1. Joseph Osborn was an American bass guitar player known for his work as a session musician in Los Angeles with the Wrecking Crew, and in Nashville with the A-Team of studio musicians.
30 Facts About Joe Osborn
1. 2.
Joe Osborn is one of the most recorded bassists of all time.
3.
Joe Osborn was born in Mound, Madison Parish, Louisiana, and raised in Shreveport.
4.
That included the band of Dale Hawkins, which Joe Osborn joined with his friend and former schoolmate James Burton.
5.
Nelson was starting a new band, Burton put them in touch and, two weeks later, Joe Osborn was in Los Angeles, as a member of Nelson's new band.
6.
Joe Osborn's band had to appear on the show as well; between 1960 and 1964, Osborn appeared in 44 episodes.
7.
Joe Osborn had known Johnny Rivers since the early 1950s; Rivers was from Baton Rouge and used to travel up to Shreveport to play with Hawkins' band.
8.
Joe Osborn stayed with him for two years and played on all of his albums.
9.
Just as Joe Osborn had become a bass player with no experience, he became a session musician without knowing how to read music.
10.
Joe Osborn explained that if you want work, you have to be able to read charts.
11.
Joe Osborn recalled that Karen was a talented jazz drummer and, at 18, Richard was a "very accomplished musician".
12.
Session work was all Joe Osborn wanted to do; he turned down many offers to tour, notably from Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan.
13.
Joe Osborn said they didn't pay enough, and he didn't like playing live because the music never sounds as good.
14.
Joe Osborn didn't listen to music in the car, he didn't listen to music at home.
15.
Joe Osborn said that his average on the Billboard charts was 15 songs each week.
16.
Joe Osborn bought a farm outside of Nashville and, in 1974, moved to Tennessee.
17.
Joe Osborn left Nashville in 1988 and settled in Keithville in Caddo Parish near Shreveport.
18.
Joe Osborn continued to play and record with Richard Carpenter, played at his church, and recorded some albums at his son's Shreveport recording studio.
19.
Joe Osborn's last recording, in May 2017, was an album by Micah Harold.
20.
Joe Osborn was married to Gwendolyn Sue Spears ; they had two sons and two daughters.
21.
Joe Osborn died of pancreatic cancer at his home on December 14,2018, age 81.
22.
When he passed away, Joe Osborn was working on an autobiography.
23.
Joe Osborn said that producers usually didn't tell the musicians what to do, but some put them through the ropes.
24.
Joe Osborn said the secret is to not go in with any preconceived notions.
25.
Joe Osborn's instrument throughout most of his recording career was a 1960 Fender stack-knob Jazz Bass, which was given to him by Fender just prior to touring Australia with Nelson.
26.
Joe Osborn said he was initially disappointed that Fender had not sent him a Precision Bass, which he had been using, but he said he grew to like the Jazz Bass because the narrower neck made it easier for his short fingers.
27.
Joe Osborn strung the bass with LaBella flatwound strings that he did not change for 15 years and his style was distinctive, with a resonant, bright tone produced, in part, by his use of a pick.
28.
In 2012, Fender Guitar built a custom Fender Jazz Bass for Joe Osborn according to his desired specifications.
29.
Joe Osborn recorded with this bass for the first time when producing and playing bass on teen musician Matthew Davidson's 2014 debut recording.
30.
Joe Osborn appears in the 2014 documentary Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me.