My new Web site is: www.lelandsklarsbeard.com. The new book is there and lots of goodies in the works... Here are the directions to my new club house if you want to come and hang. flatfiv.co/pages/lees-clubhouse
Does everyone realize just how amazing it is to watch Leland Sklar play along with this track? ... it's a secret window into the heart of this Jackson Browne song ... and he is using the same bass from the original recording. It is truly magical.
I hate to admit it, but I had no idea just how MANY songs/projects he has been involved with. It is amazing to have him share the stories behind all the songs we know and love. Much respect.
Lee, you have become very dear and precious to so many of us. We cherish you, and our time with you. Please rest......hang in your hammock in your beautiful yard and just recharge. You don’t owe us to show up every day. But I will warn you that if you skip more than two, you will be getting many of us checking in to make sure you’re OK. You have become like a dear friend and thousands of us just want to hang with you....Please take care.....you are now very important to us all.
Lee, that bass part on Doctor My Eyes is/was astounding! To me it was more impressive than the first Jaco record - no one was playing like that. When I first heard it, it jumped out of the car radio like nothing I'd ever heard! Thank you for that, and for obviously caring about the guys you've worked with. Thanks for your daily inspiration!
I don't know about anyone else but I got chills the moment you started playing, fantastic bass line. You were the groove to my growing up with the FM radio playing on a summer day. Thank you Lee.
Yep I got chills as well - watching Lee play it - with the same instrument - it doesn't get any better than this. Doctor My Eyes has been one of my favorite basslines for years and years - I never knew who played it - I do now!!
Sir, I can understand why so many call you their friend. You have a big heart, and that comes through in your playing. Not to be insulting to others, but I'm so glad you didn't get into the drug scene over the years - your memory is great, and the stories you tell are enthralling to many of us. I'm now in my 60s, and I grew up listening to the music you have been a part of. Thank you so very much for sharing your gift and your life with us fans.
@Leland, man i cannot thank you enough for laying the groove for so much of my youth in rural Michigan. You say you were “sloppy” in this bass re-visit-RIDICULOUS. That was flawless and you are a real gift.
Thanks Leland. I’ve been listening to Dr. My Eyes since about ‘72 and it sounds as good today as it did back then. It never gets old. Once again, Thanks!
You’ve been standing in the background of my life’s soundtrack for almost 50 years now. Your work was always noticed and love, and yet this is the first time I’ve heard directly from you. Loved it! Thanks for all your work all these years. Stay healthy and safe Lee!
That was a meaningful & poetic comment '...standing in the background of my life's soundtrack...' Steve! I think I speak for many in that it sums up something we have in the back of our minds when we get to see and hear this talented musician sitting basically in his lap(!) and watching both hands at work...on hits that we heard on the radio and our favorite albums/artists in high school, college, weddings, vacation road trips, etc. And he is laying down our life's soundtrack from decade to decade and treating us all to such nice reprises & surprises! Hey - that was kinda poetic, eh? (Well, your version was more eloquent & succinct...I just wanted you to know that your sentiments reached out to me - just like how Lee pulls off that fast triplet/pentatonic Intro lick in F! Ain't no open strings for pull-offs and he nails the cadence! How he make he fingers stay in strict alternation & economy of motion? Could it be the beard!? ;-)
This song reminds me of my dad and put a smile on my face. We bonded over music for his era. I can imagine him outside singing it while barbecuing . Unfortunately he passed from Covid December 2020. Still grieving, but this song always put a smile on my face. Keep spreading amazing music and stories.
Lots of us can play every figure you just played but very few have the sense and good taste to know when to and what not to play. That is one of the many reasons that make LS the quintessential Bassist who everyone wants on their project and the musical low-end Barometer of a generation. Many thanks for all you've given us by just doing your thing.
I discovered jackson browne in 1975 when I was pregnant with my son. I have seen him so many times in concert. I had tickets to take my friend to see Jackson and James Taylor, but covid put the Kakash on those plans. I am 66 and absolutely set in my choice in music. I detest that crap they try to pass off as music these days. I cringe when sitting at a red light and having to listen to something that sounds like busted speakers and someone screeching. I deal with chronic pain and have my head phones on, listening to some beautiful soul with some awesome talent. Thank you, Leland for the gift you share with those who truly appreciate your talent.
We're kindred spirits....I'm 63 and can't agree more about today's music. IMHO it's just a really gross art form, not music. I grew up on Jackson, James, Bonnie Raitt, Eagles, Steely Dan. Started playing bass in '75 and still do. My personal fave is Abe Laboriel, but Leland is a close second!
Thank you Leland for all the memorable musical performances you have ever been part of. I'd like to give a shout out for your performance of Doctor My Eyes with Jackson Browne for Playing For Change.... and to all the other musicians world wide who also took part in that performance. Such a unique organization... can't imagine some musician on the other side of the world feeling delirious that he is playing with the great Leland Sklar. All the best Sir...... Peace. 🙏
My God, what a gift you are to all of us, Leland. It’s just a joy to watch you explain and play these tunes! Your passion for the music, man ... truly inspiring.
Leland Sklar, it was an honor to sit these few minutes with you as you reminisced about your past with Jackson Brown. My older brother, Michael (GOD rest his soul), was a huge fan of Jackson Brown music. When I listen to these songs that you were apart of I am reminded of him before the cancer. It was a real treat to sit here with you. Thank you so much! Peace, Love and Happiness to you and your family.
This is an amazing man I listen to his stories everyday I can . appreciate What music is and and is loved by all of us and him is wonderful THANK YOU RUSS.
I remember being like 7 or 8 years old and seeing Leland playing a Steinberger bass in some of the Phil Collins videos, like Su--Sudio and laughing hysterically... not because I thought negatively of him... But because I knew there was something special about him him in the coolest way. And add the trademark beard to him, and that was it. As kids, we all thought he was cool and looked cool. I would later to learn that there really IS a long list of things that make Leland Skylar cool
Each of your video's is like an episode of "Inside the Actor's Studio" (except it's Musicians) and at 57, I'm still being educated! Similar to my comment on your Linda Ronstadt post, you are such a class act! Many musicians look at gigs as a way to pay the rent and I get that but you always focus on, and pay homage to the artists you play with and how they influence and elevate you with such passion. You are SO gracious and again are the Coolest Cat! Everyone gets mentioned and you show such great respect and sincere gratitude. Sure, the only people you did not mentioned were the cleaners! (I guess you would have but you were all gone by the time they came around!) Thank you for sharing this wonderful story Lee!
Who would have thought, back in the '70s, that there'd come a time when technology would be developed that would allow one of the world's preeminent musicians - one of my favorite musicians - to give us such a beautiful, personal recollection and performance. I'm blown away by this video. Thank you, sir..
I couldn't believe my luck when I looked and saw you were going to talk about Jackson and company! My wife and I sat on the front porch, listening in wonder! At age 69 and 1/2, you have been the rhythmic backbone of most of the sound track of my life. To have the honor to sit quietly and listen to your stories, your warmth and humor, your humility is the next best thing to actually sitting in the same space with you and having a conversation... Only that would be so difficult, "Gee, Mr. Sklar, I am such a huge fan!" is probably all I could mumble before falling mute. No, your humanity in sharing yourself with all of us out here is almost as incredible as your music history, Mr. Sklar! When I watch you play, I am always struck by the artistry of what you play and how you play it, how you never over do something, you graciously step back for others to play, but you always play what really needs to be played. You close your eyes and fall into that zone where the music becomes something more than a collection of notes and people trying to play them. Your artistry has been the solid backbone of the music I have loved all my life. To me, what you do with a bass is every bit as beautiful as what Yo-Yo Ma does with his cello! I saw James and his recorder friend in Nashville in the later 1970's. It was just as you described. Thank you, Leland Sklar! You make all our days better!
Wonderful comment, Mr. Hughes. Beautifully said. Wishing you and your better half lots of love and laughter. And a huge and heartfelt thank you to you to Mr. Sklar. I can only hope you feel a tiny portion of the love so so many of us have for you and your exquisite bass artistry.
Thank you so much for your time, making this great video, it has been a pleasure for me to have been able to hear these stories and insights, told by a legendary bass player and musician like you. In my personal opinion, we should be grateful to God for having been living on this planet during the 60's, 70's, and 80's, just because of the beautiful music created in those years.🎼🎸
I remember Glenn Fry talking about Jackson living below him playing this a million times on piano trying to perfect the song. Glenn and JD Souther lived above Jackson Brown when they first came to LA.
That beautiful iconic bass. Its been with you a looooong time. My favorite of all the basses I've seen!!! And your also one of my top three all time favorite bassists!!! Peace and love.🎶🎶🎶
Leland was a big reason along with James Jamerson and Carol Kaye , the three people that led me to taking Bass very seriously and 40 years later, still doing it!!!! Their inspiration!!
Another classic track from the legend himself. Your leads in those choruses brought a smile to all of us! Thanks for the shout out to Jim Gordon - We know how difficult it must be for you. We love and honor his contribution to fantastic music. PS - Still geeking out to that Gene Clark song.. It really is amazing! See ya tomorrow.
Back in the early 70"s one of my favorite things to do when I would get a new album was looking at the musicians playing on the songs and seeing your name, Waddie, etc. You guys were awesome and I am enjoying your stories. Thank you Leland Sklar!
What a treat to watch the master perform his part for this classic recording! People make a big deal about Jesse Ed Davis's part, which is richly deserved, but Leland's creative bass part seems second only to the piano in importance to me in making this recording a classic. Thanks, Leland!
Driving home after a hard day's work... Doctor My Eyes plays from my playlist. I immediately think of Leland Sklar, sorry Mr. Brown! Get home, crack a beer open and watched you play...stress gone, life is good... Thank you for your years of inspiration and groovyness!
take a break if you need it Le, go chill out on that hammock and catch some rays. If you need a rest to recharge, don't feel obliged to post everyday your health is more important. Stay safe, look after yourself, and that goes out to everyone. Love from the UK to one and all.
You mentioned sleep the other day. Make sure you are not letting the weight of this pandemic hang out on your shoulders. You didn't cause it. You are doing more than your part to keep moral up during "the Blitz."
Best entertainment we have seen in a LONG time ... we are suffering as starving musicians needing to play with others .... THANK YOU Leland! Tom Henry and Tami Doenges
I just finished watching this for probably the 5th or 6th time. It's been one of my favorite clips since it was posted last year. I keep coming back to it when I want a few minutes of solid feel-good time. Thanks, Lee, for being you and making this world a little bit better just by doing your thing.
Thank you for mentioning Jim Gordon-the drummer we all know, but don't know. He is probably my favorite drummer next to Stewart Copeland and Michael "Grizzly" Nesbit. His sweet hi-hat shuffles and "improvisational" fills set him apart and make him probably the most identifiable Rock and Roll drummer. So gentlemanly of you not to dwell on the course his life took, but on his musicianship and accomplishments.
Jim Gordon, great drummer. followed Clapton into Derek and the Dominoes, played piano on Layla. unfortunately he had snakes in his head. he killed his own mother! I worked in a auto repair shop in his neighborhood and remember the day it happened. I think he's still in prison now..there I told it
@@damovanb I can understand the community trauma such an experience would cause. The cure for such trauma-even after decades-IS talking it out. I think Lee was focusing on the music. In no way was the incident nor his innocent grandmother being minimized.
Yes sir, thank you. He is still looked up to by so many top drummers today, and for years and played on everything! Sadly his undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia was later determined to have been not only the cause of his horrible crime but also was probably the reason for his self medicating drug and alcohol abuse all those yrs. Heard Bobby Whitlock talk about he would be hearing voices and they just though it was the drugs, but no one knew. You can hear an interview from prison in yrs since. Still alive. Such a great talent, so sad for that family and he and so many who know him. ✌
Tragic circumstances for so many reasons. Mental illness has such a stigma. Had a family member who suffered from schizophrenia some 40 yrs until his death. Can be treated with meds as with other illnesses, but victims and their families often live in silence. Difficult problem with no easy answers and can have dire consequences as in Jim’s case. Really sad for everyone.
Man, this is the song that first made me become aware of you. 15-year-old kid in Germany in the mid-eighties browsing and listening to records from the 70s and really digging them. Being a piano-player I was first drawn to the accessible piano-part. But immediately afterwards I totally fell in love with the both melodic and totally in-the-pocket bass-part. And there was the name on the record sleeve that got burned in into my memory and that I would see again on hundreds and hundreds of albums: Leland Sklar. Love you, Lee! Thanks for bringing this joy to us. - Thilo
Mac hit it on the head! Jackson, (and "Doctor" in particular) was the soundtrack to the beginning, and adolescence years of my life. It was on Superstars of the 70's and when I wore that album out, the radio was always playing it! The bass lines has always been one of my favorites. The F bass drone note in beginning, as well as the walking sequence, are etched in my brain forever! Thank You my friend! Hoping you feel better!
It's 2-1/2 years later (50??), but I am still in awe of your talent and story telling! Such an iconic song and it's so great to see you playing the actual bass from the session and your STORIES, man! Your stories are the life blood of the history, because you were there. Thank you so much for your contribution and info about how the day went. As a liner note reader and music appreciator, this is pure gold!
It doesn't take but one song to see why you were first call for everybody. You are a Celestial Master of Groove. The rock, the roll, the groove, the stroll. Mr. Leland.
