Bill Pitman, famous session guitarist and member of the Wrecking Crew, recently passed away at the age of 102. Pitman died on August 11 at his home in La Quinta, California, The New York Times reports. Janet Pitman, his wife, told the magazine that he died in hospital after injuring his spine in the fall. Pitman was born on February 12, 1920, and grew up in a musical family. His father worked as a bassist for NBC programs. Bill Pitman started playing music at the age of five, and during high school he traveled from New Jersey to Manhattan as a fan of the local jazz scene.
He also served in WWII before moving to Los Angeles. Bill Pitman started performing in jazz clubs in Los Angeles in the 1950s when he was 31 years old. He rose to fame after landing a regular role in Peggy Lee’s backing band. Pitman then worked for three years as a frequent performer on the radio show The Rusty Draper Program. Pitman’s well-known recordings include Be My Baby and Good Vibrations by the Ronettes, Mr. Bob Dylan’s Tambourine Man and Barbra Streisand’s The Way We Were. The opening ukulele was also heard on Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head by BJ Thomas. Netizens took to Twitter after learning of his death to pay their respects to the great musician:
Studio guitarist Bill Pitman dead at 102. His hit sessions include: Ronettes “Be My Baby,” Beach Boys “Good Vibrations,” Sinatra “Strangers in the Night,” Presley “Blue Hawaii,” Streisand “The Way We Were,” & ukulele on “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”https://t.co/qCZ3oMKYyQ
– Paul Myers (@pulmyears) August 12, 2022
 Guitarist Bill Pitman and bassist Carol Kaye in a scene from the documentary “The Wrecking Crew” (2008). Although practically anonymous outside the music world, Mr. Pitman has been heard on countless hit records and motion pictures pic.twitter.com/RTobwEPc4t
— Clem Caruthers (@ClemJamesaid) August 12, 2022
Bill Pitman started working as a studio musician in 1957.
Pitman began working as a studio musician in 1957. Phil Spector included Pitman in his band of studio musicians. The session musicians, who were all from Los Angeles, had a rotating roster. It was renamed The Wrecking Crew after Spector’s 1958 song To Know Him Is To Love Him. Pitman soon became in demand for Capitol Records and other Los Angeles-based groups after releasing the song. Glen Campbell, Carol Kaye and Leon Russell were among his colleagues at the time. Pitman has worked with a variety of musicians, including Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and Bob Dylan.
He also worked on other films, including the 1961 Elvis Presley film Blue Hawaii, as well as M*A*S*H (1970), Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982), Dirty Dancing (1987) and Goodfellas (1988). (1990). Pitman was featured in the 2008 documentary The Wrecking Crew, where he discussed his work with an informal and diverse collection of musicians. Denny Tedesco, son of fellow Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco, directed the documentary.
Tedesco paid tribute to Pitman on Facebook, writing:
“He was a friend of my father who played guitar and golf with him,” he wrote. “I didn’t realize the impact he had on me until I was older.” From ‘Mr. Tamborine Man’ through ‘Good Vibrations,’ you could hear Bill… He was a wonderful guy.”
He has contributed to the soundtracks of other films, including Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Goodfellas. During the 1970s, the artist also toured with Burt Bacharach and Vicki Carr. Bill Pitman was also a member of the main band at the MGM Grand Hotel. After his retirement in 1989, the artist continued to play music privately as a distraction.
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Source: HIS Education