1972 The Section – The Section

The Section are a US instrumental rock band formed in the early 1970s by musicians Danny Kortchmar, Craig Doerge, Leland Sklar, and Russ Kunkel. They are best known for both studio and stage work in support of some of the best selling solo singers of that decade. Their frequent appearances on the records of artists signed to Asylum Records made them the label’s de facto house band. Their close association with the singer-songwriter and soft rock genres of the 1970s also led to their alternate moniker of “The Mellow Mafia.”

They appeared together and individually on albums by Linda Ronstadt, Crosby & Nash, James Taylor, Carole King, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, and acted as back-up band on their tours. Other musicians closely associated with The Section (though never official members of it) include guitarist Waddy Wachtel and multi-instrumentalist David Lindley.

By the 1980s, the group stopped working together collectively, though as individuals they continued to play prominent roles in the studio and on tour with many of the most popular solo acts of the decade, including Phil Collins (who collaborated with Sklar frequently starting with 1985’s No Jacket Required album and subsequent tour), Stevie Nicks (whose landmark Bella Donna album features guitar work from Wachtel, who continues to work with her as her musical director), and Don Henley (who used Kortchmar’s skills on numerous instruments on his Building the Perfect Beast album).

Beside their supporting work for other musicians, The Section also released three albums of their own, consisting of mostly instrumental music.