Legendary studio musician Carol Kaye has long been known for not suffering fools gladly. We may be able to add the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to the list of people she considers fools, judging from her announcement that she will be boycotting her induction into the Hall this fall, due to her objections to language used to characterize her illustrious history.
Specifically, Kaye has never made a secret of how much she hates the “Wrecking Crew” moniker that has long been affectionately applied to the loose confluence of studio musicians that played on scores of the greatest hits of the 1960s. The fact that there was a popular documentary called “The Wrecking Crew” in 2008 that brought many of these musicians (including herself) further into the public eye only served to heighten her antipathy toward the name.
More from Variety
Chubby Checker on Finally Twisting His Way Into the Rock Hall of Fame: ‘Everybody’s Made a Whole Lotta Money Off Chubby. Give the Man Some Credit!’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Rock Hall of Fame Inductees Unveiled: Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, White Stripes, Chubby Checker, Warren Zevon and More to Join Class of 2025
Phish Wins Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Fan Vote; Bad Company and Billy Idol Come In Second and Third
“People have been asking: NO I won’t be there,” Kaye, 90, wrote in a Facebook post. “I am declining the RRHOF awards show (and Denny Tedesco process)” — a reference to the director of the 2008 documentary — “turning it down because it wasn’t something that reflects the work that Studio Musicians do and did in the golden era of the 1960s Recording Hits.”
Not everything about her Facebook statement is immediately clear to those without a previous understanding of some of the beefs Kaye has raised before. But her aversion to any language referring to “the Wrecking Crew” is crystal-clear:
“I was never a ‘wrecker’ at all,” she writes. “That’s a terrible insulting name.”
Of course, Kaye turning down the invitation to attend and be personally honored will not stand in the way of her being inducted anyway, in absentia. In 2022, when Dolly Parton attempted to derail her own induction, the Rock Hall made it clear she’d be honored with or without her personal approval, before she came around. Some other more rebellious rockers have rebuffed the honor, like Johnny Rotten, yet remain official Hall of Famers nonetheless.
Kaye’s declaration that she plans to pass on being personally honored in October did not come as a total surprise to anyone keeping track of her social feed. In April, when she was first announced as one of the Rock Hall’s 2025 inductees, she immediately revealed mixed feelings. ““I appreciate so highly all the nice things you have said here, and appreciate the wonderful loyalty!” she wrote in a message to fans. But, she added then, “Please know our only name was Studio Musicians, not the name a drummer made up for his own quest for fame.” (The drummer in question would be the late Hal Blaine, who came up with the Wrecking Crew nickname and occasionally comes up for scorn in her writings.)
As far as a trip to Cleveland went, she was “not sure if I can put up with their ‘wrecker’ ID to go to it,” she said in April. She also suggested at the time that health could stand in her way: “Am not feeling up to much.”
Kaye also appears to be objecting to being singled out for an honor apart from the greater collective that she prefers to only be called “Studio Musicians.”
“You are always part of a TEAM, not a solo artist at all,” she writes. “There were always 350-400 Studio Musicians (AFM Local 47 Hollywood) working in the busy 1960s, and called that ONLY (s)ince 1930s. … I refuse to be part of a process that is something else rather than what I believe in, for others’ benefit and not reflecting on the truth — we all enjoyed working with EACH OTHER.”
She adds in the comment thread, “There’s more to it than meets the eye, just so you know.”
This is not the first time Kaye has taken something intended as a compliment as ultimately patronizing, if not demeaning. In 2020, she made headlines for slamming the TV series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” for introducing a character loosely based on her. In an interview with the New York Post, Kaye said, “A lot of people are saying, ‘That must be you. I love it!’ But I am not a cartoon — and my life is not a joke. Nobody contacted me. I didn’t know a thing about it. I thought that was pretty bad — kind of like slander. … Don’t get me wrong, I have a sense of humor … but I am a professional. This is like a putdown to me.”
If Kaye can be a little rough around the edges in deflecting would-be homages, that will not put any dents in her reputation as one of the great studio musicians of all time — a legacy that came up again in the wake of the death of Brian Wilson, who used her on “Pet Sounds” and many other classic Beach Boys records, including “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes and Villains.”
Kaye is one of the most recognized studio musicians of all time, partly by virtue of having been a pioneering woman in an exclusively boys’ club, but mostly because she played unforgettable parts on an inordinate amount of the greatest records of all time.
She was part of the studio teams assembled by Motown, Phil Spector and Quincy Jones. She contributed to classic cuts by Frank Sinatra, Sonny & Cher (“The Beat Goes On”), Simon & Garfunkel, the Monkees, Glen Campbell (“Wichita Lineman”), Barbra Streisand (“The Way We Were”), Elvis Presley, Joe Cocker (“Feelin’ Alright”) and Ray Charles. She appeared on TV themes including “Mission Impossible,” “Hawaii Five-O” and “The Brady Bunch.”
Kaye used her message Wednesday to relay a quick summary of how she came to specialize in playing bass, despite having first been a jazz guitarist. “Just so you know, as a working Jazz musician (soloing jazz guitar work) in the 1950s working since 1949, I was accidentally asked to record records by producer Bumps Blackwell in 1957, got into recording good music, w/ Sam Cooke, other artists and then accidentally placed on Fender Precision Bass mid 1963 when someone didn’t show…….I never played bass in my life but being an experienced recording guitarist, it was plain to see that 3 bass players hired to play ‘dum-de-dum’ on record dates, wasn’t getting it…..it was easy for me to invent good bass lines…..as a Jazz musician, you invent every note you play……and they used a lot of Jazz musicians (and former big-band experienced musicians on all those rock and pop dates too).”
Best of Variety
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
‘Harry Potter’ TV Show Cast Guide: Who’s Who in Hogwarts?
25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
