Carol Kaye Is Being Honored by the Rock Hall. She Doesn’t Care.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/arts/music/carol-kaye-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ok8.jc_B.uWHtQAZ4VieQ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare (gift article)
The first time Paul McCartney played the Beach Boys’ 1966 album “Pet Sounds,” he was struck by the grand ambition of the music as well the intricacies of tracks like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
“And as I was a bass player,” McCartney noted in a recent interview, “I listened closely to the bass parts.”
Like most people, McCartney assumed the song’s melodically affecting rhythms were the work of Brian Wilson. “Then later I looked at the credits,” he said, “and I saw it wasn’t Brian on bass, it was this girl, Carol — Carol Kaye. That was quite a shock to me. I started looking into what else Carol played on, and she was on everything.”