[Slowhand] Remembering Carl Radle

[Kevin Wilson]

Here's an endearing extract from a book by Nancy Lee Andrews. It has a beautiful double page spread photograph of Eric Clapton walking at Stonehenge in 1970 that I had not seen before. Anyway...


Nancy Lee Andrews | A Dose of Rock ‘n’ Roll, p.13 | 2008 | Carl Radle 1942-1980
Carl Radle was more than just my first love: he was a friend, a teacher, a fellow artist and a guiding light who took me by the hand and led me through the insane world of rock ‘n’ roll.
Carl is one of those musical figures who has almost been forgotten save for a few hip journalists and hardcore followers of rock. He was an influential bassist, a musician’s musician and the original “Ace of Bass”. Carl played on a number of gold and platinum singles and albums by Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Joe Cocker, Art Garfunkel, Rita Coolidge, Leon Russell, Dave Mason, J.J. Cale and Muddy Waters. Carl also toured and recorded with some of the greatest acts of the 1960s and 1970s , including Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Delaney and Bonnie, Derek and the Dominos and the epic Joe Cocker, Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, which was the largest concert of its time.
Rock stars dating models today is a cliché, but in the early ‘70s it was a new pairing. I fell into it when the Fillmore East opened for business in March 1968. The old concert hall located in the East Village, was a world unto itself. I’d step through the door and it was like the other side of Alice’s looking glass. It hosted both prominent and up-and-coming bands of the time, from the Doors, the Byrds, the Who, Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin to blues and avant-garde acts as well.
On this particular night Leon Russell was on the bill with a young piano player, Elton John, as his opening act. I was in the hallway just outside a dressing room when someone bumped into me. It was Leon Russell’s bass-player, Carl Radle. As soon as Carl looked at me I knew my modelling days were numbered. He was unlike anyone I had ever met. He was a kind, sweet soul, who was funny, smart and a guru to all close to him.  He had a wisdom that belied his years and was generous in imparting it whenever asked. His low-key personality mirrored how he played his instrument – minimally but a driving force, the backbone of the band.
We led an exciting life, touring and recording almost non-stop with the biggest names in the music industry. When we weren’t on the road, we settled into a quiet life in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Carl was born. His love of photography was something that we shared. Having been on the other side of the camera for years, I now made a serious leap with his help. We spent days driving across country and capturing nature with our duelling cameras. He had a gentle eye for color, composition and natural light.
My family was torn from me at a young age and Carl was the first man with whom I wanted to create what I sorely missed. My path was always to give way to love and Carl made me feel safe and protected in return. I nurtured him. We were building a future together until his addictive nature took over. It was eventually too powerful for us to overcome.
His death in 1980 at the age of thirty-seven was a surprise. He had died of kidney infection caused by the use of alcohol and narcotics. Even though we hadn’t been together for years I felt as though someone ripped my heart out and threw it into the deepest part of the ocean. They say time heals all wounds … not completely … they are still tender.