Chuck Berghofer


Charles Curtis Berghofer is an American double bassist and electric bassist, who has worked in jazz and as a session musician in the film industry for more than 60 years, including working on more than 400 movie soundtracks.

Early life

Chuck Berghofer was born in Denver, Colorado, and moved with his family to Arcadia, California when he was eight. With a lineage of musicians in the family, Berghofer took interest in music at an early age, playing trumpet at the age of eight. He also played the tuba in grade school and high school until moving to the double bass at the age of 18. As a young adult, as he began venturing out to jazz night clubs, he came to admire bassist Ralph Peña and was able to persuade Peña to take him on as a student.
According to Berghofer, he always felt as though his music was heavily influenced by Leroy Vinnegar, Paul Chambers and Ray Brown. He also admired the work of Scott LaFaro and told musician and journalist Gordon Jack, "The best soloist on the instrument was Red Mitchell... I loved to hear him solo."

Professional career

Two years after he took up the bass, Berghofer, joined an orchestra, led by Skinnay Ennis for a tour of the midwest and then joined with Bobby Troup. As his career progressed he eventually replaced his former tutor, Peña, in a duo with Pete Jolly, which later expanded into a trio with the addition of drummer Nick Martinis. In the 1960s he became a member of Shelly Manne's band, taking on a bassist position at Manne's night club Shelly's Manne-Hole, and had the opportunity to play alongside numerous leading jazz musicians of the era, including Jack Sheldon, Conte Candoli, Frank Rosolino, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Philly Joe Jones. During this time, he also recorded with popular singers such as Elvis Presley and The Everly Brothers.
He was a member of the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra around 1967 when Frank Zappa recorded the orchestral parts for Lumpy Gravy.
With his lengthy career in film, Berghofer was also quite accomplished as a house jazz musician. He formed a semi-regular house band at Donte's in Los Angeles with pianist Frank Strazzeri and drummer Nick Ceroli and was videotaped playing with Roger Kellaway and drummer Larry Bunker as they backed Zoot Sims. Among others he accompanied were Ray Charles, Bob Cooper, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Peggy Lee, Shelly Manne, Gerry Mulligan, Art Pepper, Frank Rosolino, Seth MacFarlane, and Frank Sinatra.
In 2019, Berghofer, along with fellow Wrecking Crew members Don Randi and Don Peake and in conjunction with Denny Tedesco, performed around the Los Angeles area with their The Wrecking Crew's Farewell to Glen Campbell live shows.

Film, television, and popular music

As Berghofer made his career as a jazz musician, he landed a prominent role recording with Nancy Sinatra in "These Boots Are Made For Walkin". He also worked on television with Glen Campbell, recorded with Frank Sinatra, and played with Barbra Streisand, in which they did a recording of Funny Lady. His extensive film work led to his being awarded in the mid-1980s the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Award as the most valuable bass player for four consecutive years. In that decade he recorded with Mel Tormé and later recorded again with Sinatra on Duets. During his career, Berghofer has performed on over 400 movie soundtracks. Just a few of the films he has worked on include Rocky II, The ''Majestic, Sing ,'' and Clint Eastwood's Bird. He also worked on such television shows as Barney Miller, Charlie's Angels, The Carol Burnett Show, The Simpsons and Star Trek: Enterprise. His bassline on Barney Miller inspired Cliff Burton to learn how to play bass.

Discography

With Christina Aguilera
With Paul Anka
  • Songs Of December
With India Arie
  • Christmas with Friends
With Hoyt Axton
  • My Griffin Is Gone
With The Beach Boys
  • Summer Days
  • Pet Sounds
  • Smiley Smile
With George Benson
With Mary J. Blige
  • Mary
  • A Mary Christmas
With Debby Boone
  • Reflections of Rosemary
With Pat Boone
  • Near
With Michael Bublé
  • Call Me Irresponsible
  • Christmas
  • To Be Loved
  • Love
  • Higher
With Vanessa Carlton
  • Be Not Nobody
With Rosemary Clooney
  • For the Duration
  • Still on the Road
  • Dedicated to Nelson
  • White Christmas
  • Brazil
With Adam Cohen
  • Adam Cohen
With Natalie Cole
  • Stardust
  • Still Unforgettable
With Ry Cooder
  • Jazz
With Rita Coolidge
  • And So Is Love
With Bobby Darin
  • Venice Blue
With Matt Dusk
  • Back in Town
With The Everly Brothers
  • In Our Image
  • The Everly Brothers Sing
With Rebecca Ferguson
With Melody Gardot
  • Sunset in the Blue
With Vince Gill
With Josh Groban
  • Stages
With Enrique Iglesias
  • Cosas del Amor
With B.B. King and Diane Schuur
  • Heart to Heart
With Carole King
  • A Holiday Carole
With Jean King
  • Sings for the In-Crowd
With Irene Kral
  • Wonderful Life
With Diana Krall
With Peggy Lee
With Seth MacFarlane
  • No One Ever Tells You
With Melissa Manchester
  • If My Heart Had Wings
With Barry Manilow
  • Showstoppers
  • Manilow Sings Sinatra
  • A Christmas Gift of Love
  • Scores
  • The Greatest Songs of the Sixties
  • The Greatest Songs of the Seventies
  • In the Swing of Christmas
  • The Greatest Love Songs of All Time
  • My Dream Duets
  • This Is My Town: Songs of New York
With Shelly Manne
  • Live! Shelly Manne & His Men at the Manne-Hole
  • Shelly Manne & His Men Play Checkmate
With Johnny Mathis
With Martina McBride
With Paul McCartney
  • Kisses on the Bottom
With Carmen McRae
  • Can't Hide Love
With Bette Midler
  • Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
With Liza Minnelli
  • Gently
With Joni Mitchell
  • Both Sides Now
  • Travelogue
With Michael Nesmith
  • The Wichita Train Whistle Sings
With Tom Netherton
  • Just As I Am
With Aaron Neville
With Steve Perry
  • Traces
With Ruth Price and Shelly Manne
  • Ruth Price with Shelly Manne & His Men at the Manne-Hole
With Frankie Randall
  • Going The Frankie Randall Way!
With Della Reese
With Emitt Rhodes
With Howard Roberts
  • Whatever's Fair!
With Diana Ross
  • Take Me Higher
With Seal
  • Standards
With Jon Secada
  • Secada
With Diane Schuur
  • Love Songs
  • Music Is My Life
  • Friends for Schuur
  • Midnight
With Blake Shelton
  • Cheers, It's Christmas
With Zoot Sims
  • Quietly There: Zoot Sims Plays Johnny Mandel
With Frank Sinatra
  • Strangers in the Night
  • That's Life
  • The World We Knew
  • Cycles
  • My Way
  • A Man Alone
  • Sinatra & Company
  • Some Nice Things I've Missed
  • Duets
  • Duets II
With Nancy Sinatra
  • Boots
  • Sugar
  • Nancy
With The Singers Unlimited
  • Friends
With Rod Stewart
  • Merry Christmas, Baby
With Barbra Streisand
With Toni Tennille
  • All of Me
With Mel Tormé
  • Mel Tormé and the Marty Paich Dektette – Reunion
With Sarah Vaughan
  • Sarah Vaughan with Michel Legrand
With Dionne Warwick
  • Dionne Warwick Sings Cole Porter
With Robbie Williams
  • Swing When You're Winning
With Trisha Yearwood
  • ''Let's Be Frank''

    Filmography