Q&A with Musician Roscoe Beck

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photos courtesy of Roscoe Beck

Roscoe Beck is a bassist who played with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robben Ford and The Chicks where at the very first live concert in London England, vocalist Natalie Maines made the infamous “We’re ashamed that (President George) Bush is from Texas” comment that created a media firestorm. He worked with Leonard Cohen from 1979 till Cohen’s passing in 2016. In 1986 he produced Jennifer Warnes’s album Famous Blue Raincoat with the hit song “First We Take Manhattan”. If you have not seen Roscoe Live, please do: He is great!

KB: Did you always want to be a musician?

Yes, pretty much so. My earliest memories have music in them: my dad’s Benny Goodman records, early 60’s stuff; Duane Eddy, Chuck Berry, surf music groups… all early influences, but I liked ALL music as a kid, it didn’t really matter what, if it was on the radio, it was cool: everything from Henry Mancini to the Beach Boys. And once the British invasion hit in 1964, my fate was sealed.

KB: What is so special about the bass instrument?

The bass is the foundational instrument, everything revolves around it: the bass shares the timekeeping role with the drums, but is the LAST WORD harmonically. If the chord being played is a
“C”, it is only a “C” if the bassist plays a “C”. If the bassist chooses to play a “G” for instance, under the “C” chord, it is no longer a “C”, it’s a different sound, a different chord: the chord is now a ”C/G” (“C over G”). Because of that, the bass is a very powerful instrument; it can change the sound, the entire feel of a song, simply through note and rhythmic choices.

KB: You played with Stevie Ray Vaughan. How did you meet?

Stevie and I met in 1974 at a Sunday afternoon jam session in Austin, TX. I had just moved back to Austin after two years away at college, and Stevie was also a recent arrival in Austin. We didn’t know, or know of each other prior to that day, but as it turned out we were both called to the stage at the same time. We introduced ourselves and launched into a blues, a minor blues as I recall, and we hit it off immediately. Over the years we did a lot of playing together, him sitting in with my 70’s band (Passenger), me sitting in with his band whenever possible, and we always stayed in touch. Eventually I called him to play on a track for Jennifer Warnes’ Famous Blue Raincoat album, the Leonard Cohen song, “First We Take Manhattan”. Unfortunately, that’s the only recorded example of our playing together that I know of.

KB: You worked with Robben Ford for years in his band. How did you meet?

I met Robben Ford in 1979 at The Lighthouse club in Hermosa Beach, CA. My band Passenger was performing there in February of that year and Robben happened to be in the club to hear us. He liked what he heard and asked us to open for him the next two nights at the very same club. Robben and I discovered right away that we had much in common, much the same tastes in music, and began talking immediately of working together. Because of our obligations at that time, it took another few years to make that happen. Initially we played jazz gigs together in LA in the early 80’s, but by 1988 we became serious, and put together the group that became Robben Ford and the Blue Line.

KB: You toured with The Dixie Chicks?

That was a crazy year! Guitarist David Grissom is a good friend and I had at some point, suggested to Robben Ford that he would really enjoy David’s playing. Robben did, and as a result David was asked to play on the (Robben Ford & the Blue Line) record “Mystic Mile”. In a sense returning the favor, David (as musical director for the Dixie Chicks) recommended me for the “Top of the World” tour of 2003. We performed first that year (without event) on Saturday Night Live and the Grammy Awards, but at the very first live concert in London England, vocalist Natalie Maines made the infamous “We’re ashamed that (President George) Bush is from Texas” comment that created a media firestorm. From then on, it was a year like no other.

KB: You and Leonard Cohen were friends and worked together for a long time. How did you meet and what is your fondest memory of him?

In 1979, I was contacted by record producer Henry Lewy (Joni Mitchell and others) who had been given a recording of my band Passenger. He liked the band and suggested that we come to Los Angeles (with the intriguing offer to meet Joni Mitchell during the making of her Mingus album) because Henry thought we might make a good backing group for her. Joni’s plan however was to work with the musicians on the record, so that idea went nowhere. But Henry still thought we could be very useful to him and called one morning for me to play bass on a session with Leonard Cohen. The session went well and afterwards Leonard suggested we record more. Henry then said to Leonard that I had “a whole band, you know…” and Leonard replied, “Next time, bring them all”, and so we did. It was the beginning of a friendship and musical relationship that lasted until his passing in 2016.

KB: You produced Jennifer Warnes’s album Famous Blue Raincoat. What is your favorite song on that album and why?

I’m extremely fond of the entire record, it was a special moment in time, but if I have to choose, it would have to be the song “Joan of Arc” because it’s the one song on that album on which Leonard also appears. I had been on stage many nights on tour with Leonard in 1979, when Leonard and Jennifer performed the song as a duet, and was smitten by it. Jennifer and I soon began talking about doing an entire record in tribute to Leonard. It was only a dream in 1979, but in 1986, we were able to make it a reality.

KB: If you could make an album with your 7 most favorite songs (not your own): what would you pick?

I’m certain that most of the picks would still be Leonard Cohen songs, perhaps songs we didn’t record on Famous Blue Raincoat… because in my humble opinion, I don’t think there is a better writer of this generation. That said, I do love the blues and all kinds of music… I might want to sneak something more traditional in there… but Leonard… to me, there is no catalog more profound than his (with all due respect to Bob Dylan).

KB: What are you currently up to? Any new stuff?

I will be hitting the road with Eric Johnson for a US tour from 31st July – 19th October : a dear friend, someone I have known and made music with for almost 50 years.

I co-produced a record with the artist Hattie Webb; a bandmate on the Leonard Cohen tours 0f 2008-2013. I’m wrapping up final details regarding the imminent release of her record. The title is “Wild Medicine”. (The first single “Golden”, was just released). I’m looking forward to hearing it out there. Hattie is a wonderful songwriter, vocalist and harpist(!) who worked not only with Leonard Cohen, but also Tom Petty, until his untimely passing. It’s a wonderful record that features the members of the Heartbreakers band and many of the finest musicians on the scene today. Look for it! You won’t be disappointed.

Find Roscoe on Facebook: HERE

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