Barry Beckett


Barry Edward Beckett was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which performed with numerous notable artists on their studio albums and helped define the "Muscle Shoals sound".
Among the artists Beckett recorded with were Bob Dylan, Boz Scaggs, Paul Simon, Rod Stewart, Duane Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dire Straits, The Proclaimers and Phish. He was also briefly a member of the band Traffic.

Biography

Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Beckett rose to prominence as a member of the rhythm section at the Muscle Shoals studio in Sheffield, Alabama, of which he was one of the founders in 1969. As a founding member of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, he helped define what became known as the Muscle Shoals sound. In addition, the studio produced such chart-making hits as "Torn Between Two Lovers" by Mary MacGregor and the Sanford-Townsend Band's "Smoke from a Distant Fire".
In 1973 Beckett took to the road in the expanded lineup of Traffic; recordings from this tour were released on the band's live album On the Road.
Beckett was co-producing with Jerry Wexler when, in 1979, Bob Dylan called on Wexler to produce the sessions for the album Slow Train Coming. Beckett not only co-produced the album but played piano and organ throughout. (He did not go on the road as a gospel tours musician behind Dylan, but he was back in the studio with him in February 1980 to co-produce, again with Wexler, the album Saved, on which he was replaced on keyboards by Spooner Oldham and Terry Young after the session of February 12, 1980, and so plays only on the album’s title track, "Solid Rock", "What Can I Do for You?" and "Satisfied Mind". On the album liner notes Beckett is billed as co-producer and as "special guest artist".
Beckett moved to Nashville in 1982 to become A & R country music director for Warner Bros. Records and co-produced Williams, Jr.'s records with Jim Ed Norman. Beckett produced records independently after leaving Warner Bros. Records.
He also played on Paul Simon's albums There Goes Rhymin' Simon and Still Crazy After All These Years, which reached number 1 on the Billboard 200 pop chart.''
Beckett died from complications of a stroke at his home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, aged 66.

Awards and honors

With Solomon Burke
With Etta James
With Bob Seger
With Joan Baez
With William Bell
With Julian Lennon
With Cher
With Vince Gill
With Kim Carnes
With Boz Scaggs
  • Boz Scaggs
  • My Time
  • Some Change
With Mark Knopfler
  • Golden Heart
With Wilson Pickett
  • Hey Jude
  • Right On
  • Don't Knock My Love
With Paul Anka
  • Feelings
With Steve Cropper
  • Night After Night
With Albert King
  • Lovejoy
With Paul Simon
  • There Goes Rhymin' Simon
  • Still Crazy After All These Years
With Wendy Waldman
  • Gypsy Symphony
With Wynonna Judd
With Levon Helm
  • Levon Helm
  • Levon Helm
With Aretha Franklin
With Candi Staton
  • Candi
  • His Hands
With Donovan
  • Lady of the Stars
With Dolly Parton
  • White Limozeen
With John Prine
  • Storm Windows
With Aaron Neville
  • The Tattoeed Heart
With Kenny Chesney
With Joe Cocker
  • Luxury You Can Afford
With Ronnie Hawkins
  • Ronnie Hawkins
With Lulu
  • New Routes
With Beth Nielsen Chapman
  • Hearing It First
With Dion DiMucci
  • Velvet and Steel
With Ilse DeLange
  • World of Hurt
With Laura Nyro
  • Christmas and the Beads of Sweat
With Johnny Rivers
  • The Road
With Bob Dylan
  • Slow Train Coming
  • Saved
With Peabo Bryson
With J. J. Cale
  • Really
With Art Garfunkel
  • Breakaway
  • Watermark
With Rosanne Cash
With José Feliciano
With Cat Stevens
  • Izitso
With Leon Russell
  • Leon Russell and the Shelter People
With Rod Stewart
  • Atlantic Crossing
  • A Night on the Town
With Glenn Frey
With Linda Ronstadt
With Rodney Crowell