Photo: Jasper Dailey/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
For maximum reading enjoyment, feel free to cue up “Sloop John B” or “The Beat Goes On” on your speakers. Carol Kaye, the most revered bassist of the session-musician era, is refusing to attend her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction later this year. Kaye told the New York Times in a September 24 interview that she’s boycotting every aspect of the honor, which comes in the form of the generalized Musical Excellence Award. “Well, I don’t do things because other people want me to do them. I have to do things the way I see fit,” she explained. “First off, I’m not a rocker, I’m a jazz musician. And I’m not a soloist. I worked in the studio as part of a team.” Despite initially being “stunned” and “surprised” by the recognition when announced in April, Kaye has since soured on the Rock Hall, stating in June that she would be declining the award. Among her quibbles, she wrote on social media, was that it “wasn’t something that reflects the work that studio musicians do and did in the golden era of the 1960s recording hits.” Fellow 2025 inductee Chubby Checker is also not showing up for the ceremony. In a strange turn of events, the organization presented him with his trophy at a concert in late July after Checker told his manager to book him a gig on the night of the induction. Now, if we could get an update about Meg White, that would be terrific.
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