1. Al Kooper was born on Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5,1944 and is an American retired songwriter, record producer, and musician.
25 Facts About Al Kooper
1. 2.
Al Kooper has had a successful solo career, writing music for film soundtracks, and has lectured in musical composition.
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Al Kooper was selected for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
4.
Al Kooper was Alan Peter Kuperschmidt born in Brooklyn, New York City, on February 5,1944.
5.
Al Kooper grew up in a Jewish family in Hollis Hills, Queens.
6.
When he was 21, Al Kooper moved to Greenwich Village in Manhattan.
7.
Al Kooper first performed with Bob Dylan playing the Hammond organ riffs on "Like a Rolling Stone".
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Al Kooper had been invited to watch the recording by producer Tom Wilson.
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In those recording sessions, Al Kooper met and befriended Mike Bloomfield, whose guitar playing he admired.
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In 1965, Al Kooper played with Dylan in concert and played Hammond organ with Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival and in the recording studio in 1965 and 1966.
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Al Kooper played organ with Dylan during his 1981 world tour.
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Al Kooper joined the Blues Project as their keyboardist in 1965.
13.
Al Kooper left the band shortly before their gig at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, although he did play a solo set, as evidenced by The Criterion Collection Blu-ray extended edition of the event.
14.
Al Kooper recorded Super Session with Bloomfield and Stephen Stills in 1968, and in 1969 he collaborated with 15-year-old guitarist Shuggie Otis on the album Kooper Session.
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In 1969, Al Kooper produced, arranged, and conducted the album Appaloosa, a "folk-baroque" style of music that combined rock and classical.
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Al Kooper was joined by Boston musicians John Parker Compton, singer and acoustic guitarist, Robin Batteau on violin, Eugene Rosov on cello, and David Reiser on electric bass.
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Al Kooper wrote the scores for the TV series Crime Story and the film The Landlord, as well as several made-for-television movies.
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Al Kooper was the musical force behind many pop tunes, including "You're the Lovin' End", for The Banana Splits, a children's television program.
19.
Al Kooper wrote a column called "New Music For Old People" for the online publication The Morton Report from April 2014 to April 2015.
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In May 2001, Al Kooper was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston.
21.
Al Kooper plays weekend concerts with his bands the ReKooperators and the Funky Faculty.
22.
Al Kooper was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, in Nashville, in 2008.
23.
In 2005, Martin Scorsese produced a documentary titled No Direction Home: Bob Dylan for the PBS American Masters Series, in which Al Kooper's contributions are recognized.
24.
In 2023, Al Kooper was selected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Award for Musical Excellence category.
25.
Al Kooper published a memoir, Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life in the Sixties, which was revised and published as Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'n' Roll Survivor.