Larry Carlton


Larry Eugene Carlton is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and '80s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. He has participated in thousands of recording sessions, recorded on hundreds of albums in many genres, for television and movies, and on more than 100 gold records. He has been a member of the jazz fusion group the Crusaders, the smooth jazz band Fourplay, and has maintained a long solo career.

Music career

Session work

Carlton was born in Torrance, California in 1948 and at the age of six began guitar lessons. His interest in jazz came from hearing guitarist Joe Pass on the radio. From Pass he moved on to jazz guitarists Barney Kessel and Wes Montgomery and blues guitarist B.B. King. He went to junior college and Long Beach State College while playing professionally at clubs in Los Angeles.
During the 1970s, he found steady work as a studio musician on electric and acoustic guitar in a variety of genres: pop, jazz pop, rock, rhythm and blues, soul and country. Carlton appeared on hundreds of recording sessions with Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Bobby Bland, Sammy Davis, Jr., Paulinho Da Costa, the Fifth Dimension, Herb Alpert, Christopher Cross, Dolly Parton, Andy Williams, and the Partridge Family. Carlton performed on Mike Post's 1981 "Theme from Hill Street Blues". In 1982, he appeared on The Nightfly by Donald Fagen, lead singer for Steely Dan.
His guitar work on Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne" from their 1976 LP The Royal Scam was ranked No. 80 on a list of the best guitar songs by Rolling Stone magazine.

Solo career

Carlton recorded his debut solo album, With a Little Help from My Friends, in 1968. In the mid-'70s he built a home studio and called it Room 335 after the Gibson ES-335, an electric guitar he often played. He has recorded most of his albums at Room 335. In 1988, with his solo career in ascent, he was shot in the throat by a teenager outside Room 335 and suffered nerve and vocal cord damage, which delayed completion of the album he was working on at the time, On Solid Ground. His left arm was paralyzed and for six months he was unable to play more than a few notes.
Carlton produced six albums from 1978 to 1984. His version of "Sleepwalk" by Santo Farina climbed the pop and adult contemporary charts. From 1985-1990 he did various solo projects, including the live album Last Nite.
Carlton was commissioned to compose music for the king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, in honor of the king's birthday. He recorded The Jazz King with a jazz orchestra that included Tom Scott, Nathan East, and Earl Klugh.

Awards and honors

Carlton is best known for his 1969 Gibson ES-335. Other guitars he owns and plays include a 1951 Fender Telecaster, a 1964 Fender Stratocaster, and a 1955 Gibson Les Paul Special. He has used a Fender Vibrolux amplifier, but his standard setup included a Dumble. Later in his career, a Bludotone Overtone Special has been utilized in replacement of the Dumble in certain situations.

Personal life

Carlton married contemporary Christian music artist Michele Pillar in 1987; they divorced in 2013. He is the father of Katie Carlton and bass player Travis Carlton. Larry's niece is singer Vanessa Carlton.

Discography

With the Crusaders
  • Crusaders 1
  • Unsung Heroes
  • The 2nd Crusade
  • Southern Comfort
  • Scratch
  • Chain Reaction
  • Those Southern Knights
  • Free as the Wind
  • The Good and Bad Times
  • Happy Again
  • Louisiana Hot Sauce
With Fourplay'
With Paul Anka
With Joan Baez
With Paulinho da Costa
With Four Tops
With Michael Franks
With Lani Hall
With Albert Hammond
With John Klemmer
With Joni Mitchell
With Megan McDonough
With Maxine Nightingale
With Michael Omartian
With The Partridge Family
With Michele Pillar
With Johnny Rivers
With Steely Dan
With Barbra Streisand
With others