{"id":349181,"date":"2025-12-15T01:13:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T01:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/349181\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T01:13:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T01:13:10","slug":"on-this-day-in-2018-we-lost-the-iconic-bassist-who-turned-down-touring-offers-from-bob-dylan-and-elvis-presley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/349181\/","title":{"rendered":"On This Day in 2018, We Lost the Iconic Bassist Who Turned Down Touring Offers From Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve probably never heard of the Wrecking Crew<\/a>, but you\u2019ve certainly heard the Wrecking Crew. Largely unheralded during their heyday of the \u201960s and \u201970s, this collective of session musicians performed on hundreds of Top 40 tracks, including Simon & Garfunkel\u2019s \u201cBridge Over Troubled Water\u201d and the Mamas & the Papas\u2019 \u201cCalifornia Dreamin\u2019.\u201d One of these illustrious artists was bassist Joe Osborn, who enjoyed a six-decade career with both Los Angeles\u2019 Wrecking Crew and Nashville\u2019s A-Team. On this day in 2018, Joe Osborn died at his Greenwood, Louisiana home following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 81 years old.<\/p>\n

Joe Osborn Stumbled Upon the Bass By Accident<\/p>\n

Born Aug. 28, 1937, in Mound, Louisiana, and raised in Shreveport, Osborn got his start as a guitar player\u2014\u201dnot a great one,\u201d he dryly said<\/a>, despite the fact that he was playing weekly in church<\/a> by age 12. He switched to bass \u201csort of by accident\u201d when he and fellow guitarist Roy Buchanan arrived in Las Vegas to accompany country singer Bob Luman during his yearlong Showboat Hotel run. Turned out, Luman needed a guitar player and a bassist.<\/p>\n

Remembering Joe Osborn an
American bass guitar player
who passed away on this
day 12\/14\/2018. Osborn was
a session musician who was
part of the Wrecking Crew in L.A.
and the A-Team in Nashville.
Joe played on many songs
including MacArthur Park-
Richard Harris;
(cont.) pic.twitter.com\/84A9jZ3NS2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Lee Jerome (@LeeJero32024251) December 14, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n

So, Joe Osborn bought himself a Fender Precision bass and learned to play the instrument. Having no idea that neither a pick nor an amplifier were necessary, he used both. One day, he turned the amp up only to hear, \u201cNo, man, you can\u2019t do that. The bass should be felt and not heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what to say to that except, \u2018Well, I guess you\u2019re going to get both,\u2019\u201d Osborn recalled in a June 2015 interview with Pop Culture Classics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: 10 Classic Songs That Were Backed by the Wrecking Crew]<\/a><\/p>\n

He Hated Playing Live<\/p>\n

Continuing to perform until his death in 2018, Joe Osborn is one of the most-recorded bassists<\/a> of all time, playing with the Carpenters, Neil Diamond, Ricky Nelson, and more. Despite his prolific and talent output, he never had aspirations beyond session work. Notably, Osborn rejected offers to tour with some massive acts, including Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t like playing live, because it didn\u2019t sound good\u2026 I love the microscope,\u201d he said. \u201cPlaying there with the headphones, you get the sound and you\u2019re able to get the part right. Playing live, when you make a mistake, it\u2019s gone. And I just never liked it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featured image by Greg Campbell\/WireImage for NARAS<\/p>\n