Carol Kaye, a widely respected bassist known for her work on countless tracks during the 1960s, including songs by the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, and Barbra Streisand, expressed to The Associated Press on Friday her decision to avoid any association with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“I’ve permanently declined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” the 90-year-old Kaye conveyed in an email to the AP. She has also sent a formal letter to the Hall reiterating her stance.
Her remarks come two days after a Facebook post — since deleted — in which she said “NO I won’t be there. I am declining the RRHOF awards show.”
Kaye was set to be inducted in November in a class that also includes Joe Cocker, Chubby Checker and Cyndi Lauper.
In a post she later removed, Kaye explained her decision was based on her belief that the Hall of Fame does not appropriately represent the contributions and achievements of studio musicians during the 1960s, often described as the golden era of hit recordings.
Kaye’s credits include the bass lines on Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound,” the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” and the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.”
Along with drummer Hal Blaine and guitarist Tommy Tedesco, she was part of a core of heavily used studio musicians that Blaine later dubbed “The Wrecking Crew.”
Kaye hated the name, and suggested in her Facebook post that her association with it was part of the reason for declining induction.
“I was never a ‘wrecker’ at all,” she wrote, “that’s a terrible insulting name.”
Kaye’s inductee page on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website makes no mention of the moniker.
Hall representatives had no immediate comment.
Many artists have been inducted in their absence or after their death, and in 2006 the Sex Pistols became Hall of Famers despite rejecting their induction.
In 2022, Dolly Parton initially declined her induction, saying someone more associated with rock ‘n’ roll should get the honor. But she was convinced to change her mind and embrace the honor.
