If you flip through the Sirius Radio channels, there’s a good chance you’ll hear a song a member of the Section played on: bassist Leland Sklar, drummer Russ Kunkel, guitarists Waddy Wachtel and Danny Kortchmar. Rolling Stone labeled them the Mellow Mafia, a name Danny despises just as much as seeing “Danny ‘Kootch’ Kortchmar” in the credits of Carole King’s Tapestry. “I never wanted to be Danny ‘Kootch.’ I always thought it was the stupidest nickname in the world.”
But perhaps no one would’ve heard Danny play on some of the most popular albums of all time if he hadn’t played in a pick-up band in the mid-’60s for the touring Peter and Gordon. Peter Asher and Danny hit it off even though Kortchmar’s band, The Flying Machine, with James Taylor as lead singer, never had a hit. At least, it was mentioned in Taylor’s hit, “Fire and Rain” (“Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.”)
Because of Danny’s friendship with Peter, Taylor visited London and cold-called Asher, then Apple Records’ A&R man. The impromptu meeting resulted in him snagging a recording contract. One Apple album and one record label (Warner Brothers) later, James and Peter had found the ingredients to a long-running career by forming the Section. Asher brought in Russ Kunkel, who was drumming on John Stewart’s Willard album. Bassist Leland Sklar was performing in a band called Wolfgang which likely flattered their manager, Wolodia “Wolfgang” Grajonca, better known as famed promoter Bill Graham. Sklar joked, “What better way to suck up to your manager by naming your band after him?” Wolfgang failed to launch but Sklar’s career took off after Taylor told Asher he saw “the greatest bass player ever.”
The three seeds of the Section were firmly planted in Taylor’s band, first appearing on Taylor’s third album, Mud Slide Slim. They became his main backup band in the studio and on concert stages for over fifty years. During soundchecks, the three musicians and pianist Craig Doerge would jam away as James pursued other interests (legal and illegal). Their jazz/rock/funk fusion music was presented to Peter Asher who got them a record deal with Warner Brothers. Soon, the Section became a band in demand, backing up Linda Rondstadt and Jackson Browne, most famously on Browne’s Running on Empty tour.
Waddy Wachtel then joined the four-man musical gang after meeting two of the Sectionaires. He got Kunkel’s attention on a street when both noticed they were driving ’57 Chevys and later met Kortchmar at a Tim Curry recording session. At first, Waddy thought he wouldn’t get along with his competition, but recalled, “We loved each other the second we met.”
The musicians not only played well with others they also co-wrote well. Sklar co-wrote James Taylor’s “Woh, Don’t You Know.” Wachtel co-authored Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” and Kortchmar assisted Don Henley on “All She Wants to Do is Dance.”
He also helped out Jackson Browne (“Somebody’s Baby” and “Tender is the Night”).
Like the 1960s era Wrecking Crew, their kinship and careers were explored in a documentary, 2023’s The Immediate Family. It wasn’t the first time their faces were before cameras: Kunkel played a non-pivotal role as drummer Eric “Stumpy Joe” Childs in This is Spinal Tap while Kortchmar portrayed Tap bassist Ronnie Pudding, plucking away on Tap’s pseudo-hit “Gimme Some Money.”
Waddy, who didn’t record with the Section but told his pals that he’d join them if they played rock ‘n’ roll, informing the band of his singular musical direction “…about 45 years ago. It took that long for us to go ahead with it.” Finally, in August, 2021 they released their debut album, The Immediate Family, and this year, out came Skin in the Game.
The days of close-knit session musicians churning out hits for multiple artists appear to be over. In an interview with Songfacts.com, Kortchmar wisely noted how times and tastes have radically changed: “I don’t think music has the same social power now that it had then (‘60’s through the ‘70’s). If there was a hit, it was ubiquitous. Everyone heard it and it influenced everyone. Now you can have a hit and only the people that want to hear it, hear it. For instance, Rihanna has a hit or something. I’ve never heard it because I don’t listen to FM radio. I listen to satellite radio and I listen to the stations I’m interested in. So, there could be huge hits that I never even hear.”
Of all the Section members, Sklar seems to be the most fan-friendly, giving interviews at the drop of a hat or willing to talk to anyone once a month if they’re willing to fork over $75 for a ten-minute call or video session. A fan can listen to Sklar hawk his Everybody Loves Me, Leland’s bizarre $60 photo album book of the 11,000 pictures Leland took of friends flipping him the middle finger. Famous flippers in the six-pound book include Burt Bacharach, Rob Lowe, Joni Mitchell, and Bette Midler. But if Leland’s price is too high, there are loads of YouTube videos of Sklar sharing free anecdotes, like the time he played on two gospel albums by Andy Griffith and hearing Andy wonder: “Who would’ve thought I had all this white hair and Opie would be bald?”
-Mark Daponte
Photo: Fair use image from Immediate Family
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