (Jon Butcher is a great admirer of Jimi Hendrix.) The album was released in August of 2005 on the Atom Records label.[11]

Sklar performed again with James Taylor, Carole King, Danny Kortchmar and Russ Kunkel in a series of six shows at the Troubadour on November 28–30, 2007 for the 50th Anniversary of the club. They all teamed up again for the Troubadour Reunion Tour in 2010.

Sklar toured with Toto in 2007-2008 and again in 2016-2017.

Sklar has also toured with Lyle Lovett, Peter Asher, Véronique Sanson, Tracy Chapman, and Van Dyke Parks, among others.

In 2018, reuniting several members of The Section, a new group was formed, The Immediate Family, with Leland Sklar on bass, Russ Kunkel on drums, Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Wachtel on guitars and vocals, and musician/producer Steve Postell on vocals and guitar. The group has toured Japan and released a number of recordings.[12] Their first, eponymously titled, U.S. album, The Immediate Family, was released in 2021.

In 2020, while idled by the COVID pandemic, Sklar started a YouTube channel, initially to demonstrate the bass parts to a few of the songs he'd played on tour with Phil Collins, but which grew exponentially into a journey of music appreciation and an exploration of his expansive career. Sklar also created a coffee table book, Everybody Loves Me, of over 12,000 photos of celebrities and common people giving him "the finger," which has become his signature gesture. A website to service his book, art prints, T-shirts and other merchandise was also created.[3]

On May 6, 2020, Sklar created a Top Ten list of his favorite songs of all time for Spotify. They were With A Little Help From My Friends performed by Joe Cocker, Back in the High Life Again by Steve Winwood, Millworker by James Taylor, The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams, The Rubberband Man by The Spinners, the title track from the album No Other by Gene Clark, Knock On Wood by Eddie Floyd, Behind The Lines - 2015 Remastered by Phil Collins, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um by Major Lance, and Harlem Shuffle by Bob & Earl.[13]

Sklar has stated that his favorite bassist was Rinat Ibragimov, formerly of the London Symphony Orchestra. [11]

Sklar has also been a part of the annual bands assembled in support of the "We Write The Songs"[14] event sponsored by ASCAP at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and the pre-show for the Grammy Awards.[15]

On January 2, 2022, Sklar was seen performing in concert with James Taylor and Carole King in the CNN documentary "Just Call Out My Name."

When Sklar gained notoriety in 1970, he was playing a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass, his first really good bass, which he carved up with the artistic flair of the time. He calls it his Peace/Love bass. He played it exclusively until 1974.

Sklar's favorite instrument came next, an electric bass constructed by John Carruthers, the repairman at Westwood Music, in 1973. It was customized from various bass parts, consisting of a 1962 Fender Precision Bass neck, reshaped to the profile of Sklar's 1962 Fender Jazz Bass neck and fitted with mandolin fret wire, the smallest you can get (and on all of his subsequent basses), an alder Charvel P-Bass body with two sets of first-generation EMG Precision Bass pickups in reversed orientation, routed into J-Bass positions, and power by a 9 volt battery each, a Badass bridge, and a prototype Hipshot detuner. He refers to it as "Frankenstein". The bass has been used on roughly 85 percent of his recordings.[8][16][17]

In 2004, Sklar began playing a signature model five-string bass made by Dingwall Guitars.[18] This was his main bass on tour and was also used in various recordings. The bass uses fanned frets, which result in longer low strings and shorter high strings.

In 2010, Sklar began playing the Warwick Star Bass II, which has since become his main bass in the studio.[19]

In 2013, after years of having been a Warwick Star Bass II user, he became an endorser of that instrument.[20][21]

At Winter NAMM 2016, Warwick announced their Lee Sklar signature bass, based on the Star Bass but with an offset body shape and a forearm contour.[22]

Previously, Sklar also had signature instruments from Gibson and Valley Arts Guitar.

• Leland Sklar's YouTube Channel
• Leland Sklar's Facebook page
• Lee Sklar Reflects on his Career
• Interview: bass legend Leland Sklar on sessions, gear and getting hired
• Lee Sklar on ON THE HIT with DEANE OGDEN podcast, April 2, 2014
• 2014 Audio Interview with Lee Sklar from the I'd Hit That Podcast

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leland Sklar.

• Visceglia, Mike (January 2003). "Interviews: Leland Sklar". Mike Visceglia. Archived from the original on May 16, 2006. Retrieved March 8, 2008. interview by Mike Visceglia
• Rhythm Circle Session Players
• Leland Sklar Interview - The Studio Musician's Handbook
• Bass Routes - A Leland Sklar Discography Blog
• Reggie Boyle talking with Lee Sklar!, Steve Lukather site
• Leland Sklar at AllMusic
• Leland Sklar at IMDb
• Interview with Leland Sklar NAMM Oral History Library (2010)