IN THE PITS, MAN
Not the missing link between Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman, guitarist Bill Pitman has strummed his last aged 102. Pitman was among the gang of versatile session musicians now known as the Wrecking Crew, the unsung heroes of 60s music who provided the backbone to countless classics. He was on the rise in jazz circles and a member of Peggy Lee’s band when Phil Spector’s mother hired him to teach her son jazz guitar. Spector proved an ineffective student but didn’t forget Pitman’s talents, and he was among the session musicians on Spector’s first hit, “To Know Him Is to Love Him”. That song title was taken from a quote on the tombstone of Spector’s dad that isn’t on his own grave, for some reason.
Pitman was a regular on Spector recordings from then on, becoming one of the many bricks in his venerated Wall of Sound. Spector held Pitman in such high regard that he named the B-side to “Be My Baby” after Pitman and fellow Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco. IIRC I mentioned liking the A-side in another obit. That Wall of Sound backing collective – Pitman, Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, Glen Campbell, and many others – became highly in demand all across 60s pop, and further classics Pitman contributed to included “Good Vibrations”, “Strangers in the Night”, “Mr. Tambourine Man”, “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’”, and the ukulele in “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”. For TV, he composed for Star Trek and The Wild Wild West. Despite his impressive CV, Pitman’s heart remained with jazz and he was largely apathetic to his Top 40 recordings. His collaborators joked that if he didn’t like a song, it was a surefire hit. Sounds like Reptile and I forming a band! He was a unique for pedro’s catacomb ensemble.
Bill Pitman
12 February 1920 – 11 August 2022, aged 102
💀💀💀💀 + 👻 = 8 POINTS