Scheef is considered one of the best bass guitarists. He was born on January 31, 1941 in Denver, Colorado. He is known for his work with Elvis Presley from 1969 to 1977 as a member of his TCB band and for the final recordings of The Doors.
Jerry Scheff was born in Denver, Colorado and grew up in Vallejo, California. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he returned to California and ended up as a session musician in Los Angeles.
Career start
In 1966, Scheff recorded their debut album And Then… Along Comes the Association with the singing group The Association. The title Along Comes Mary became the band's first big hit and reached number seven in the US charts.
Scheff subsequently established himself as one of the most important studio bass guitarists in Los Angeles. He played on albums by Neil Diamond, Sammy Davis Jr, Nancy Sinatra, The Everly Brothers, Pat Boone and Barbra Streisand, among others.
Jerry Scheff and The Doors
In 1971, Scheff was hired by The Doors for their album L.A. Woman. There were then considerations about including him as a member of the band. However, Jim Morrison's death in Paris put paid to this idea and Scheff accepted an offer to become a member of Elvis Presley's backing band TCB Band, with which he had briefly played in the late 1960s.
Scheff and the Elvis Presley Band
Scheff was in Presley's band from 1969 to 1977. He can be heard on many Presley albums, from From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis (live recordings from 1969 in Vegas) to the last LP Moody Blue (1976 studio recordings and live recordings) in 1977. On DVD he can be seen, among other things, at Aloha from Hawaii in 1973, the first concert to be broadcast live via satellite to several countries.
From 1978 he played on Bob Dylan's European tour. In later years, Scheff worked with Elvis Costello, Crowded House, John Denver, Willy DeVille, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Sam Phillips, Demis Roussos, Richard Thompson, Chris Hillman, Bernie Leadon, Al Perkins, David Mansfield and many others. Scheff was also the bassist for Southern Pacific on their debut album.
Jerry Scheff's late years
Beginning in 1997, Jerry joined other original members of the TCB band in a project called Elvis: The Concert, a show that featured the video and isolated voice of Elvis performed live with his 1970s backup band and singers, perfectly synchronized using computer technology. After a ten-year tour with Elvis: The Concert, Scheff left the production in 2009.
Jerry has two sons: Jason, born in 1962, and Darin, 1963. Jason was a professional musician and was most famous as bassist for the band Chicago. In 2012, Jerry published his autobiography. In 2019 he gave several concerts entirely dedicated to the group “The Doors”.
