Louis Shelton | |
---|---|
Birth name | William Louis Shelton |
Also known as | Louie Shelton |
Born | Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. | April 6, 1941
Occupation(s) | Musician, music producer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Website | www |
William Louis Shelton (born April 6, 1941) is an American guitarist and music producer.
During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s Shelton was a session musician working in recording studios around Hollywood. [1] Among his more notable session work was for the Monkees, including their first self-titled album, and both recordings of the Boyce and Hart songs, "Last Train to Clarksville", "Valleri", and "(Theme From) The Monkees". Shelton played the flamenco-style guitar solo on "Valleri", which Michael Nesmith had to mimic for the cameras on their TV series. [2] [3] Even after the Monkees began playing on their own records, Shelton remained a favorite among their session players. Shelton was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame and is a member of the famous group of LA session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew". [4]
Other recording credits include:
Marvin Gaye, Simon and Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder, Boz Scaggs, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Jackson 5, Neil Diamond, John Lennon, Barbra Streisand, the Carpenters, the Mamas & the Papas, Glen Campbell, Ella Fitzgerald, the Partridge Family, James Brown, Diana Ross, Otis Spann, Whitney Houston, Joe Cocker, Kenny Rogers, Henry Mancini, Dave Grusin, Quincy Jones, Lalo Schifrin and Victor Wooten. [5] He played the guitar solo on Lionel Richie's hit "Hello", Boz Scaggs's "Lowdown" and David Gates' "Do You Believe He's Coming".
Shelton became a producer in the 1970s, working with recording artists including Seals and Crofts, Art Garfunkel, Amy Wooley, England Dan & John Ford Coley, as well as Australian acts Tracey Arbon, Noiseworks and Southern Sons. He remains active and continues to record, produce, and perform.
He is a 2007 inductee into the Musicians Hall of Fame as a member of the Wrecking Crew. In 2013 he was inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame. [6]
Shelton, who now resides in Australia, was reunited with the surviving Monkees (Mike Nesmith and Micky Dolenz) during their 2019 Australian tour, and made a special guest appearance with the group, performing his famous guitar part live on "Last Train to Clarksville" at the group's Brisbane concert on 13 June 2019. [7]
With David Ackles
With Alessi Brothers
With Solomon Burke
With Glen Campbell
With Vikki Carr
With Sonny & Cher
With Merry Clayton
With England Dan & John Ford Coley
With Neil Diamond
With The 5th Dimension
With Cass Elliot
With José Feliciano
With Michael Franks
With Marvin Gaye
With Art Garfunkel
With David Gates
With Marjoe Gortner
With Lani Hall
With Dan Hill
With Whitney Houston
With The Hues Corporation
With Al Kooper
With Peggy Lee
With John Lennon
With Lulu
With Melanie
With Wayne Newton
With Brenda Patterson
With Teddy Pendergrass
With Lionel Richie
With Austin Roberts
With Kenny Rogers
With Boz Scaggs
With Dan Seals
With Judee Sill
With Otis Spann
With Barbra Streisand
With Sarah Vaughan
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