Larry Carlton at the 2013 Grammy Awards. (Associated Press photo)
One of the most acclaimed guitarists of his era, Larry Eugene Carlton, was born in Torrance, California, on May 2, 1948.
In addition to a lengthy, accomplished career as a jazz artist, Carlton played as a studio musician on dozens of records by Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt and Michael Jackson, to name just a few.
His parents, mother Maebell and father Orval Carlton, lived just outside the city limits in Harbor Gateway, on Plaza del Amo just east of Western Avenue.
Carlton’s musical interests started early. When he was four, he became enamored with a guitar in the house. Orval and Maebell promised he could take lessons when he was grown enough to hold it on his own.
While a six-year-old student at Harbor City Christian School, he began taking those music lessons, studying under instructor Slim Edwards at the Mel-O-Dee Music Studio, then located at 1427 Carson Street in Harbor Gateway.
Carlton told the Daily Breeze’s Tony Tranfa in a 2002 interview that
Edwards encouraged him to improvise on the guitar, and the duo would
spend the first 10 minutes of his 30-minute lesson playing mini-jams
before beginning a structured lesson.
“I learned to play the boogie-woogie in that room. He showed a lot of
wisdom in that approach with a young player. And now, I do remember
those first years brought the passion for the guitar that I still
feel.”
“Both my parents encouraged me, my mother especially. She used to
shuttle me around to talent shows and supper club jobs. I remember
waking up at 3 a.m. So she could drive me to the old Cal Worthington
TV talent show, ‘Cal’s Corral.’” (Carlton appeared on Worthington’s
variety show in 1959.)
On May 4, 1957, two days after his ninth birthday, Carlton and Rubin
Bettencourt, 19, took first place at the talent show held as part of
the grand opening for a new Ralphs supermarket on Hawthorne Boulevard.
They won a watch for their performance of “St. Louis Blues” played “on
Spanish
guitars,” according to the Torrance Herald.
On June 1, 1957, Carlton won the talent show at the Compton Theater
for his guitar playing. The next day, Carlton and Bettencourt won
first place on “Rocket to Stardom” a local TV talent show sponsored by
Oldsmobile dealer Bob Yaekel.
According to the Torrance Herald, “Both received a number of offers
[after the appearance] and are now playing in a Western band every
Wednesday and Saturday night.”
The Torrance Press caption misidentifies Larry Carlton as “Larry Colton” in this Page 1 story from its Sept. 8, 1960, edition. (Credit: Historical Archives Database, Torrance Public Library)
In August 1960, Carlton and his Mel-O-Dee Band, made up of Edwards’
students, won first place in the National Music Festival in San Jose.
By this time, Carlton had his own band, the Larry Carlton Trio, which
performed at local events such as the YWCA fashion show on Oct. 14,
1960.
Larry Carlton, third from left, peforms with band at Narbonne High talent show in this photo from the 1966 Narbonne High yearbook.
At some point during this era, Carlton’s family moved from their
Plaza
del Amo house to a larger house on Doria Avenue in Lomita.
His musical horizons continued to expand. At 15, he played a stint as
rhythm
guitarist in the legendary South Bay surf music instrumental
combo,
Eddie and the Showmen, led by guitar whiz Eddie Bertrand, in
1963.
Carlton also was a member of the live house band at Disneyland as a teenager.
Larry Carlton’s senior photo from El Eco, the 1966 Narbonne High yearbook.
But jazz was always Carlton’s passion, which he dates to his hearing a Gerard Wilson Big Band album featuring guitarist Joe Pass album (“Moment of Truth,” 1962) when he was 14. Carlton also became a fan of jazz guitarists Barney Kessel and Wes Montgomery at a young age.
He graduated from Narbonne High School in 1966, and attended Los Angeles Harbor College in Harbor City. While majoring in music as a Seahawk, his combo played at a jazz festival at the school in 1967.
Talent scout Harry Mitchell was in the audience, and offered Carlton the chance to make an album.
That led to his 1968 debut on Uni Records, “With a Little Help From My Friends,” the first of his more than two dozen (and counting) solo records.
After graduating from Harbor with his music degree in 1968, Carlton continued his music studies at Cal State Long Beach.
In 1969, he faced a choice between trying for a career as a solo jazz
artist, or taking a gig doing studio work, the latter consisting of recording music for a Ford Motor Co. ad campaign.
Larry Carlton’s first solo album was released in 1968.
He took the job on the commercial, and it led to seven solid years of studio work during the 1970s.
His wide-ranging list of credits is too long to list here, but his work with Steely Dan (including his memorable “Kid Charlemagne” guitar solo) and Joni Mitchell (“Help Me”)
was among his most visible.
He also played guitar on Mike Post’s “Hill Street Blues” theme, for which he won a Grammy, as did his 1987 instrumental cover version of “Minute by Minute” by the Doobie Brothers. Carlton has won four Grammys in all, and has been nominated 19 times.
As he began doing sessions in 1969, he settled on the electric guitar that became his trademark, the Gibson ES-335, choosing it for his versatility. He would later name his independent record label 335 Records, and refers to himself on his
website as “Mr. 335.”
Guitarists Steve Lukather, left,and Larry Carlton perform at the last show of their 2015 Asian tour, at the AC Hall in Hong Kong on February 5, 2015. Lukather, known for his work with the rock group Toto in the 1980s, and multi-Grammy Award winning Carlton, appeared together as part of the Jazz World Live Series. (RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images)
While doing session work, he continued playing jazz, joining Joe
Sample’s group The Crusaders (who had just shortened their name from
the Jazz Crusaders) in 1971, and playing on the group’s hit, “Put It
Where You Want It.”
Carlton cut back on session work during the 1980s, concentrating more on
his solo career.
Without any warning, a life-threatening tragedy hit him on April 6,
1988.
While at his private studio in the Lake Hollywood area of the
Hollywood Hills, he noticed two teens with a dog out on the sidewalk.
As he went to close the door of his office to keep the dog from coming
in, one of the teens drew a gun from behind his back and shot Carlton
once in the throat.
The bullet severed his carotid artery, destroyed the nerve to his left
vocal cord, then lodged in his back, damaging the nerves to his left
arm, rendering it useless. It would take major surgery and months of
physical therapy for the feeling to come back in his arm.
Larry Carlton, left, and his son, Travis Carlton of the Larry Carlton Blues Project, perform on stage at the 18th Annual Bluesfest East Coast Blues & Roots Festival at Red Devil Park on April 9, 2007 in Byron Bay, Australia (Photo by James Green/Getty Images)
On Dec. 9, 1988, Carlton had recovered sufficiently to play a concert
at the Universal Amphitheater, a benefit for victims of violent crime,
that celebrated the return of his ability to play guitar. His voice
would take longer to return, but it did come back eventually. The
attackers were never apprehended.
Carlton has continued to play and record. In 1997, he joined keyboard
player Bob James’ jazz group Fourplay, replacing guitarist Lee
Ritenour. (Ritenour and Carlton rejoined the group for its 2015 reunion
album, “Silver.”)
He currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and his son, Travis, plays
bass in his band.
Carlton will appear in concert on Jan. 21, 2017, at the Arcadia
Performing Arts Center.
Sources:
“Chattin’ with Mr. 335: Larry Carlton,” by James Egolf, PREMIERGuitar website, Sept. 10, 2007.
Daily Breeze files.
“Larry Carlton” official website, http://larrycarlton.com/.
Los Angeles Times files.
Torrance Herald files.
