The Wrecking Crew's Louie Shelton and the 1969 Fender Princeton Reverb
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- Опубликовано: 1 мар 2023
- Louie Shelton of LA's famed "Wrecking Crew" and in house guitarist for Motown Records used one amplifier on almost every hit record he ever played on. Here is the story of his Fender Princeton Reverb Amplifier as heard on hits by The Monkees, The Jackson 5 through to Boz Scaggs and Lionel Richie to name but a few.
#motown #wreckingcrew #guitar 
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Thank you for interviewing Louie. A Master of His craft. I’ve been enjoying his work my entire life.
The Wrecking Crew was the greatest group of musicians ever assembled.
Uncle Louie is the kindest,gentlest, most genuinely modest and humble player I have ever come across. He has more talent and creativity in the shavings of his finger nails than most folks have in their whole body and, every one else they know. Salute 🫡
He truly is the best. Sweet Uncle Louie is the most humble talented kindest man.
There are in fact, so many players like Mr. Shelton in the world of music. I think that session players deserve far more attention than they receive for their efforts. These were the creators of not just songs, but of TIMELESS music.
Thankfully, the Internet has brought many a new sense of acknowledgement and appreciation for those musicians who "flew under the radar," yet created and perpetuated music history with every memorable riff, solo, and disciplined arrangements.
Fender meets Dumbledore, meets Marshall in 1 Amp!!!??
What a great sound! Tele too!? Dang! Perfection
This guy is beautiful...Humble and talented!
great interviewer letting the great man speak
Good lord he's a great guitar player - amazing
He’s 81 and looks younger. He obviously has taken good care of himself over the decades. He’s dedicated to his profession plain and simple.
Still dying his hair and beard.
@@WellnessRosterHQyes he does. He’s my sweet Uncle Louie. Age is just a number to him. He’s so incredibly talented and humble.
He looks and sounds damn good. Play on Louie
Probably getting out of California helped a lot with that.
Louie is a Legend player in all that he’s done.
The versatility of the Tele on display.
I wish he would have played more.
It's awesome to hear a man speak so fondly and proudly about his son-in-law
I have an original '68 Silverface Princeton Reverb and it's the sweetest sound.
Louie is a national treasure. Just a wonderful class act!
Yes. Louie! Those historical Monkees early years. [pre- Lukather] And all the way over to the 80's with Whitey Houston, Lionel Ritchie, etc. etc. Tone & Groove.
Music and its artists are by nature, driven by ego as well as talent. I would imagine it being very easy to forget about where we started vs. stardom, popularity, and financial success. Thankfully, so many that have given their lives to the creation or reproduction of music, leave their ego at home and play the song for the sake of the song, in the hopes that others might appreciate and enjoy it for its soul power, as its player does.
I knew Corey Fite in junior high school. His whole family was very nice people and Corey was a genius. He was repairing electronics TVs stereos and his parents house and just figured it out on his own. I also played music and Corey was a really good songwriter, too one song sticks in my head, it was called peaches. I had a cassette tape years ago with about eight of his songs on it, and I wore it out he had a great singing voice also but above we used to have a really good time we are both big Todd Rundgren fans. My first daughter was conceived on a camping trip with Cory and Mary Corey was very humble. In a lot of ways he told me about you and I was, really impressed with your career and your attitude and you’re playing. I believe we grew up in the greatest time for music. I really feel blessed in that way. Corey left this earth too soon lot of people are going to miss Corey. I am glad he had you as his father-in-law. You are both worthy of each other. Beautiful family.
Great interview. You let him just speak. Such a great watch. What a legend.
Thank you. I sometimes forget that my friend Louie is THAT guy and it’s an honour to know him.
I heard "Diamond Girl" when I was teenager just learning to play. I absolutely loved that guitar tone and it was one of the first solos I learned. I didn't know Louie Shelton's name at the time, but when I later heard "Hello", I instantly knew it was the same player and made it a point to learn his name then. What a phenomenal talent.
A class act all the way. Vallerie by the Monkees he did the lead. Still can't play it after 50 years of trying. But Louie told me to keep practicing so I do.
He deserved a writing credit for "Hello". His solo is definitely part of the composition.
That solo IS THE COMPOSITION
Hello, by ?
Lionel Richie
not how publishing/sessions work unfortunately.
@@nicko6710 I was a session player so I know this all too well.
What a player! All those cool things he does outside the melody line are so beautiful.
Creativity is about production now, not musicality. The youngsters know remedial structures of music. A key change is a novelty today. JESUS!
It means a lot to see the story of someone who had that special life, who seems to have been blessed and is a living blessing to others, especially when your own life seems to be the exact opposite of that. At least someone had a good run. It feels like cheering on a team member after your own race ended by being slammed into a guard rail by a random cyclist from another team who just wasn't paying attention.
the whole reason I love a tube screamer is it can always give that tone to cut through a mix or boost a distortion for a great rock or metal hell almost any genre of music
Such a brilliant guitar player with a beautiful vocabulary of guitar licks second to none.
The Wrecking Crew are LEGENDS, including one of my drumming idols Hal Blaine. I do remember getting the Diamond Girl 45 back in '73 at age 6. Something bout that guitar!👍
Hal was the man!
@@Bingbing611 No question! I mean seriously Sinatra, Herb Alpert, Beach Boys, Mamas & Papas, 5th Dimension, Simon & Garfunkel, Carpenters, hell even Captain & Tennille! Absolute ICON!
Of course both The Wrecking Crew book and Hal's book are highly recommended.👍👍
One of these amps from 69 is in my basement,still sounds great today.
Wow son in law incorporated a master volume back then yo get that overdrive ..when needed awesome
What an absolutely glorious sound. Part of it comes from the amplifier which is a quintessentially Mojo infused monster. The other part comes from what is clearly one of the most gifted guitar players in human history. Thanks for everything you do man. You entertained us to the max.
Thank you for saying that. He’s the best.
OMG. That amp sounds so good.
ive never heard distortion like that from any princeton . that amp has several MOD's. THAT AMP IS SWEET!!!!!
Had the pleasure to see members of the "Wrecking Crew" perform live twice at a club in Thousand Oaks, CA. The first time was a tribute to Elvis Presley. The second time was a tribute to Glen Campbell. To a man they are incredible musicians and the nicest humble people. They just didn't play, but gave the stories behind some the iconic songs they played on.
Wow....I would have loved to have seen those shows.
@@jimdep6542 it was incredible! The tribute to Glen was especially moving as he was a member at one time. Some of them also perform in a sub-group called the Tribe.
@@cguzelli1 What an experience ! Elvis and Glen had so many great songs....and to hear them being played by these world class musicians would be a real treat........although have to say that both Elvis and Glen had great bands too. Scotty Moore, James Burton etc etc..
@@jimdep6542 - I wish my video had come out better or I would have posted. Was too close to the stage and it was distorted, not because they were loud, but because the mic in my camera was lousy.
I've had a lot of amps like Louie mentioned on 3 for volume a silver face princeton can be sweet and sassy without blowing out your hearing . He's such a Great player and such a humble guy . This was a excellent interview well done mate .
I had the opportunity to meet Louie at the Tamworth Festival earlier this year. He delivered a very exciting and interesting masterclass. It is absolutely fantastic that we have him in Australia.
The "Wrecking Crew" were the industry's best Studio musicians of their time. Those talented players are literally responsible for the sound of music throughout the 60's and 70s'. When a person first learns about these men (and Carol Kaye), and about the numerous records on which they played (many times in lieu of the "real" band), it completely boggles the mind! If you're unfamiliar with them, you're missing out on a huge chunk of American music history.
... "WORLDWIDE" MUSIC HISTORY ...
Muscle Shoals blow them away
Yep. And, there's a documentary called the Wrecking Crew which is worth seeing.
except they were never called the wrecking crew, that name came from one guy.
@@nobodynoone2500 Who the hell said they were then known as the "wrecking crew"? There's always got to be some dumbass who needs to feel important by stating what everyone already knows, but acting like it's some great insight.
Thanks for posting this. Unknowingly at the time, Louie was one of my first guitar heroes via his session work with the Monkees.
I had heard he played lead with Glen Campbell on Last Train to Clarksville.
I never knew his name but he added all the color to my early years. Thanks for the memories.
😊😊😊
My first gigging Amp at age 11. Dad took me to Melody Music for my brand new Princeton and Mustang guitar !!
.
Your Dad IS THEE KING OF COOL for getting such Hi-Class Gear for you at age 11, WOW-!!! ...
That was great ... in so many ways. Thank you .
He is such a humble gentleman, all that "On Demand" skill and pop history is something the young rappers of today will never have.
I feel like my grandparents sounded LOL
Never tire of listening to Louie play and talk, valuable man!
I’ve had my ‘68 Princeton since about ‘77. I will never get rid of it.
Love this and the tele interview! Thanks! Louie is such a treasure and talent. Memories fade and can be hazy. No big contention but Louie couldnt have used this 69 princeton on Last Train as that was recorded in 66. Lastly, amps certainly have a huge impact on sound but the player has the greatest impact and Louie is a phenom.
You are so right. A definite timeline problem here.
Hello. Goosebump solo.
Brilliant player, and amp. I have a 71 and 73 Princeton Revs. Best amp ever.
Louie play on the great songs of my youth..... Thanks Louie....
Oh man an absolute master of both the guitar and the amplifier in perfect harmony...fabulous ❤
RIP my long time great friend Richard Podolor.
Check out the Seals and Crofts albums that Louie produced and plays guitar on. We all know the hits, but those albums have so many different genre's. I get blown away at how much MUSIC is in there, a lot of that due to Mr Shelton.
Also.... Great Interview !!! Thanks for just letting Louie speak and jumping in only when needed !
2 thumbs 👆 good job!
Amazing!
Surprising that Fender never(?) made an augmented Princeton version like this. Seems incredibly versatile and useful.
I believe the mod was done by Paul Rivera of Valley Arts in LA back in the day. Sweetwater sold (still sells?) a "Stage 2" modded Deluxe Reverb, and Rivera amplification recently introduced a "Stage IV" amp that included all the mods Paul Rivera used to day back in the day for Lukather, Paul Jackson, Jr, and many others. Google "Paul Rivera mods" and you'll find several videos about it.
... In my most humbly humble and honestly honest opinion, thee only thing that comes any wayer near closely comparable to a Fender Telecaster-twin reverb combination, is a Tele-Vox AC 30 watt combo. Tried and true-blue, reliable too, through & through ...
Fender gets up in the morning and shoots three or four of its toes off every day before they hit the floor.
And to top things off, they’ve decided that extraordinarily high prices are a good mix with bad decision making.
Like Steve Jobs, Leo Fender is also taking a dirt nap. So now you get to watch both Apple and Fender. Among many others wandering through their disparate deserts blindly and barely chasing the desires that their original customers were drawn to in the first place.
Like so many before them, these two corporations have fallen victim to their marketing ghosts.
I’m pretty sure the last few things I bought from Fender were try heavily discounted T-shirts and even among those there are few and far between most people would be caught dead wearing. They can’t even design T-shirts with any class anymore.
Of the best “fenders“ I have are those I’ve built myself. Fenders originally? Definitely among the greatest guitars ever designed. Nowadays to get anything even close to perfection from fender directly sadly you need a fresh mortgage.
.
1968 Custom reissue came out years ago
@@garthkolbeck8674 Does it have the master volume and additional push/pull controls as on this modded amp?
Heĺlo solo "this is the hard part"
Wow i thought i am the only one that feel that part was the hard one. He is so humble...nice guy.
Man that’s a sweet amp!
I can only imagine the stories he could tell...what a wonderful guitar player and Gentleman...thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this. It is truly a gem of a video. You let the man shine and did a great job overall. God bless you.
One of the greatest guitar players in the business, and most people don't know who he is. I have been a fan of his for decades.
Some people are so dedicated to their art that they have little time to devote to pushing their fame. Their time is too precious and their creativity is more important than their ego.
The general public didn't know any of the session players. They never even got credit on album covers. Carol Kaye ,Hal Blain,Tedesco,
Etc. They Were The unsung heroes of record making
I've been playing a '65 Princeton since '73.Great amp.
I'm in my fifties and got sidetracked with heavy metal, and I am rediscovering some true legends like Louie.
Good for you Greg...im one of those who love clean sounding sesionist like Shelton , Renwick and many jazz players. I found it hard to find band members to jam. Most play high gain distortion shredding.
Heavy metal = modern country..John Lennon would equate to Muzak…..🎸
64 just discovered Gr Dead. Amazing guitarist and sound
@@bertlindsay ... yo, go, Bert-! Greatful Dead guitarist, Jerry Garcia is iconic. But pissed off John Fogerty at Woidstock because GD went on & on played the crowd to sleep b4 CCR who were promised a headliner spot there, got up to a near catatonic audience at 4am. There's a bit of trivia for ya there, ole Bertie man ...
Apparently, Fogerty was born pissed off… before he ever made it to the road…
He suffered from “womb rage”
what a cool dude!! Enjoy yer ride, Mr Louie!!
priceless interview....just great stuff
"Last Train to Clarksville" came out in 1966. Tough to use a '69 Princeton for that.
YOU'RE RIGHT !!! They had black panels before '68, so it couldn't have been that amp at all.
The Vox Super Beatle is all over that 1st Monkees album.
Great stuff, Louie!
What a humble man!! Amazing
"" A Guitar Player's Player,,, and the Most Humble National Treasure There Is..."""" Louie Sheldon.......
Love this man. He made many people happy over the years, even if they didn't know it.
It's amazing to consider how many "bands" are credited with their work and how few people realize it.
Man this stuff is how these songs and sounds really came into being WOW!!!!🤯🤯🤯🤯👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿😌😌😌😌😇😇😇🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿💯💯💯🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😭👍🏿😃😂😂 JUST-PURE JOY!!!!CAROL KAYE OMG BASS MASTER PLAYER WHENFOUND OUT WHO THIS WOMAN WAS AND WHAT SHE CONTRIBUTED TO MUSIC THEREARE NO WORDS IAMJUST SAYING•
I so appreciate the honesty you have portrayed concerning the Princeton. The notoriety has nothing to do with a hyper great sounding amp.
It was all about the ability of convenience in having to cart an amp around in so many situations from basic head room to real over drive.
And let the engineer paint the sound.
Love the solo for "Hello"... i got chills
Go Rick ,lookin Special Opps Buff ! great interview, I love how you give him room to think and answer
Sweet Louie Shelton:
Definitely one of my all time Guitar Heroes
I first became aware of who he really was on David Gates wonderful first solo album around 1976.
Found it one summer night at a pool party at a friends house in her parents record collection. I was always the Designated DJ and I’ve had it in mine ever since. Probably the nicest thing he did on there is the song “Loralei” beautiful, warm finger slides, and the chords are sublime. And a bit of investigating later, I realized he was on many radio hits, but easily caught your ear. The songs were always terrific, but he put the whip cream and the cherry on top. God bless the man, and we thank him for his shared talents.
There was and is plenty to learn from his playing… Now back to practice🎸🎶
David was kind enough to list all the players on those albums. Not sure but I think Dean Parks was also on that record. It’s a charming little gem…. pretty much like the Bread albums, but it has its own eclectic qualities.
DAVID GATES… ‘FIRST’
Late 1974 released I believe.
@@warrenbutterfield4208 Actually late '73, his 2nd solo album Never Let Her Go was early '75, then Goodbye Girl in '78.
I think I found that first one… “First” in the winter early 1974 that’s why I use that reference. When I look at the album jacket or the CD I do think it was recorded in 73 how as you say. Forgive me. I’ve got thousands of recordings everything from my dads early reel to reel right through the eight tracks, cassettes onto the CDs and enough vinyl to outlast a tire fire.
Now, if I can get my hands on a few of those Edison wax cylinders and a player…. because we do have the old family Edison, with a lot of those fat fast spinning brittle chunks of slate.
I really love Louie Shelton's playing. I just can't imagine a human being always knowing what sound to use along with which passage of notes. What a genius. Same thing with Carol Kaye's bass playing. She knew exactly what tone / sound/ technique to choose for each riff. She is melodic but never too busy. Like Steve Luke says, the producers basically tell the lead guitarists to make them a "HIT". The word magic really does come into play here. I've seen and heard Paul Macartney using this term several times in a recent interview.
Absolutely a guitar God ❤ and a great Man ❤🎸
So tasteful!
Louie was great and so cool. He actually was kind enough to E-mail me back a few times many years ago. That was when i first learned he played the intro to Last train to Clarksville.
The fretboard of that Tele shows where Louis made his living. Fantastic looking guitar.
pretty sure this is a Road Worn Telecaster. a rather early one, they came with that exact wear pattern on the neck.
most def not a vintage Tele
just my luck...i play where he didn't ...haha
... yeah, Eddie, I've seen brand new in store Telecastors with tool made, pre worn finger board markings-!!! ...
As had been said, that's artificial aging on the fretboard. There's no way that there would be a four-fret gap in the wear pattern. Not a chance.
@@Flavum I'm pretty well-educated on the whole "relic" culture (actually owned a Bravewood relic myself, one of the best in the business) but I've got to be honest and say I'd never suspect that as a relic job. Really good work.
Wow, I always wondered who played the guitar parts/solos on these songs is mentioning, and it was him and that amp! I am surprised used to Rockman on Hello, though.
He did the guitar solo on Neil Diamond’s “play me” also?? Holy cow! I’m 58 years old, play music, full-time for a living, usually 200 shows a year, and I’ve never heard of this guy before!
... yo, Dave- I'm Peter, call me Dave. Same here. I'm ,70. Never knew who did that wonderful playing, or those iconic riffs on those 60s-70s, very rememberable songs. Have been soaking up all music since the early 50s, and I love most of it. What an idilic apprenticeship I'm still in-!!!
Cheers from Oz ...
You owe it to yourself to watch the documentary on RUclips about the "Wrecking Crew." You're gonna be absolutely shocked to learn how many successful records and famous bands were really these guys instead of the so-called "real" bands.
@@az_stan ... Thank You, TY, TY, so very much for re-minding me to re-view the too short but info crammed Wrecking Crew doco, aGAIN, @az_stan, The Man ...
Just be aware of that to this day Carol K just keeps bitching about that documentary. For some reason she feels incredibly slighted. Anger is palpable. I’d rather sad to see it consuming her.
Her website is an absolute dinosaur of a “wreck”….
@@warrenbutterfield4208 Carol King?
Great stuff. A great man. Thanks
Good interview.
Princeton and a SM-57! Classic!!!
Great interview, thank you!
Thank you Louie gif this share and all the wonderful tunes you performed on and helped to create. Big respect!
Fender should definitely try to produce a special edition Princeton like this! I actually use a Princeton regularly, but it would great to find out what some of these mods are.
There was an after market plug-in that by passed the reverb called an Ice Cube. Just a cap or 2 and a resistor or 2 to filter the highs. You can use just a phono jacks cord as well, but way too much treble. Of course most folks want the reverb. I use to use a 32db gain = gain of 32 op amp preamp before mine. At 3 huge dynamic distortion. 6 smooth singing tone. 8 Metal. 10 whump, whump goes the sagging power supply. Now there's Spark , 25db gain pre made by TC. Enough gain for the other levels,, less or no wump on 10. Wonderful amps
Louie mentioned that he had the "Rivera" mods on his Princeton. Those would have been done by one of Fender's top amp builders, Paul Rivera who was well known for these mods that gave various amps a lot more versatility.
The amps were so successful that he started his own company that still produces hand wired amps to this day and is run by his son.
Listen to this guy... WOW!!!
Awesome stuff! Loved hearing all about the amp and Louie playing the tunes 🤘🏻. Legend
This was a truly enjoyable interview. Well done! As for Louie himself, just wow.
crikey - that's all of rockNroll in one guy and one amp !!
A few have pointed out already..."Last Train To Clarksville" was recorded in 1966. So either this amp is not a 69 or he is mistaken and used a different amp on that session.
To think Louie used to live two doors down from me here in Nashville. I didn't know who he was. Regret so much not meeting him. Incredible part of recorded music history! Great interview as well as getting to hear him in such an informal setting.👍
Ouch... yeah that's a missed opportunity. The bassist for Survivor owns a guitar shop near me, he sets up my guitars and I've bought a few instruments from him.... great guy
Free lessons 🚀 Rocket!!!!
@ryananthony4840 As I said he was just a neighbor( in an apt. complex). I never saw Louie carrying a guitar case out of his townhouse. I definitely would have enjoyed a conversation with him, had I known who he was.
Perfect sounding amp. Man....
Fender Princeton Reverb is my all time favorite amp.
Clarksville came before both The J5 and Carpenters so the Monkees' would have been the first "big" session for Louie and that amp. AMAZING Story.
You're right of course, but silver face Fender amps came out in 1968 and The Monkees first album was recorded mid 1966, so it had to be another amp.
@@bobcabo4509 Good catch.
I'm guessing most likely it was probably just a blackface Princeton reverb for both him & Glen Campbell but the Vox Super Beatle is all over that album!
So awesome.
I've been lucky enough to hear Louie's Princeton amp in person at Guitar Brothers back in November 2021 on the Sounds of the Wrecking Crew show. And it sounded even better just before it blew up while Louie was playing the solo on Stairway to Heaven, (then Louie had to finish the show with a new Princeton from the store). Louie's Princeton is one of the best sounding small amps I've ever heard. Cheers Rob.
Nice one Rob. I heard it blew up at that instore. Good thing it was able to be fixed.
@@RickHollis Ah that's good news Rick, the 69 Princeton is alive and in good working condition.
"No Stairway, denied!"
@@S69Classic Do you know if it was simply a tube or did it lose a transformer? A shame if the latter, the transformer is the main key to the sound.
@@JD-xt8cj lol!
Nice interview from one of the great session musicians. It reminds me of the Swampers from
the Muscle Shoals studio, they were also part of many famous songs and not very widely known.
I wonder what other kind of interesting hardware gems are in his studio, it looks like there are
some tube compressors and old-school mixing boards in the collection.
I'm surprised that there was no mention about the unusual tremolo circuit in the Princeton Reverb,
it varies the bias in the power tubes instead of changing the volume with a light-variable-resistor
like most Fender tremolos do. The tremolo has a characteristic that has a slight pitch-shifting vibrato
effect like the famed Magnatone amps.
I always felt like Fender put a 10 inch speaker in the PR amp instead of a 12 inch type so that it
wouldn't compete with their more expensive amps. The PR sounds really good driving a 12 inch
speaker and there's just enough room in the cab for the larger speaker, although that changes the
amp from a "collector's" amp to a "player's" amp.
Princetons entered the Fender line up as a student or practice amp and that's the reason for the 10" speaker. You wouldn't take them to play the school gym or a hall because they were too small and under powered.
But then in the late 60's & 70's (just like Louie mentions) they started to mic the amps separately and then it turned out that the little 10" speaker was more tightly focused and better for recording overall.
Upgrading to a 12" speaker is a choice that a lot of people make these days and it helps with heavy gain and distortion. Also makes more room for many pedals, but the classic sound is in those smaller speakers.
Excellent interview! What a treat
Thank you. Fee free to share it.
I played through one of these back in 1971 with a '62 Fender Jaguar. Sweet tones. Neither were actually mine and the owner took it back after two years.
i like the sound of 10 inch speakers over 12 inch usually. a 210" cab is my favorite
I played thru a Showman, but always wanted that reverb.....good interview. thanks
No pedals needed, when you have a really good tube amp, restraint when needed, and a flair for playing with great feel like Mr. Shelton, you can achieve greatness with such simplicity.
Great interview. Thanks for this!! Louie is original session man!
Such a legend! Thanks for sharing
No problem :)
Feel free to share on social media.
I always look forward to your videos. I bought an IYV guitar because of of you which I been playing playing every day for 2 hours since I received it in February. Before that I left my guitars sit in the closet unused for years without playing them. Your video changed my life. Keep doing them. I'll keep watching.
Thank you, I'll be sure to pass that on to Louie. What is an IYV guitar?
Priceless. Both the man and the amp. The Wrecking Crew session musicians were arguably responsible for many, if not more hits than the artists they worked with. Just sayin'
Thank you for this!
Thank you for watching :)
@@RickHollis You have a real rapport with Louie, it's the best kind of interview.
Hey, just catching up with your channel, rewatching your first long interview with him and others. Mind blowing that that one was right before the pandemic.
@@tuskedbeast Louie and I have become good friends in recent years. He lives just around the corner from me.
Thanks for checking out the channel. I’ve just started creating content again after a little hiatus.