Waddy Wachtel

Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24 1947 in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City) is a Los Angeles musician, composer and producer, most notable for his guitar work.Infobox musical artist
Name = Waddy Wachtel


Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Born = birth date and age|1947|5|24
New York City, US
Died =
Alias = Robert Wachtel
Genre = Rock
Instrument = Guitar
Occupation = Musician, Producer, Composer
Associated_acts =
Label =
Years_active = 1970 - present
URL = http://waddywachtelinfo.com
Notable_instruments = Gibson Les Paul

Biography

Early Years

Waddy Wachtel learned to play the guitar at a young age, taking lessons with teacher Gene Dell (who forced him to play right-handed despite being naturally left-handed) from the ages of 9–14. He became proficient at playing all styles of guitar, including jazz, and had a natural knack for reading music.

Waddy gives much credit for his early training on guitar to Rudolph Schramm, who was the head of the NBC staff orchestra and went on to teach music at Carnegie Hall. Schramm tried to get Waddy to take piano lessons, but Waddy was intent on playing guitar so Schramm agreed to give him guitar lessons three times a week about rhythm, melody and harmony.

After performing with local bands in the New York area, Waddy formed his own band, The Orphans, who played in Connecticut and New Hampshire. When the Orphans disbanded, he formed another band, Twice Nicely. At the suggestion of Bud Cowsill (of the Cowsills), he brought Twice Nicely to Los Angeles in 1970 where they recorded a few demos. Waddy was then persuaded to record with the Cowsills and produce their albums.

Films

In 1972, he also served as a musician for the film score of "The Poseidon Adventure", and producers asked him and the band to cameo in the actual band on stage in the dining room when the ship capsizes. Waddy can be seen in the final film during this sequence.

He is featured prominently backing Linda Ronstadt in the 1978 film "FM".

In addition, Waddy Wachtel has composed the scores for a number of films, including "Joe Dirt", "Up in Smoke", "Nice Guys Sleep Alone", "Alabama Love Story", "The Longest Yard", "The Benchwarmers", "Grandma's Boy", "The Last Request", "", "Strange Wilderness" and "The House Bunny". He has also composed and produced songs with Warren Zevon, Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne and other artists that appear in many other films.

Session work

In 1972 he was hired by Warren Zevon to play guitar on the Everly Brothers "Stories We Could Tell" album and join them in a subsequent tour.

By 1973 he was being approached by various artists and producers to play on their albums, and hooked up with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, playing on their first album "Buckingham Nicks", and touring with the band.

In 1980, he wrote and recorded an album for producer Peter Asher with members of Linda Ronstadt's band, including musicians Don Grolnick, Dan Dugmore, and Rick Marotta. Both the group and the album were titled Ronin.

He has appeared on hundreds of albums over the years, and has been a mainstay of the Los Angeles music scene. Among the artists and bands he has worked with are The Everly Brothers, Andrew Gold, Carly Simon, The Rolling Stones, Kim Carnes, The Church, The Motels, Bonnie Raitt, Bryan Ferry, Bernard Fowler, Randy Newman, Linda Ronstadt, Maria Muldaur, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Keith Richards, Rosanne Cash, Stevie Nicks, Melissa Etheridge, Carole King, James Taylor, Bob Seger, Iggy Pop, Steve Perry, Tom Waits, Warren Zevon, Bob Dylan, Adam Sandler and Miranda Lambert.

Production credits include albums by Keith Richards, Jackson Browne, Bryan Ferry, The Church and Warren Zevon. Waddy co-wrote several songs with Zevon including "Werewolves of London," for which he wrote the opening verse (which was voted by BBC Radio 2 listeners as the greatest ever in 2004)."Werewolves of London", Johnny Black, Blender, April, 2008] He also co-wrote the Warren Zevon song "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead." He performed and co-produced the first two Zevon albums, considered his classics, and was a major contributor to the Warren Zevon sound. He is much quoted throughout the new book on Zevon's life, written by Crystal Zevon, entitled "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead".

Waddy has been touring with Stevie Nicks for many years, serving as her band leader, musical director, and lead guitarist. He's also appeared on each of her solo albums and on several television shows.

Tours and Live Performances

Waddy Wachtel has toured with the Everly Brothers, Carole King, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Adam Sandler, Stevie Nicks, and Keith Richards (in the X-Pensive Winos). His distinctive guitar sound, vocal harmonies, arrangement techniques and the ability to add exciting guitar riffs to headlining performer's gigs made him a sought-after entity in the world of live tours. He was also called upon during many of his tours to be Musical Director, using his talents and sensitive musical ear to bring all the musicians on the tours into accord with the music.

The Waddy Wachtel Band [http://myspace.com/thewaddywachtelband] can be seen Monday nights at The Joint, 8771 W. Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. The band includes Waddy Wachtel, Brett Tuggle, Phil Jones, Rick Rosas and Jamie Savko. Recent guests who have sat in with the band: Keith Richards, Joe Walsh, Robert Plant, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Roger Daltrey, Blondie Chaplin, Bernard Fowler, Billy Squier, Adam Sandler and others.

Misc. Info

Waddy Wachtel has been credited on some early albums as "Bob Wachtel" (short for his birth-name "Robert"). Erroneous internet sources include the name "Richard Wachtel" in some album credits, but that name was never used in any album liner notes. There was never a "Richard Wachtel" who played on any of those albums.

Wachtel and his wife Annie were arrested in 1998 on charges of possessing child pornography after questionable images were found on the computer in their bedroom. [http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12034691 Waddy Wachtel Follows In Gary Glitter's Footsteps] ] [http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jul/11/entertainment/ca-2556 MORNING REPORT - LEGAL FILE] ] In an interview with a Fleetwood Mac fansite in 2000, Wachtel's bandmate in Stevie Nick's touring band, Brett Tuggle, responded to a question about these charges saying "All I really know is that there were some files on his computer that were questionable when he took it in to be fixed and most of what happened was completely blown way out of proportion by the press and was dismissed anyway ... there is no way Stevie would have him in her band if she thought he was guilty of any wrong doing". [http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/qa/bretttuggle_qa1.htm Brett Tuggle, September 12 - 25, 2000] ]

References

*cite web | title=Link | work=Waddy Wachtel My Space page
url=http://myspace.com/thewaddywachtelband

*cite web | title=Link | work=Waddy Wachtel Info web site
url=http://waddywachtelinfo.com/

*cite web | title=Link | work=Biography, discography and interview
url=http://www.fleetwoodmac.net/penguin/waddy.htm | accessdaymonth=15 August | accessyear=2006

External links

*imdb name|id=0905186|name=Waddy Wachtel
*cite web | title=Biography at All Music Guide | url=http://www.allmusicguide.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:npen97wjkrat~T1 | accessdaymonth=16 August | accessyear=2006