Plas Johnson

American souljazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancinis The Pink Panther Theme He also performs on alto and baritone sax as well as various flutes and clarinets Recruited by Johnny Otis and executive Dave Cavanaugh for Capitol Records in the mid1950s Johnson also played on innumerable records by Peggy Lee Nat King Cole Glen Gray Frank Sinatra and others He remained a leading session player for almost twenty years averaging two sessions a day and playing everything from movie soundtracks and Les Baxters exotica albums to rock and roll singles by such artists as Ricky Nelson and Bobby Vee and RB records by such performers as Larry Williams Bobby Day and Richard Berry He played on many of the Beach Boys records and was an integral part of a number of instrumental groups that existed in name only such as B Bumble and the Stingers and The Marketts