Al Kooper began his career in 1958 at age 14 playing guitar in the Royal Teens – a band who hit #1 with the novelty “Short Shorts.” From there Kooper moved to songwriting and his songs were covered by Gary Lewis ("This Diamond Ring"), Gene Pitney ("I Must Be Seeing Things"), Freddie Cannon, Lulu, Nancy Sinatra, and scads more. In 1965 he played the catchy organ part on Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” and continued his sound on the albums Highway 61 Revisited and Blond on Blonde, helping Dylan cement his new sound in place.

After that, The Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, and many others got Al to play on their recordings. After short stints in The Blues Project and Blood Sweat & Tears, Kooper, alongside Mike Bloomfield and Steve Stills, played on and produced the original jam album Super Session.

Before long Al was producing Nils Lofgren, The Tubes, Dylan, and soon discovered Lynyrd Skynyrd, producing their first three albums including the hits "Free Bird," "Sweet Home Alabama," "Saturday Night Special," and "Gimme 3 Steps."

He scored famed director Hal Ashby’s first film The Landlord and Michael Mann’s famed TV series Crime Story. His best-selling autobiography Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards is in its third printing and selling better than ever. He is currently working on a new album and is happy to join the staff of The Morton Report in an effort to help his fellow listeners stay in tune!

Visit Website