Larry Knechtel 1940 - 2009

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Larry Knechtel, a Grammy Award-winning keyboardist who played in the 1970s soft-rock group Bread and accompanied a long roster of big-name performers including Elvis Presley, Ray Charles and the Doors, died on Thursday. He was 69.

Mr. Knechtel, who also played bass guitar and harmonica, performed live and in the studio with a wide range of artists. Others included the Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas, Duane Eddy, Neil Diamond, Randy Newman, the Beach Boys, Hank Williams Jr., Elvis Costello and the Dixie Chicks.

He shared a Grammy for the arrangement of the Simon and Garfunkel song “Bridge Over Troubled Water“ (he also played piano on that record). He also played keyboards on the Dixie Chicks’ Grammy-winning album “Taking the Long Way” and played organ for the group’s tour of the same name.

He joined Bread, a Los Angeles-based quartet, in 1971, replacing Robb Royer. Beginning in 1969, the group had a string of hits including “Make It With You,” “Baby I’m-a Want You” and “It Don’t Matter to Me.”

Early in his career Mr. Knechtel, who was born in Bell, Calif., was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a group of West Coast studio musicians that also included Glen Campbell and Leon Russell.

“Larry’s résumé is a history lesson in great American music all unto itself,” reads Mr. Knechtel’s biography on the Dixie Chicks Web site, dixiechicks.com.