WRECKING CREW PIANIST LARRY KNECHTEL REVEALS THE FULL STORY BEHIND WORKING WITH BRIAN WILSON ON THE BEACH BOYS' PET SOUNDS (The Chuck Granata Pet Sounds Interview Series) (Ep. 228B) episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 13, 2025 · 9 MIN

WRECKING CREW PIANIST LARRY KNECHTEL REVEALS THE FULL STORY BEHIND WORKING WITH BRIAN WILSON ON THE BEACH BOYS' PET SOUNDS (The Chuck Granata Pet Sounds Interview Series) (Ep. 228B)

from Discograffiti · host David Gebroe

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives.  In this episode, we feature the next entry in The Chuck Granata Pet Sounds Interview Series. It’s Chuck’s chat with Larry Knechtel, the Wrecking Crew keyboard player and bassist who—along with Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys—has worked with Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Mamas & The Papas, The Monkees, The Doors, The Byrds, The Grass Roots, Elvis Presley, Jerry Garcia, and Billy Joel. He also was a key member of the band Bread. Larry passed away a few years later in 2009, which makes this posthumously released “Chuck Chat” yet another priceless buried treasure.   Here are just a few of the many things that Larry discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast: What he ascertained early on as a studio musician’s average career length, which then led to a healthy fear of his phone no longer ringing; His legendary work on Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”; Besides Brian, the only Beach Boy he says his fellow studio musicians ever saw in the studio along with them; The curse of having perfect pitch; And his friendship with Jim Gordon…not to mention the fate of the 50+ hours of jam tapes that he recorded with him, which included spoken ruminations on what was bugging Jim at the time.  There’ll be a short sneak peak running publicly for free, but the entirety of this podcast will only be accessible on the Major Tier of Discograffiti’s Patreon. Don’t miss it, or you’ll only be getting part of the story. Get it as a one-off, or better yet just subscribe…and then we’ll all have world peace. Full Episode: https://www.patreon.com/discograffiti (available on the Major Tier & up) Free Sneak Peek: linktr.ee/discograffiti Subscribe to Discograffiti's Patreon and receive a ceaseless barrage (4 shows a week!) of must-hear binge-listening. It’s completely free to be a basic member, $1 to get your backstage pass, $5/month for the weekly Sunday show by & for our community, $10 for weekly early release, ad-free, super-extended Director's Cuts of the main show plus access to half our Patreon episode archive, & $20 for Discograffiti’s weekly bonus episodes and access to our entire Patreon episode archive. There are now over 300 Patreon episodes.

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Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. In this episode, we feature the next entry in The Chuck Granata Pet Sounds Interview Series. It’s Chuck’s chat with Larry Knechtel, the Wrecking Crew keyboard player and bassist who—along with Brian Wilson & The Beach Boys—has worked with Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy, The Mamas & The Papas, The Monkees, The Doors, The Byrds, The Grass Roots, Elvis Presley, Jerry Garcia, and Billy Joel. He also was a key member of the band Bread.

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WRECKING CREW PIANIST LARRY KNECHTEL REVEALS THE FULL STORY BEHIND WORKING WITH BRIAN WILSON ON THE BEACH BOYS' PET SOUNDS (The Chuck Granata Pet Sounds Interview Series) (Ep. 228B)

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