The Interview
Archive.
Conversations about the records, players, instruments, and stories behind the work.
Martin Taylor Interviews Don Peake
In this Guitar Conversations interview, Don Peake walks Martin Taylor through the early turns that shaped his playing. He remembers discovering the guitar as a teenager, learning enough chords to accompany a singer, and then being pushed into professional work before he felt fully ready. The story moves through his first club job, study at Los Angeles City College, the audition that sent him to England with the Everly Brothers, and the London circuit where the Everlys, Beatles, and Rolling Stones crossed paths. Peake then describes returning to Los Angeles, playing the Gold Star sessions, and auditioning for Ray Charles. The conversation ends with a difficult story from touring Alabama with Ray’s band, placing musicianship inside the real social conditions of the period. Throughout, Peake returns to preparation, reading, listening, and the responsibility of being ready when the music starts.
Caption-derived archive notes
A Motown Moment
Don reflects on the people, sessions, and working methods behind the Motown sound.
Transcript unavailable
Don Peake at Norman's Rare Guitars
Norm Harris introduces Don Peake through the records, players, and rooms that shaped his career. Peake talks about the guitar team behind Motown sessions, including Louie Shelton, David T. Walker, Wilton Felder, Gene Pello, and Joe Sample, then returns to the beginning of his professional life with the Everly Brothers. He remembers being 21, flying to London, touring through England and Germany, and sharing bills with the Beatles and Rolling Stones before returning to Los Angeles and the studio community. The conversation also touches the Righteous Brothers, Phil Spector, Ray Parker Jr., and the musical instincts behind parts that had to fit together rather than compete. It is a compact introduction to Peake’s working life: listen closely, know the part, and make the record stronger.
Caption-derived archive notes
How I Got the Gig: Ray Charles
Don Peake tells the story of his 1964 audition for Ray Charles. After a phone call asking for a guitar player, Peake drove to a round, windowless building, carried his guitars and amplifier upstairs, and found the full Ray Charles orchestra waiting around an empty guitar chair. He read a fast chart, drew praise from baritone player Leroy Cooper, answered Ray’s questions about the old songs, and was hired on the spot. The short interview frames the audition as a meeting of preparation and opportunity: reading ahead, knowing the repertoire, and being ready when the door opened.
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The Wrecking Crew Podcast
This long-form conversation moves through the working life of Don Peake: the Everly Brothers years, the Los Angeles session rooms, Ray Charles, Motown, Phil Spector, Barry White, Bobby Darin, and film scoring. Peake explains how the Everly Brothers taught him to carry two guitar parts at once, how a Ray Charles audition tested reading and repertoire, and why studio musicians had to be ready when the red light came on. He talks through the guitar parts on Jackson 5 recordings and ‘Let’s Get It On,’ the close listening required when players shared limited tracks, and the practical teamwork behind the Wrecking Crew sound. Later sections connect his arranging and scoring studies to ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Knight Rider,’ and ‘The Hills Have Eyes,’ before returning to Bobby Darin, Tim Hardin, Roy Orbison, Minnie Riperton, and the question of career highlights. The interview works as both a career map and a lesson in session craft: read, listen, support the song, and make the room better.
Caption-derived archive notes