His first musical success was as a 14-year-old guitarist in the Royal Teens, best known for their novelty blues riff, "Short Shorts". In 1960, he joined the song-writing team of Bob Brass and Irwin Levine, who wrote the hit, "This Diamond Ring", for Gary Lewis and the Playboys. When he was 21, he moved to Greenwich Village.
He performed with Bob Dylan in concert in 1965 and in the studio in 1965 and 1966, including playing Hammond organ with Dylan at the (in)famous Newport Folk Festival of 1965. He worked extensively with Mike Bloomfield for a number of years after the two met as studio musicians on Dylan's legendary Highway 61 Revisited album.
In 1965, he co-formed The Blues Project and played their most famous gig at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. He formed Blood, Sweat & Tears in the same year, leaving after the group's first album, Child is Father to the Man, in 1968.
Kooper played on hundreds of records, including The Rolling Stones, B.B. King, The Who and Cream. On occasion, he has even overdubbed on his own efforts, as on The Live Adventures Of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper album, as Roosevelt Gook. He discovered the band Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced their first three albums, including the single Sweet Home Alabama. Kooper also wrote the score for the TV series, Crime Story, and has also written music for several made-for-television movies. Kooper also produced a now rare album by a group called Appaloosa.
Al Kooper has published a memoir, Backstage Passes: Rock 'n' Roll Life In The Sixties (1977), now available in revised form as Backstage Passes & Backstabbing Bastards: Memoirs of a Rock 'N' Roll Survivor 2007
Kooper currently teaches songwriting and production at Berklee College of Music in Boston and plays weekend concerts with his band Jimmy Vivino and The ReKooperators.
Out Of Left Field
Al Kooper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fate stumbles in
Bringing light to the darkness
Ohh, what a friend
I needed someone to call my own
Suddenly, out left field
Out left field, out left field
I was thinking down a road that went no where
Building dreams that were all left by the way side
And then outta the blue
Honey, I found you, ohh, yeah
Sugar and peaches in a paradise land
Good love and sweetness, have taken their stand
She made a mountain of love
From a little grain of sand
Suddenly, out of left field
Came a lover and a friend
She was a lover and a friend
Came out of nowhere
She made me a man
Every thing is alright
How sweet it is?
The song "Out of Left Field" by Al Kooper is a classic tribute to the sudden appearance of love in one's life, when everything seems lost and hopeless. The lyrics describe the moment when fate intervenes unexpectedly, bringing light to the darkness, and providing a friend when one is most in need. The metaphor of "out left field" refers to an unexpected move in baseball, and this is used to describe the manner in which love arrives unexpectedly.
Kooper talks about his initial state of mind before the arrival of the love of his life. He was thinking down a road that went nowhere and building dreams that were all left by the wayside. But when love arrived, he found a reason for everything, and a path to new hope and happiness. The lyrics describe the feeling of amazement and joy that accompanies the arrival of a true friend and lover, and the way in which love can transform one's life.
The stanza "Sugar and peaches in a paradise land, Good love and sweetness, have taken their stand, She made a mountain of love, From a little grain of sand" refers to the way love can start small but grow into an all-consuming force. When one meets the right person, even the tiniest bit of attraction can grow into a complete devotion to that person. The lyrics of this song talk about the powerful impact that love can have and how it can turn one's life around.
Line by Line Meaning
When least expected
Just when I thought nothing good would happen
Fate stumbles in
The forces of the universe bring something unexpected
Bringing light to the darkness
Shining a fresh perspective on my life
Ohh, what a friend
What a wonderful thing to have happened
I needed someone to call my own
Feeling lonely and in search of a companion
Suddenly, out left field
Out of nowhere came something amazing
Out left field, out left field
It was completely unexpected
Love came along, ooh
Love appeared when I wasn't looking for it
I was thinking down a road that went no where
Feeling lost and without direction in life
Building dreams that were all left by the way side
Having aspirations that didn't come to fruition
And then outta the blue
Suddenly, with no warning
Honey, I found you, ohh, yeah
I met someone special
Sugar and peaches in a paradise land
Feeling like I'm in a special place with a special person
Good love and sweetness, have taken their stand
Love and affection have taken root in my life
She made a mountain of love
She created a large amount of love in my life
From a little grain of sand
From something small and unexpected came something great
Suddenly, out of left field
Unexpectedly and without warning
Came a lover and a friend
Someone who can be both a romantic partner and a companion
She was a lover and a friend
This person was both a romantic and platonic connection
Came out of nowhere
Appeared when I least expected it
She made me a man
This person made me feel like I've grown and matured
Every thing is alright
Everything is going well
How sweet it is?
Isn't this a great thing that has happened?
Contributed by Hudson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.