American keyboardist and bassist
Larry Knechtel, best known as a member of the studio collective The Wrecking Crew, died at the age of 69 at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital in Washington, apparently from a heart attack. In
1970, he won a Grammy for his piano part on
Simon & Garfunkel's “Bridge over Troubled Water”. In
1972, he played on Johnny Rivers' recording “Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu”, and from
1971 to
1973 he was a member of
Bread. As a member of The Wrecking Crew, he worked with Simon & Garfunkel, Duane Eddy,
The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas,
The Monkees,
The Doors,
Jerry Garcia and
Elvis Presley, among others. In
2007, he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville along with other members of the Wrecking Crew studio collective.
