50 Facts About Leland Sklar

Leland Bruce Sklar was born on May 28,1947 and is an American bassist and session musician.

Leland Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coalesced into a group in its own right, The Section, which supported so many of Asylum Records' artists that they became known as Asylum's de facto house band, as those artists became iconic singer-songwriters of the 1970s.

Leland Bruce Sklar was born May 28,1947, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Leland Sklar is a Ukrainian surname meaning glazier, a person whose profession is fitting glass into windows and doors.

When Leland Sklar was four, his family and he moved to Van Nuys, California, a central San Fernando Valley neighborhood in the northwest section of metropolitan Los Angeles.

At five, Leland Sklar was inspired to take up classical piano from watching Liberace on TV.

Leland Sklar started studying piano just after turning five years old.

Leland Sklar had a piano teacher who he believes was living out her lack of a career through him.

Leland Sklar took to it immediately and began playing string bass in the orchestra and dance band.

Leland Sklar was sent to Redlands University for a summer course in being a drum major and designing half time shows.

Leland Sklar graduated from Birmingham High School in 1965 and stopped shaving, the beginning of his iconic beard.

Between 1965 and 1970, Leland Sklar attended San Fernando Valley State College.

Leland Sklar began as a music major, but became disillusioned in the music department after two years when he realized the curriculum was geared more toward producing music teachers than towards performance.

Leland Sklar went to the administration building and took a battery of aptitude tests and found his highest aptitudes were in art and science.

Leland Sklar spent five years at San Fernando Valley State, but never graduated, because his own music career would intervene.

The Brimstones are of note because Leland Sklar played together with guitarist Dan Dugmore, his oldest friend in the music business.

Leland Sklar has commented that the music business is based on networking.

Leland Sklar tried to meet as many people as possible, worked really hard, and hoped for the best.

Leland Sklar said he was intimidated by the skill of these players and didn't believe he could do what they did, but three and a half years later he was working with them every day.

In 1969, Leland Sklar was the bass player for a hard rock band managed by Bill Graham called Wolfgang, consisting of Bryn Haworth, Ricky Lancelotti, Kevin Kelley, Randy Zacuto and Warren 'Bugs' Pemberton.

Later, Taylor was offered an appearance at the Troubadour and, remembering Leland Sklar, asked his manager Peter Asher to invite Leland Sklar to play bass at that show.

Leland Sklar became part of Taylor's backing band, along with Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, and Carole King, all joining Taylor in his rise to fame.

Soon, with that exposure, Leland Sklar was being asked to record with many other artists.

Leland Sklar worked on the Phil Collins album No Jacket Required and toured as part of Collins' band on The No Jacket Required World Tour from February through July 1985.

Leland Sklar toured again with Collins on The First Final Farewell Tour and the Not Dead Yet Tour.

In 1993 while recording at The Site in Marin County on what would become Linda Ronstadt's album Winter Light, Leland Sklar got a phone call from Michael Frondelli, who ran Capitol Records Studios and was producing a band, the Barefoot Servants.

Leland Sklar had never met the three other seasoned musicians before: Jon Butcher, Ben Schultz, and Ray Brinker.

Leland Sklar has toured with Lyle Lovett, Peter Asher, Veronique Sanson, Tracy Chapman, Van Dyke Parks, and Judith Owen, among others.

In 2020, while idled by the COVID pandemic, Leland Sklar started a YouTube channel, initially to demonstrate the bass parts to a few of the songs he'd played on tour with Phil Collins, but which grew exponentially into a journey of music appreciation and an exploration of his expansive career.

Leland Sklar created a coffee table book, Everybody Loves Me, of approximately 6000 photos from a collection of over 12,000 images of celebrities and common folk giving him "the finger," which has become his signature gesture.

Leland Sklar created a web presence for social interaction called Lee's Clubhouse.

Leland Sklar has explored the NFT market with another web site.

On May 6,2020, Leland Sklar created a Top Ten list of his favorite songs of all time for Spotify.

Leland Sklar has stated that his favorite bassist was Rinat Ibragimov, formerly of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Leland Sklar has been a part of the annual bands assembled in support of the "We Write The Songs" event sponsored by ASCAP at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, and the pre-show for the Grammy Awards.

When Leland Sklar gained notice in 1970, he was playing a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass, his first professional bass, which he carved up with the artistic flair of the time.

Leland Sklar played the bass on James Taylor's One Man Dog, on the early Section albums, and on Billy Cobham's Spectrum.

In 2004, Leland Sklar began playing a signature model five-string bass made by Dingwall Guitars.

In 2010, Leland Sklar began playing the Warwick Star Bass II, which has since become his main bass in the studio.

Previously, Leland Sklar had signature instruments from Gibson and Valley Arts Guitar.

Leland Sklar owns a Washburn AB45 five string acoustic bass which he was not pleased with until he removed the frets, making it a fretless bass.

Leland Sklar owns a Hofner bass he uses only as the song demands.

Leland Sklar had an Alembic bass which he sold to John Entwistle of The Who.

Leland Sklar used various Yamaha basses, such as the BB series, most noticeably around the time of James Taylor's JT album.

At one point, the men tried out each others' basses and found they were nearly unable to play the other's instrument: Leland Sklar set his action very high and Entwistle set his very low.

Leland Sklar has three basic Euphonic Audio amp set ups for three specific applications: studio, intimate settings, and larger stage situations.

Leland Sklar's studio rig is a Euphonic Audio iAMP 800 combo amp.

Leland Sklar has Moog Taurus pedals and Fast Forward Designs Midi Step pedals which he used on the Phil Collins song In the Air Tonight.

Leland Sklar uses Cordial cables, a Tube Works DI box, and a Boss OC-2 Octave divider.

Leland Sklar is known to have used a Petersen tuner, as well as a TC Electronics "polytuner" which he has said is incredibly accurate and unobtrusive.