AL KOOPER

Like Forrest Gump, except nearly two thirds blind instead of retarded

By Isabelle Davis

del.ico.us | digg it! | reddit!

print | email | 0 Comments

If being in the right place at the right time is tantamount to making music history, then Al Kooper has always been in the correct location—and at the most beneficial moment. After accepting an invitation from producer Tom Wilson to watch a Bob Dylan recording session, Kooper tricked his way into the studio and during "Like a Rolling Stone," came up with one of the most famous Hammond B3 solos of all time. He had barely played an organ before that day.

And that famed chestnut doesn't even put a dent in Kooper's career: He formed (and then left after one album) Blood, Sweat and Tears; provided session work for The Who, Cream, B.B. King, Hendrix, and the Rolling Stones (it's him playing keys, organ and horn on "You Can't Always Get What You Want""); turned down an offer to play the original Woodstock ("I turned down Woodstock because I thought they were charging way too much money for the tickets. Turned out I was correct. Everyone hopped the fence"."); discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd and produced their first three records (including the anthems "Free Bird" and "Sweet Home Alabama") and wrote the first incarnation of Backstage Passes (later retitled Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards), his acute and hilarious account of life in the music business. And that was all before 1978.

Now, two editions of his life story later, Kooper has much more to share. And although he permanently lost two-thirds of his sight (forcing him to cut his tenure as a professor at Berklee short in 2001), his career shows no signs of slowing down: His new album White Chocolate is "in the can" and he tours constantly with his two bands, the Rekooperators and the Funky Faculty (made up of fellow Berklee professors), scoring films on occasion and personally answering fans' email from his home studio. Somehow, he managed to take a break; now, with the third edition of Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, Kooper is coming to Porter Square Books to tell his story in person and answer any and all questions. But here's a heads up: Don't bother asking him if there are any artists that he is dying to work with. I already did—"Yeah. But I'll have to wait a little while. They are Elvis Presley and Ray Charles, and I'd have to be dying in order to work with them."

Priceless.

AL KOOPER

WEDNESDAY 7.2.08

PORTER SQUARE BOOKS

25 WHITE ST.

PORTER SQ., CAMBRIDGE

617.491.2220

7PM/FREE

PORTERSQUAREBOOKS.COM

ALKOOPER.COM