Peter Wolf (producer)

Peter Wolf
Left to Right: Ray Reach, Chuck Leavell and Peter Wolf at the 2008 Birmingham Area Music Awards (the "BAMA Awards").
Background information
Birth name	Peter F. Wolf
Born	August 25, 1952 (1952-08-25) Vienna, Austria
Occupations	Keyboardist Producer Composer
Website	http://www.powerhausmusic.com/

Peter F. Wolf (born August 26, 1952, Vienna, Austria) is a composer, producer, songwriter and arranger. He was awarded the highest honor for artists from his birth country of Austria, the Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst (Austrian Honor Badge for Science and Art).

Early years

Wolf studied classical piano at Vienna’s Conservatory of Music. At the age of 16, he won the European Jazz Festival as a solo pianist. Wolf was awarded twice with the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, a German award, for his work with Andre Heller and Erika Pluhar.

Coming to America in his early twenties, Wolf worked with local musicians such as Neal Starkey (bassist) and Bill Hatcher (guitarist) in Atlanta, Georgia and with Steve Sample Jr (drummer, son of Steve Sample, Sr) and Ray Reach (keyboardist, guitarist, vocalist) in Birmingham, Alabama.

After his time in the southeastern United States, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he played keyboards for Frank Zappa in the late 1970s. After his work with Zappa, he then went on to the band Group 87 with Patrick O'Hearn, Terry Bozzio, Peter Maunu, and Mark Isham.

Recent Awards

In 2008, Peter was honored with a BAMA Award (Birmingham Area Music Award) for his contributions to the Birmingham music scene. This award is the local Birmingham equivalent of the Grammy. Peter and Chuck Leavell both performed at the BAMA Award ceremony, backed by the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame All-Stars, directed by Ray Reach.

Recordings made with Frank Zappa

• Sheik Yerbouti (March 1979), #21 US (Single "Bobby Brown", Peter Wolf on Keyboards, Butter, Flora Margarine)
• Joe's Garage 1 (1979), #27 US
• Joe's Gagage 2 & 3 (April–June 1979)
• Tinsel Town Rebellion (May 11, 1981), #66 US
• Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (May 1981)

Studio keyboard and arranging work

Wolf was one of America's top ranking studio keyboardists and arrangers from 1980 to 1985 and became very successful as a music producer and songwriter.^{[citation needed]}

Peter Wolf produced eight #1 songs and has produced, arranged and/or written for a wide range of musical talents. A list of his pop hit productions includes:

• Jefferson Starship ("No Way Out" #23 US, 1984)
• The Commodores ("Nightshift" #3 US, #3 UK, 1985)
• Starship ("We Built This City" #1 US, #12 UK, 16 and 23 Nov. 1985)
• Starship ("Sara" #1 US, March 15, 1986)
• Wang Chung ("Everybody Have Fun Tonight" #2 US, #76 UK, 1986)
• Wang Chung ("Let's Go" #9 US, #81 UK, 1987)
• El Debarge ("Who's Johnny" #1 US, 1986, main theme of the film, Short Circuit)
• Nik Kershaw ("The Works", 1989)
• Go West ("King of Wishful Thinking" from the film Pretty Woman #8 US, #18 UK, 1990)
• Go West ("Faithful" #14 US, #13 UK, 1992)
• Heart ("These Dreams" #1 US, 1986),
• Heart ("What About Love" #10 US, 1985) (Synth, Piano & Creative Input)
• Patti Labelle ("On My Own" #1 US, 1986)
• Kenny Loggins ("Playing with the Boys" from the films Top Gun and Avalon)
• The Escape Club ("I'll Be There" #8 US, 1991)
• Starship ("Good Heart" #81 US, 1991)
• Indecent Obsession ("Kiss Me" #1 South Africa for 27 weeks, 1992)

Others Wolf has worked with include such popular but disparate artists as Paula Abdul, Pablo Cruise, Grace Slick, Santana, Survivor, The Pointer Sisters, Chicago, Cliff Richard, Natalie Cole, The Scorpions, 'N Sync, Oleta Adams, Big Country, Lou Gramm, Sérgio Mendes, Boz Scaggs, Joe Sample, Thomas Anders, Laura Branigan, BB King, Zucchero and The Who.

Film scores

In addition to his career in the world of rock and popular music, Wolf has scored a number of motion pictures including the 1993 film Neverending Story III, and Weekend at Bernie's II. Wolf has also composed many scores in Europe including the new animated picture for the Oscar-winning “Best Foreign Film” producer, Sven Ebeling, entitled “Nutcracker and Mouse King”, nominated for the Deutscher Filmpreis. He scored Leon DeWinter’s film The Hollywood Sign, starring Rod Steiger, Burt Reynolds and Tom Berenger.

Wolf’s other compositional credits also include the score for the number one German picture in 1997 Irren Ist Männlich (To Err is a Male Thing), as well as films such as Die Cellistin (The Cellist), Widows, St. Pauli Nacht (St. Pauli Night) and The Fearless Four. Peter Wolf is currently composing songs and the score for the American picture Band on the Run to be released in 2008. In 1995 Wolf received the "Billy Wilder Award" of the Austrian Film Academy and University of Vienna.^{[citation needed]}

Recordings as a leader

Solo

Albums

• 1969 - A Change in My Life
• 1980 - Tutti
• 2000 - Progression - A Symphony by Peter Wolf
• 2003 - The Other Side
• 2004 - Sense-ation - A Symphony by Peter Wolf

Singles

• 1969 - "Kraft durch Freude"
• 1980 - "Tutti"(dedicated to his friend Janus)

Gipsy Love

Albums

• 1970 - Gipsy Love (The White Album)
• 1972 - Here We Come

Wolf & Wolf

Albums

• 1982 - Culture Shocked
• 1984 - Wolf & Wolf

Singles

• 1982 - "Think Pink"
• 1984 - "Don't Take the Candy"

Vienna

• 1987 - Guess What?

References

• Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits.

External links

• http://www.powerhausmusic.com/