"I almost cut my hair...."

I wonder if my mother has any pictures of me with a beard from back when I was in college and would grow a beard in the Winter. I included this picture because it contains a likeness of a nice young man from Tulsa, Oklahoma named Claude. Claude was a young musician who travelled to Los Angeles to make a name for himself as a keyboardist, singer and producer.

He was part of the Wrecking Crew which was a group of musicians who backed other acts in the recording studios to provide a professional sound. A lot of the Beach Boys music was actually the Wrecking Crew, as were the Mommas and the Poppas, the Grass Roots, pretty much anyone who recorded in Southern California in the 60's.

Some of the Wrecking Crew made it as acts themselves. Glen Campbell, for instance. Dr. John. And this guy. From the picture, you might recognize the young man in the middle as Gary Lewis, son of Jerry Lewis and the drummer and signer for Gary Lewis and the Playboys. His mother is next to him. The man on the right is Snuff Garrett, a record producer for Liberty Records.

The clean cut young Oklahoman is Leon Russell. You might only think of him with a long beard and white hair. It just goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover.