Waddy Wachtel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Waddy Wachtel
Born	May 24, 1947 (age 59) New York City
Genre(s)	Rock
Notable guitars	Gibson Les Paul
Years active	1970 - present

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

Waddy 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.

In 1970, he served as a musician for the film score of The Poseidon Adventure, and producers asked him and the band to cameo as the actual onstage band in the dining room when the ship capsizes. Wachtel can be seen in the final film during this sequence. Also appeared as a session man in the movie originally titled Honeysuckle Rose but renamed On the Road Again, with Willie Nelson and Dyan Cannon.

He has appeared on hundreds of albums, and has been a mainstay of the Los Angeles music scene since the late 1960s. 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, Randy Newman, Linda Ronstadt, Maria Muldaur, Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Keith Richards, Rosanne Cash, Stevie Nicks, Melissa Etheridge, Carole King, James Taylor, Bob Seger, Steve Perry, and Warren Zevon. He is featured on guitar throughout Carole King's 1975 album, Thoroughbred.

Wachtel 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). Currently, Wachtel tours with Stevie Nicks, serving as her band leader, music director, and lead guitarist.

He is mentioned in the Warren Zevon song "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead."

In addition, Wachtel has composed the scores for a number of films, including Joe Dirt, Up in Smoke, and Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. He is featured prominently backing Linda Ronstadt in the 1978 film FM.

Production credits include albums by Keith Richards, Jackson Browne, Bryan Ferry, The Church and Warren Zevon.

In 1998 Wachtel and his wife were arrested by police on charges of possessing child pornography after illegal images were found on their computer [1]. They were both later exonerated^{[citation needed]}

As late as early 2007, Waddy Wachtel and Friends band could be seen at the Joint [2], on Pico in LA, for their Big Monday jam session. Recent guests include Joe Walsh, Mike Campbell, etc.