Carl Dean Radle (June 18, 1942 – May 30, 1980) was an American bassist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s. He was posthumously inducted to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

Biography

Radle was best known for his long association with

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list o ...

, starting in 1969 with Delaney and Bonnie and Friends and continuing in 1970 with Derek and the Dominos, recording with drummer Jim Gordon, guitarist Duane Allman, and keyboardist Bobby Whitlock. In 1970, Radle joined

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

's Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour. He worked on all of Clapton's solo projects from 1970 until 1979 and was a member of Clapton's touring band, Eric Clapton & His Band, from 1974 to 1979. Radle was instrumental in facilitating Clapton's return to recording and touring in 1974. During Clapton's three-year hiatus, Radle furnished him with a supply of tapes of musicians with whom he had been working. Dick Sims and Jamie Oldaker were the core of Clapton's band during the 1970s. Radle served as more than a sideman, acting also as arranger on several songs, notably "Motherless Children". Radle earned credit as an associate producer of Clapton's album '' No Reason to Cry''. Carl also was a member of the psychedelic cult band from Dot records ‘Colours’ to which he was on the first and guest appeared on the second album Radle was a

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

for many of the most famous

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

and

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

artists in the 1970s, including Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson. He appeared in the film '' The Concert for Bangladesh''; recordings from that concert were released as an album in 1972. Over the two-year period before the release of the album '' The Concert for Bangladesh'', Radle recorded albums with Dave Mason,

J.J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

, Leon Russell, and Buddy Guy, among others. He was the bass player in Gary Lewis & the Playboys when they appeared on the ''Mike Douglas Show'' and the ''Ed Sullivan Show''. He can be seen in

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

's 1978 film ''

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group The Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as The Band's "farewell concert a ...

'', which documented the final concert of The Band, held in 1976. Over the course of his career, Radle played on a number of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

and

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

singles and albums and garnered the respect of many musicians. His bass lines were often simple and repetitive, but always with the purpose of supporting the song. Radle was born in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

, and died at his home in Claremore in May 1980, from the effects of alcohol and narcotics; he was 37.

Discography

With Derek and the Dominos

* 1970 '' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' * 1973 '' In Concert'' * 1990 '' The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition'' * 1994 '' Live at the Fillmore''

With Eric Clapton

* 1970 ''

'' * 1974 '' 461 Ocean Boulevard'' * 1975 ''

E. C. Was Here ''E. C. Was Here'' is a 1975 album by Eric Clapton. It was recorded live in 1974 and 1975 at the Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, Long Beach Arena, the Hammersmith Odeon, and the Providence Civic Center by Record Plant Remote during Clapto ...

'' * 1975 '' There's One in Every Crowd'' * 1976 '' No Reason to Cry'' * 1977 '' Slowhand'' * 1978 '' Backless''

References

External links

MP3.com entry on RadleA Lesson in Carl Radle's StyleCarl Radle Bass Lines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radle, Carl 1942 births 1980 deaths Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Blues musicians from Oklahoma American rock bass guitarists Derek and the Dominos members Delaney & Bonnie & Friends members Alcohol-related deaths in Oklahoma Drug-related deaths in Oklahoma American session musicians 20th-century American bass guitarists Guitarists from Oklahoma American male bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians