The famous session guitarist Bill Pitman, member of the group Wrecking Crew, has just died at the age of 102 years. Pitman died Aug. 11 at his home in La Quinta, Calif., according to The New York Times. According to his wife Janet Pitman, he died in hospice care after sustaining a spinal injury in a fall.
Pitman was born on February 12, 1920 and grew up in a family of musicians. His father was an NBC staff bassist for the programs. Bill Pitman first became interested in music at age five, and during high school he frequently traveled from New Jersey to Manhattan to soak up the city’s jazz culture.
He also served in the military during World War II, then he moved to Los Angeles. In the 1950s, Bill Pitman began performing in jazz clubs in Los Angeles at the age of 31. After landing a regular gig in Peggy Lee’s backup band, he gained notoriety. Pitman then spent three years as a frequent performer for The Rusty Draper Show radio show.
Pitman’s well-known compositions include his work on The Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations, The Ronettes’ Be My Baby, Bob Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man, and Barbra Streisand’s The Way We Were.
The ukulele entry of Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head by BJ Thomas was also played by the performer.
Bill Pitman
Bill Pitman started working as a session artist in 1957
Spector’s 1958 song To Know Him Is To Love Him was the band’s first hit, Wrecking Crew. Pitman quickly became in demand with Capitol Records and other Los Angeles-based artists following the song’s release.
His session partners at the time included Leon Russell, Carol Kaye and Glen Campbell. Pitman has worked with a number of well known musicians including Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and Bob Dylan.
Additionally, he has contributed to a number of films, such as Blue Hawaii, a 1961 Elvis Presley film, as well as M*A*S*H, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Dirty Dancing and Goodfellas (1990) .
In 2008, Pitman made an appearance in the documentary The Wrecking Crew, where he discussed his work with the loosely organized group of musicians.
Denny Tedesco, the son of fellow Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco, directed the documentary.
Additionally, he provided music for Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Goodfellas as well as several commercial jingles and movie soundtracks. Throughout the 1970s, the artist also toured with performers like Vicki Carr and Burt Bacharach. The main band at the MGM Grand Hotel also included Bill Pitman.
The artist retired in 1989 but kept his love of music private.
