About Al
- Articles: 53
- First: May 20, 2011
- Last: May 11, 2012
- « All Writers
Al Kooper
Columnist, The Morton Report
Covering New Music for Old People
Al Kooper began his career in 1958 at age 14 playing guitar in the Royal Teens – a band who hit #1 with the novelty “Short Shorts.” From there Kooper moved to songwriting and his songs were covered by Gary Lewis ("This Diamond Ring"), Gene Pitney ("I Must Be Seeing Things"), Freddie Cannon, Lulu, Nancy Sinatra, and scads more. In 1965 he played the catchy organ part on Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” and continued his sound on the albums Highway 61 Revisited and Blond on Blonde, helping Dylan cement his new sound in place.
After that, The Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, and many others got Al to play on their recordings. After short stints in The Blues Project and Blood Sweat & Tears, Kooper, alongside Mike Bloomfield and Steve Stills, played on and produced the original jam album Super Session.
Before long Al was producing Nils Lofgren, The Tubes, Dylan, and soon discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd, producing their first three albums including the hits "Free Bird," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Saturday Night Special," and "Gimme 3 Steps."
He scored famed director Hal Ashby’s first film The Landlord and Michael Mann’s famed TV series Crime Story. His best-selling autobiography Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards is in its third printing and selling better than ever. He is currently working on a new album and is happy to join the staff of The Morton Report in an effort to help his fellow listeners stay in tune!
Articles From Al Kooper
Friday May 11, 2012 32:23 PM ET
This week starts out with Wilson Phillips singing "Good Vibrations" a cappella and ends up with some late vintage Ray Charles, amazing bookends to another great playlist.
Friday May 4, 2012 00:00 AM ET
This week's column neatly steps from the past into the present. Come in and give a listen: Rotary Connection, Elvis Costello, the Beach Boys, the Shins, and so much more.
Friday Apr 27, 2012 00:00 AM ET
In the second part of a series, Al Kooper lays out his own musical foundations. This week, we listen to the sounds and rhythms of rockabilly as Al introduces ten tracks that changed his life.
Friday Apr 20, 2012 00:00 AM ET
This week's playlist runs from Chicago to Boston and stops at a lot of places in between. If it's Friday, it must be time for new music.
Friday Apr 13, 2012 00:00 AM ET
Among other things, we've got Danny Barnes and Punch Brothers, while Gotye and Frankie Miller make repeat appearances. To top it all off, there's a bonus video too. Get your Friday on.
Friday Apr 6, 2012 00:00 AM ET
This week's playlist starts off with a seasonally appropriate title and ends up with a track that was ahead of its time back in the day. Stay for the good stuff in the middle, too.
Friday Mar 30, 2012 00:00 AM ET
Today's column showcases ten singles that changed my life musically and taught me the foundations of what would become my general musical taste.
Friday Mar 23, 2012 00:00 AM ET
If you're looking to re-ignite your musical spark, start here with Al Kooper's weekly sampler of new (or overlooked) music for people of a certain age... or really, for anyone who loves good music.
Friday Mar 16, 2012 00:00 AM ET
Get your headphones out! We're listening to rare stereo mixes this week (part two) and Al's picked ten amazing tunes from the fabulous '60s that you probably haven't heard in stereo before.
Friday Mar 9, 2012 00:00 AM ET
New music and overlooked obscure tracks to whet your appetite. Wrap up the week with some great music.
Friday Mar 2, 2012 00:00 AM ET
This week's column takes you from Rival Schools to Lucinda Williams with lots of other good stuff along the way. Get your Friday on.
Friday Feb 24, 2012 00:00 AM ET
End your work week on the right note and get your weekend off to a good start with this week's playlist.
Friday Feb 17, 2012 00:00 AM ET
It's time to get your weekend off to a good start, musically speaking. This week's playlist is bookended by Prince and Nathaniel Mayer. Come on in and find out what's in between.
Thursday Feb 9, 2012 00:00 AM ET
It's almost Valentine's Day. If you need a little help with your romantic mood-setting, have we got a playlist for you...
Friday Feb 3, 2012 00:00 AM ET
It's Friday again, which means it's time for another playlist to make your day a little better and maybe broaden your musical horizons just a little bit.
Friday Jan 27, 2012 00:00 AM ET
This week's column is a brief study of the musical cross-pollination between Jamaican reggae and American R&B in the '60s and '70s and what resulted.
Friday Jan 20, 2012 00:00 AM ET
If it's Friday, it must be time for new music. Up this week: Bill Champlin, Bettye Swann, Deer Tick, and much more, so grab your headphones.
Friday Jan 13, 2012 00:00 AM ET
Songs named after places are common, but great ones are standards, i.e. "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," "Moonlight in Vermont," etc. As usual we have a little bit of everything here in the first edition of this concept.
Friday Jan 6, 2012 00:00 AM ET
Start 2012 off on the right foot with this week's playlist, which opens with Southern Culture on the Skids and closes with Edgar Winter's White Trash, with plenty of other good stuff in between.
Friday Dec 30, 2011 00:00 AM ET
All in one place while you ring in the new year, here are the 25 songs our readers liked the best in 2011.
Friday Dec 23, 2011 00:00 AM ET
If you're having a lonely Christmas; if you are a boomer blues lover; if you just wanna escape the Yuletide dementia altogether, this just might be for you.
Friday Dec 16, 2011 00:00 AM ET
Some obscure but choice Christmas tracks to accompany your final week of holiday preparations, ranging from Melissa Etheridge to Perry Como with a lot of surprises in between.
Friday Dec 9, 2011 50:00 AM ET
Before we get down to this week's music, we take a moment to note the passing of two musical legends...
Friday Dec 2, 2011 00:00 AM ET
The object of this challenge was to unearth the best (in my opinion) Beatles-influenced tracks from all eras that most people have never heard before.
Friday Nov 25, 2011 00:00 AM ET
If it's Friday it must be time for new music. Pull up a chair and give a listen while you're contemplating what to do with those turkey leftovers.
Friday Nov 18, 2011 00:00 AM ET
Put on your headphones! Here are ten amazing records spanning three decades that are not often heard in stereo PLUS two tracks that have the lead vocals missing so you can REALLY hear what's going on... or sing along...
Friday Nov 11, 2011 00:00 AM ET
From Joe Bonamassa to Aaron Neville (with plenty of interesting in-betweens), it's the week's roundup of new (or new to you) music, 11/11/11 edition.
Monday Nov 7, 2011 00:00 PM ET
Songwriters have tackled this challenge for centuries and somehow it continues on. The key to descriptive love songs is to say what's been said for eons IN A NEW, FRESH WAY. I think these ten songs do that quite well and they come from every different direction.
Friday Oct 28, 2011 00:00 AM ET
It's the end of the week, and that means we've got another playlist worth spending some time with.
Friday Oct 21, 2011 00:00 AM ET
We start off with a comedy connection and end up with something pretty new. In between there's lots of other good stuff, so come on in and have a listen...
Friday Oct 14, 2011 00:00 AM ET
There are horns this week, some butt-kicking gospel, and a surprise if you thought that Amy Madigan was just an actress. Come listen...
Friday Oct 7, 2011 00:00 AM ET
From the Honeydogs to Sam Cooke, with lots of interesting stops in between, and maybe one surprise.
Friday Sep 30, 2011 00:00 AM ET
It's Instrumental Week. No lyrics, just lots of great music.
Friday Sep 23, 2011 00:00 AM ET
This week's playlist includes selections from Kate Earl, Seasick Steve, and the Staple Singers. Give it a listen.
Friday Sep 16, 2011 00:00 AM ET
An obscure Stevie Wonder tune and a Dusty Springfield cover from Shelby Lynne are but two of the good things you'll find here this week.
Friday Sep 9, 2011 10:00 AM ET
It's Covers Week! These are bizarre cover versions of semi-popular songs. These versions are rarely heard and that's why they're here — getting a proper airing out.
Friday Sep 2, 2011 00:00 AM ET
This week we will depart from our usual format to honor the departed. Nick Ashford passed away last week from throat cancer complications at the age of 70. As a lyricist, he changed all our lives by writing and...
Friday Aug 26, 2011 15:00 AM ET
I guess I can't say enough what an influence Jerry Leiber has been to my lyric writing. I miss him immediately and immensely.
Friday Aug 19, 2011 00:00 AM ET
This week's playlist starts with "Yesterday's Paper" and ends up "Carved in Stone." As usual, there's lots of good stuff in between, too.
Friday Aug 12, 2011 00:00 AM ET
This week, Jermaine Jackson sings Stevie Wonder, Neil Young sings the blues, Ray Charles falls into that ring of fire, and much, much more...
Friday Aug 5, 2011 00:00 AM ET
This column is like the title says - its intention is to fill the gap for those of us who were satiated musically in the '60s and then searched desperately as we aged for music we could relate to and...
Friday Jul 29, 2011 00:00 AM ET
Al Kooper is back with another playlist for your enlightenment and entertainment. Make your day a little better by listening.
Friday Jul 22, 2011 00:00 AM ET
Al Kooper has selected ten of his favorite Jerry Ragovoy tracks to play for you today. Listen to the music (you can stream the entire playlist), and read what Al has to say about the influence of his late friend and mentor.
Friday Jul 15, 2011 45:00 PM ET
Jerry Ragovoy became a household name in the music industry over his six-decade run and his recorded works will live forever and no doubt inspire listeners for years into the future.
Friday Jul 15, 2011 00:00 AM ET
In the business of hopefully making your days better by listening to great music...
Friday Jul 8, 2011 15:00 AM ET
This column is like the title says - its intention is to fill the gap for those of us who were satiated musically in the '60s and then searched desperately as we aged for music we could relate to...
Friday Jul 1, 2011 15:00 AM ET
Filling the gaps for listeners of a certain age (or not), complete with a streaming playlist for your listening pleasure...
Friday Jun 24, 2011 00:00 AM ET
A weekly tip sheet for Boomers and Zoomers. This week's choices include tunes from XTC, Elliott Smith, Seasick Steve, and Nickel Creek.
Friday Jun 17, 2011 00:00 AM ET
Like the title says, this column's intention is to fill the gap for those of us who were satiated musically in the '60s and then searched desperately as we aged for music we could relate to and get the same buzz from nowadaze.
Friday Jun 10, 2011 00:00 AM ET
Like the title says, this column's intention is to fill the gap for those of us who were satiated musically in the '60s and then searched desperately as we aged for music we could relate to and get the same buzz from nowadaze.
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