Learn from the best during a 30-minute guitar lesson with legendary session guitarist and songwriter Danny Kortchmar, best known as a backing musician and songwriting partner of such icons as James Taylor, Don Henley, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and many more, via Zoom!
Sometimes credited as Danny Kootch or Dan Kootch or Dan Kortchmar or Kootch (following his teenage nickname), in the early sixties he met James Taylor on Martha’s Vineyard and they began to play folk gigs locally. With Kootch on guitar and James on harmonica, the vocal duo did pretty well, winning the occasional hootenanny contest. He then emerged as a member of several aspiring New York '60s groups, as the Kingbees and Flying Machine, the latter of which featured his fellow James Taylor. None were successful and the band (which included also Joel "Bishop" O'Brien on drums, John McDuffy on vocals/organ and Dickie Frank on bass) broke up in the fall of 1966, not before being lucky enough to back Peter and Gordon, the "Everly Brothers of the British Invasion." (Peter was Peter Asher). In 1967 Kortchmar and O'Brien started a new band, The Flying Machine, with Zachary Wisner on bass and Kortchmar's old friend, James Taylor on guitar and vocals. They were signed to Euphoria later that year and only released one radio single, "Night Owl" [1967], peaking at #102 on the national charts. The label never released their album and the band soon broke up. Taylor decided then to move to London and Kortchmar gave him Peter Asher's number. Asher was now head of A&R at the Beatles label, Apple Records. He invited James to play his song and he liked them. Paul McCartney and John Lennon were among his first fans. After Taylor's solo success, Euphoria released the Flying Machine old demos in 1971, with the title "James Taylor and The Original Flying Machine". With the Flying Machine "in pieces on the ground" (immortalized in James Taylor’s song "Fire and Rain"), Danny spent six months as a sideman to the Fugs in the late ‘67, both on recordand in concert. The Fugs were another New York band, started by Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferbery in 1964. Kortchmar's salary was $100 a week and he played on their "Tenderness Junction" EP [1968] and on their live album, "Live From the Player Theater" [1967].
Danny got to play on an album for the great Soloman Burke,produced by pal Steve Jordan. There's more but the most recent news is that Danny toured with his old and dear friends James Taylor and Carole King starting in spring 2010,with the original band-Danny,Russ Kunkel and Lee Sklar. He is recording his version of many of his songs recorded by JT,Don Henley,Fabulous Thunderbirds and Jackson Browne as well as newer originals.In Feb 2013 he went on a tour of Australia with Carole and played with her at the White House when she received the Gershwin Award from president Obama. Still gigging and writing and playing music with his pals!
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