By Bob Berry

A dear friend of mine is celebrating a birthday this weekend, and this happens to be one of her favorite songs.

Mine, too. Pretty much since the first time I heard it.

Johnny Rivers wrote it, and cut it live with the Wrecking Crew trio of Hal Blaine on drums, Joe Osborne on bass and Larry Knechtel on keyboards. Then, the real genius moment happened, and The Blossoms overdubbed an unmistakable-and unforgettable, backup vocals:

“Do-doo-doo-wah shoo-be-doo-be…”

Jenni, the spotlight is on you and Jim. Enjoy Slow Dance Number One for Sunday Brunch on Keener.

By Bob Berry

He was part of the legendary Wrecking Crew, helping Phil Spector shape his Wall of Sound.  His Hammond B-3 helped The Beach Boys pick up on “Good Vibrations”. He played with The Mamas and Papas, The Fifth Dimension and The Carpenters, and David Gates and Bread.

His barrel-house piano kick-started “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” for Johnny Rivers

He was an extraordinary keyboard player, who happened to play guitar so well, that he supplied the bass tracks for The Doors’ “Light My Fire“!

His name was Larry Knechtel, and today would have been his 76th birthday. Here is his “greatest hit”, a beautiful, gospel-inspired piano that helped make the title song to Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water album the Record and Song of the Year in 1971.

That’s who “that guy on keyboards” was.