Waddy Wachtel

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Waddy Wachtel
Warner Bros.
  • Giant
    • Websitewaddywachtelinfo.com

    Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Beth Hart, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy Newman, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones (lead guitar on "Saint of Me"), Jon Bon Jovi, James Taylor, Iggy Pop, Warren Zevon, Bryan Ferry, Michael Sweet, Jackson Browne, Karla Bonoff, and Andrew Gold, both in the studio and live.[1]

    Early years

    Wachtel was born May 24, 1947, in

    Jewish family[2] in the New York City borough of Queens. At about age 9–10,[1] Wachtel began to learn to play the guitar, taking lessons with teacher Gene Dell (who insisted that he learn to play right-handed despite being naturally left-handed) until about age 14. At that age, he says, he began writing songs.[3]

    Wachtel also studied with Rudolph Schramm, who was the head of the NBC staff orchestra and went on to teach music at Carnegie Hall. Schramm tried to get Wachtel to take piano lessons, but Wachtel was intent on playing guitar so Schramm agreed to give him guitar lessons three times a week on rhythm, melody and harmony.

    After performing with local bands in the New York area, Wachtel formed his own band, The Orphans, who played in Connecticut and New Hampshire. Eventually the band settled into a regular bar band routine, playing in Newport, Rhode Island, where Wachtel took lessons from

    session player.[3]

    Films

    Wachtel with his Les Paul guitar, in 2009

    In 1972, he made an appearance in the film The Poseidon Adventure as the acoustic guitar player in a fictitious band on stage in the dining room when the ship capsizes.

    He also played in the Oscar-winning short film, "Session Man" in 1991. Wachtel has composed and played instruments for film scores including Joe Dirt, Up in Smoke, Nice Guys Sleep Alone, The Longest Yard, The Benchwarmers, Grandma's Boy, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, Strange Wilderness, The House Bunny, and Paul Blart: Mall Cop. He has also composed, produced, or performed in songs with Warren Zevon, Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and others.

    Session and touring work

    Wachtel with The Cowsills in 2009

    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 played with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks on their first album Buckingham Nicks (credited as 'Waddy', no surname), and on tour. Later, when Nicks and Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac, he played rhythm guitar on their 1975 album Fleetwood Mac on the track "Sugar Daddy".

    In 1980, he wrote, recorded and sang lead vocals on an album for producer Peter Asher with members of Linda Ronstadt's band, including musicians Don Grolnick, Dan Dugmore, Stanley Sheldon and Rick Marotta. Both the group and the album were titled Ronin. Released on the Mercury label, the record never charted.

    In 1984, he played on Steve Perry's (Journey) solo album Street Talk.

    He has appeared on hundreds of albums with many different artists and bands.

    Production credits include albums by Stevie Nicks,

    George Thorogood and the Destroyers and Warren Zevon. Wachtel co-wrote several songs with Zevon including "Werewolves of London".[4] He also co-wrote the Warren Zevon song "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" from the album Mr. Bad Example
    . He performed on all seven Warren Zevon albums from 1976 through 1992, producing or co-producing three.

    Wachtel also shares co-writing credits with Stevie Nicks on a few tracks such as "Annabel Lee", and "I Don't Care".

    Wachtel has been credited on some albums as Bob Wachtel, but some online sources have incorrectly credited him as Richard Wachtel on albums on which he was credited as having played guitar.[5]

    Legal problems

    Wachtel was arrested in 1998 on suspicion of possession of child pornography after images were found on a computer he had at home.[6][7][8] Wachtel pleaded no contest and was placed on probation for three years.[9]

    Musician Brett Tuggle defended Wachtel saying "there is no way that Stevie would have him in her band if she thought he was guilty of any wrongdoing."[10] A detective of the Los Angeles juvenile sex crimes division reported that Wachtel produced copies of the computer-stored images which he kept in his bedroom.[11]

    Equipment

    Wachtel plays a

    Gibson Custom Shop chose the 1960 Les Paul Waddy Wachtel guitar for their new Collector's Choice series.[14]

    2000 to present

    Wachtel performs regularly with the Waddy Wachtel Band in the Los Angeles area, notably at The Joint from 2000 through 2013. The band at that time included Phil Jones, Rick Rosas, Bernard Fowler and Blondie Chaplin, among others.[15] He continues to gig with his band, with some personnel changes, while retaining Fowler and Chaplin.[16] Many famous artists have performed with the band as special guests.[17]

    Wachtel appeared on the 2010

    Grammy Award television show backing Taylor Swift's live presentation. In Swift's duet with Nicks on the song "Rhiannon
    ", Wachtel was featured on lead guitar.

    As of 2020, Wachtel is performing with a group of other Southern California classic rock veterans in a group called "The Immediate Family"[18] along with Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, and Steve Postell.

    Collaborations

    With Bill Cowsill

    • Nervous Breakthrough (MGM Records, 1970)

    With The Everly Brothers

    With Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks

    With Sarah Kernochan

    • Best Around the Bush (RCA Records, 1974)

    With Jackie DeShannon

    With Fleetwood Mac

    With John Stewart

    With Splinter

    • Harder to Live (Dark Horse Records, 1975)

    With Dianne Brooks

    • Back Stairs in My Life (Reprise Records, 1976)

    With Barbi Benton

    • Something New (Polydor Records, 1976)

    With Jackson Browne

    With Andrew Gold

    With Arlo Guthrie

    • Amigo (Reprise Records, 1976)

    With Carole King

    With Tom Pacheco

    • The Outsider (RCA Records, 1976)

    With Tom Snow

    • Tom Snow (Capitol Records, 1976)

    With Maria Muldaur

    With Linda Ronstadt

    With J. D. Souther

    With James Taylor

    With Wendy Waldman

    • The Main Refrain (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)

    With Sammy Walker

    • Sammy Walker (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)

    With Nickey Barclay

    • Diamond in a Junkyard (Ariola America, 1976)

    With Rusty Wier

    • Black Hat Saloon (Columbia Records, 1976)
    • Stacked Deck (Columbia Records, 1977)

    With Warren Zevon

    With Karla Bonoff

    With Nancy Shanks

    • Nancy Shanx (United Artists Records, 1977)

    With Attitudes

    • Good News (Dark Horse Records, 1977)

    With Randy Newman

    With Bryan Ferry

    With Bob Weir

    With Leo Sayer

    With Debby Boone

    With Richie Furay

    • I Still Have Dreams (Asylum Records, 1979)
    • In The Country (BMG, 2022)

    With Adam Mitchell

    • Redhead in Trouble (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)

    With Ronnie Hawkins

    • The Hawk (United Artists Records, 1979)

    With Louise Goffin

    • Kid Blue (Asylum Records, 1979)
    • Louise Goffin (Asylum Records, 1981)

    With Bonnie Raitt

    With America

    • Alibi (Capitol Records, 1980)

    With Kim Carnes

    With Rita Coolidge

    With Stevie Nicks

    With Helen Reddy

    With Phoebe Snow

    With Ronnie Wood

    With Don Henley

    With Kenny Rogers

    With Bill Medley

    • Right Here and Now (Planet Records, 1982)

    With Bob Seger

    With Bette Midler

    With Marty Balin

    With Ringo Starr

    With Joe Walsh

    With Dolly Parton

    With Steve Perry

    With Eric Martin

    • Eric Martin (Capitol Records, 1985)

    With Jimmy Barnes

    With Rosanne Cash

    With Graham Nash

    With Karla DeVito

    • Wake 'Em Up In Tokyo (A&M Records, 1986)

    With Van Stephenson

    • Suspicious Heart (MCA Records, 1986)

    With Dwight Twilley

    • Wild Dogs (CBS Records, 1986)

    With Cher

    With Lisa Hartman Black

    • 'Til My Heart Stops (Atlantic Records, 1987)

    With Melissa Etheridge

    With Ivan Neville

    With Keith Richards

    With Feargal Sharkey

    • Wish (Virgin Records, 1988)

    With The Graces

    • Perfect View (A&M Records, 1989)

    With Jon Bon Jovi

    With Steve Louw

    • Waiting For the Down (Epic Records, 1990)

    With Bob Dylan

    With Iggy Pop

    With Hall & Oates

    With Diana Ross

    With Rod Stewart

    With Troy Newman

    • Gypsy Moon (Warner Bros. Records, 1991)
    • It's Like This (Mega Pop Records, 1995)

    With Bonnie Tyler

    With Tracy Chapman

    With Neil Diamond

    With Hanne Boel

    • My Kindred Spirit (Medley Records, 1992)

    With Delbert McClinton

    With Tom Waits

    With Andrew Strong

    • Strong (MCA Records, 1993)

    With Gilby Clarke

    With A. J. Croce

    With Colin James

    With Brian Wilson

    With Aaron Neville

    • The Tattooed Heart (A&M Records, 1995)

    With John Prine

    With Michael Sweet

    With Bee Gees

    With The Wilsons

    With Johnny Rivers

    • Last Train to Memphis (Soul City, 1998)
    • Reinvention Highway (Collectors' Choice Music, 2004)

    With Amanda Marshall

    With Janice Robinson

    • The Color Within Me (Columbia Records, 1999)

    With Kim Richey

    • Glimmer (Mercury Records, 1999)

    With Shannon McNally

    With Robbie Williams

    With Keith Gattis

    • Big City Blues (Smith Music Group, 2005)

    With Bernard Fowler

    • Friends With Privileges (Sony, 2006)
    • The Bura (MRI, 2016)

    With Radney Foster

    • This World We Live In (Dualtone Records, 2006)

    With Miranda Lambert

    With John Mayer

    With David Nail

    With Michael Grimm

    With Jessie Baylin

    • Little Spark (Blonde Rat, 2012)

    With LeAnn Rimes

    With Edie Brickell and Steve Martin

    With Judith Owen

    • Ebb & Flow (Twanky Records, 2014)
    • Somebody's Child (Twanky Records, 2016)

    With Neil Young

    With Mindi Abair

    With Pat McGee

    • Pat McGee
       (Pat McGee, 2015)

    With Beth Hart

    With Sheryl Crow

    • Threads (Big Machine Records, 2019)

    With Anders Osborne

    • Buddha & The Blues (Back on Dumaine Records, 2019)

    With Kate Taylor

    • Why Wait! (Red House Records, 2021)

    With Edgar Winter

    • Brother Johnny (Quarto Valley Records, 2022)

    With Ian Hunter

    • Defiance Part 1 (Sun, 2023)

    Filmography (partial)

    Year Title Director(s) Notes
    1972 The Poseidon Adventure Ronald Neame Uncredited guitarist
    1978 Up in Smoke Lou Adler with Danny Kortchmar and Lee Oskar (member of Yesca)
    2001 Joe Dirt Dennie Gordon —
    2003 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star Sam Weisman with Christophe Beck
    2006 Grandma's Boy Nicholaus Goossen —
    The Benchwarmers Dennis Dugan —
    Last Request
    		 John DeBellis —
    2008 Strange Wilderness Fred Wolf —
    The House Bunny Fred Wolf —
    2009 Paul Blart: Mall Cop Steve Carr —
    2011 Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star Tom Brady —
    Jack and Jill Dennis Dugan with Rupert Gregson-Williams
    2013 Jimi: All Is by My Side John Ridley with Danny Bramson
    2015 Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser Fred Wolf Digital film

    Personal

    Wachtel is married. He has an estranged son named Waddy who lives in Hilton Head Island, SC.[19]

    References

    1. ^ a b Gans, David (March 7, 1980). "Waddy Wachtel: Confessions of a "Mafia" Guitarist". Bam Magazine. 5 (74). BAM: 40. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
    2. ^ a b "Waddy Wachtel". The Penguin Biographies. Martin and Lisa Adelson. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
    3. ^ a b Kutina, Scott E. (February 1, 1981). "International Musician And Recording World, Waddy Wachtel". Volume 3. International Musician And Recording World. pp. Number 2. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
    4. ^ "Werewolves of London", Johnny Black, Blender, April 2008
    5. ^ "Waddy Wachtel Discography". Waddywachtelinfo.com. January 1, 1980. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
    6. ^ "Guitarist Wachtel Busted For Child Pornography". MTV. July 10, 1998. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
    7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 29, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    8. ^ Shauna Snow (July 11, 1998). "Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation's press". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
    9. ^ "Guitarist Gets Probation in Child Pornography". Los Angeles Times. October 16, 1998.
    10. ^ "Brett Tuggle Q&A Session, September 2000". Fleetwoodmac.net. Archived from the original on March 23, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
    11. ^ "Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation's press". Los Angeles Times. July 11, 1998. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
    12. ^ "Rig Rundown - Waddy Wachtel". YouTube. February 14, 2017. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
    13. ^ "Rig Rundown - Waddy Wachtel". premiereguitar.com. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
    14. ^ "Gibson Custom: Collector's Choice™ #14 1960 Les Paul "Waddy Wachtel"". Gibson.com. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
    15. ^ Patrick Doyle (July 24, 2013). "Waddy Wachtel Reflects on Working With Warren Zevon, Keith Richards". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
    16. ^ "Waddy Wachtel Band". Waddywachtelinfo.com. January 1, 1980. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
    17. ^ "Waddy Wachtel Band: Photos of Special Guests appearing with the Waddy Wachtel Band". Waddywachtelinfo.com. January 1, 1980. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
    18. ^ "The Immediate Family: James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt Session Vets Launch New Band". Rolling Stone. June 11, 2020.
    19. ^ "Guitarist Gets Probation in Child Pornography". Los Angeles Times. October 16, 1998.

    External links

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