Inducted:
2023
Category:
Musical Excellence
Inducted By:
Various Artists
Composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, arranger, producer, writer, teacher, podcaster. Al Kooper may not be a household name, but with tens of millions of albums and records sold and career highlights that feature some of the biggest names in rock & roll, his influence on American rock music is undeniable.
Impact
Signature Sound
Multi-Talented Mover-Shaker
Beginning as a pop songwriter, Al Kooper soon broke into the mid-’60s NYC session scene as a versatile guitarist, then, accidentally, an organist on the epochal “Like a Rolling Stone.” He brought horns and the “supergroup” concept to rock and shaped the sound of the ‘70s as a producer.
This co-write served as 21-year-old multi-instrumentalist Kooper’s entry into the music business. It hit No. 1 on the Hot 100.
From the Museum
Les Paul-Tagged Les Paul
This ’07 Gibson Les Paul, owned and played by Al Kooper, was given to him by guitarist, inventor and Rock Hall Inductee Les Paul,
who was among the few people who developed the solid-body electric guitar in the ‘40s and early ‘50s. The classic Gibson Les Paul model was introduced in 1952.
Al never really played by the rules, always followed the voices of the music in his head and his heart, and really made a big difference.
Gene Simmons
KISS
2024 Hall of Fame Essay
"Kooper has been at the heart of rock & roll’s time/space continuum for much of the music’s history."
– RJ Smith
Check It Out
Paper Artifacts
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Influence
Al Kooper
Influenced
Richard Thompson
The Tubes
Eddie & the Hot Rods
sealed with a signature
This is the signature that appears on the inductee’s plaque at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to officially commemorate their induction.
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