LA Weekly has a very good tribute to the forgotten session musician — the fellow (usually) who is not part of any band per se’ but who has played with hundreds of them, with amazing flexibility and total professionalism. From ABBA to Zappa, the session musician is the opposite of the rock god — ego is probably not why he’s playing, and he will never have groupies.
“Most of the music you will ever hear will be played by people you will never see and whose names you will neither know nor think to ask. It will be recorded in windowless rooms, witnessed sometimes only by an engineer or producer, the now-ancient technology of the overdub making the presence even of other musicians unnecessary. For every superstar singer or guitar heroine whose name adorns a T-shirt or tattoo, there are hundreds whose work is done anonymously, or as good as. Who play their part, collect their pay and go home.”