The History of Rock 'N' Roll In Five Bullet Points, Vol. 2: Al Kooper

Five Things You Need To Know About Al Kooper:

1. He played guitar for the Royal Teens, who hit the Top Five in 1958 with “Short Shorts”.

2. He wrote Gary Lewis and The Playboys’ number one hit “This Diamond Ring” – a record which has been played more than three million times since 1965.

3. He founded Blood, Sweat and Tears.

4. He discovered and signed Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced their first three albums - spawning about a dozen rock ‘n’ roll classics in the process, including the anthems “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird”.

5. He played with the Rolling Stones on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, with Bob Dylan on “Like A Rolling Stone”, with Jimi Hendrix on “Long Hot Summer Night” and holds the distinctive honor of playing with the three surviving Beatles on George Harrison’s 1981 single “All Those Years Ago”.