R.I.P.: Guitarist Hugh McCracken Dead At 61

Hugh McCracken

Renowned session guitarist Hugh McCracken died on March 28th at age 61 of Leukemia. McCracken will be forever remembered for his stellar work on Paul McCartney's 1971 Ram album -- including the Number One hit, "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"; John Lennon's 1971 classic "Happy Xmas (War Is Over) -- along with Lennon's final 1980 recordings on his Double Fantasy and Milk And Honey albums, which included "(Just Like) Starting Over," "Woman," "Watching The Wheels," "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)," and "Nobody Told Me"; Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years and One Trick Pony albums; Roberta Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love"; Hall & Oates' "She's Gone"; Bob Dylan's Desire (uncredited); Billy Joel's The Stranger and 52nd Street; Steely Dan's Katy Lied and Gaucho albums, among many, many more.

Among the numerous heavyweights McCracken frequently recorded with were James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, the Monkees, the Left Banke, B.B. King, Gordon Lightfoot, the Archies, Van Morrison, Freddie King, Janis Ian, Barbara Streisand, Art Garfunkel, Gary Wright, Loudon Wainwright III, James Brown, Yvonne Elliman, Pure Prairie League, B.J. Thomas, Bette Midler, Don McLean, Jackie DeShannon, Ashford & Simpson, Foreigner, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Phoebe Snow, Neil Sedaka, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, Nils Lofgren, Carly Simon, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Chaka Khan, Graham Parker, Jimmy Buffett, Carl Perkins, Neil Diamond, and dozens upon dozens of others. In addition to his session work, he also co-produced a pair of Dr. John's late-'70s albums, 1978's City Lights and 1979's Tango Palace.

Wings drummer Denny Seiwell posted on his Facebook page: "Hugh was one of a kind, a very gentle man with a heart as big as his talent. I'll miss his pauses on our phone conversations. Hell, I'll miss everything about him. One of my fondest memories was recently sitting in the apartment with Hugh while he picked up his acoustic and played along to 'Uncle Albert.' Only 40 years ago but remembered the part."

Out takes of Hugh McCracken and John Lennon plus a Queen interview where they talk about Hugh.