Larry Crane (guitarist)

This article is about Larry Crane the guitarist. For Larry Crane the recording engineer, see Larry Crane (recording engineer).

Larry Crane (born October 8, 1956) is an American rock musician and songwriter from Seymour, Indiana.  From 1976 until 1991, he appeared alongside John Mellencamp as guitarist and contributor to the arrangements and production of the Mellencamp sound (often labelled as "heartland rock.")[1]

History

As Mellencamp's guitarist, Crane contributed to twenty Billboard charted singles, including "Ain't Even Done with the Night", "Hurts So Good", "Jack and Diane", "Hand to Hold on To", "I Need a Lover", "Crumblin' Down", "Pink Houses", "Rain on the Scarecrow", "Small Town", "Lonely Ol' Night", "Rumbleseat", "R.O.C.K in the U.S.A.", "Paper in Fire", "Check It Out", "Cherry Bomb", "Martha Say", "Jackie Brown", and "Pop Singer".[citation needed] Though not often recognized as a songwriter, Crane did receive a co-writer credit for "Play Guitar" on the Uh-Huh album.

After the release of Big Daddy, Crane left the Mellencamp band due to his impression that "he and his band mates were underpaid."[2] Since leaving the band, Crane has launched a solo career. During his thirty-plus year career, he has also toured and recorded with several other influential musicians, including John Prine, Steve Earle, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash, Carl Perkins, James McMurtry, Mitch Ryder, Lou Reed, and John Fogerty.  He has also collaborated with producer Bob Johnston.

Discography

Solo recordings

Year Title
1993 Eye for an Eye
1994 Larry Crane
2003 Wire & Wood
2010 Tropical Depression

Recordings with John Mellencamp

Year Title Credits
1976 Chestnut Street Incident Lead guitar, back up vocals
1977
(released in 1983)		 The Kid Inside Lead guitar, back up vocals
1978 A Biography Guitar, background vocals
1979 John Cougar Guitar, background vocals
1980 Nothin' Matters and What If It Did Guitar, backing vocals
1982 American Fool Guitar
1983 Uh-Huh Guitar
1985 Scarecrow Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
1987 The Lonesome Jubilee Guitar, mandolin, harmonica, autoharp, banjo, backing vocals
1989 Big Daddy Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin

Other recordings

Year Artist Titles Credits
1983 Mitch Ryder Never Kick a Sleeping Dog Vocals, guitar[3]
1985 Rosanne Cash Rhythm & Romance Guitar[4]
1987 Rosanne Cash King's Record Shop Guitar
1988 Various Artists Folkways: A Vision Shared Guitar[5]
1989 James McMurtry Too Long in the Wasteland Vocals (background), guitar[6]
1991 Various Artists Falling from Grace Composer, vocals, performer, producer, guitar
1995 Rosanne Cash Retrospective Guitar
1996 Carl Perkins Go Cat Go Guitar[7]
1996 Dave Sharp Downtown America Arrangement, guitar
1997 John Prine Live on Tour Vocals (background), guitar
2002 Keith Sykes Don't Count Us Out Additional guitar[8]

References

  1. ^ Crane, Larry. "Biography". LarryCrane.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  2. ^ Lindquist, David. "Will 'classic' Mellencamp band lineup reunite?". IndyStar.com. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  3. ^ "Never Kick a Sleeping Dog". msn Entertainment – Music. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  4. ^ Thom Jurek. "Rhythm & Romance – Rosanne Cash". AllMusic. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
  5. ^ Jason Elias. "I'm in Love Again – Patti LaBelle". AllMusic. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  6. ^ "Too Long in the Wasteland". James McMurtry 1989. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  7. ^ "Carl Perkins/Various Artists: Go Cat Go!". Dinosaur Entertainment. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  8. ^ "Biography". Keith Sykes – Official Web Site. Keith Sykes. Archived from the original on November 28, 2011. Retrieved February 3, 2012.