He was a musician, composer, arranger and record producer born Lawrence Gordon Muhoberac in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, who started was playing the piano and accordion from the time he was five years old. By the time he was a teenager he was a pianist in Connie Jone’s Dixiecats Band.
When he was 20 years old, in 1957, he worked as a musician on the road with Woody Herman. Two years later in 1959 he decided to relocate from New Orleans to Memphis and by 1961 he and his band had performed there in two of Elvis Presley’s charity concerts, where he went by the name Larry Owens. He also released his own singles which include “Look Out” and “Tailspin” in 1962.
Before long he moved to California to become a studio musician and Elvis asked him to perform music on the soundtracks of four of his movies. His hands were the ones used on these films to double for Elvis’s in scenes where he was playing the piano. His reputation grew as an arranger and sought after musician and he later worked with top acts of the day. In 1969 he was the original keyboardist in Elvis Presley’s TCB Band in Las Vegas and remained with them for 6 months until 1970 when he returned to his work in Los Angeles.
Alongside his arrangements he became known for his compositions which led to his working as a production music composer for Network Music. While there he wrote the theme songs for TV series such as The Bold and the Beautiful, The Joy of Painting and The Lawrence Welk Show.
When the 1980s came around he decided to move to Australia where he continued to play, arrange and produce music.
Artists he worked with as a musician and/or arranger include The Archers, Kim Carnes, Vikki Carr, Ray Conniff, Cass Elliott, Jose Feliciano, Michael Franks, Crystal Gayle, Bobby Gentry, Buddy Greco, Merle Haggard, Doug Kershaw, Dean Martin, Hugo Montenegro, Anthony Newley, Juice Newton, The Partridge Family, John Prine, Gary Puckett, Eddie Rabbitt, Seals & Crofts, Rick Springfield, Tanya Tucker, Tina Turner, Keith Urban, Jerry Vale and many others.
Albums he worked on are too many to mention but a select few include The Very Best Of… by Ed Ames, Road Songs by Hoyt Axton, My Song by Debby Boone, The Legacy 1961-2002 and Glen Travis Campbell by Glen Campbell, Passage by he Carpenters, The Complete Columbia Album Collection by Johnny Cash, True to Life by Ray Charles, Open Your Heart: A Love Song Collection by Petula Clark, Stones by Neil Diamond, Fables by England Dan & John Ford Coley, Never Alone by Amy Grant, Joyful Jukebox Music by The Jackson 5, James Last in Los Angeles by James Last, Classic by Jerry Lee Lewis, Complete Anthology by The Mamas & the Papas, Sometimes a Great Nation by Henry Mancini, Me and Mrs. Jones by Johnny Mathis, Dolly by Dolly Parton, Blue Suede Shoes Collection, Collectors Gold and On Stage by Elvis Presley, Rock Requiem by Lalo Schifrin, Woman by Nancy Sinatra, Barbra Joan Streisand by Barbra Streisand and Strong Stuff by Hank Williams and literally hundreds of others.
He died in Erina, NSW, Australia in 2016 suffering from dementia when he was 79 years old.
Glen Campbell Recordings
Honestly Loved(Leo Graham/Glen Castleberry)
Capitol Records 3808 (US 45)
Houston (I’m Comin’ To See You) (David Paich)
Capitol 3808 (US 45)
Sources:
- https://www.elvis.com.au/presley/interview-with-larry-muhoberac.shtml
- https://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/articles/tcb-band-larry-muhoberac.html
- https://syncopatedtimes.com/pianist-for-the-stars-larry-muboberac-has-died-at-79/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Muhoberac
- https://www.heavenaddress.com/Lawrence-Gordon-Muhoberac/1583393/
- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0611298/
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/larry-muhoberac-mn0000086064/credits?1634296887592
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/346088-Larry-Muhoberac