Willie Weeks
| Willie Weeks | |
|---|---|
 Weeks alongside Eric Clapton in the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Salemburg, North Carolina United States |
| Genres | Rock, blues, jazz, Blues-rock, country |
| Occupations | Musician, Actor |
| Instruments | Electric bass guitar |
| Years active | 1963 - current |
| Labels | Reprise, Tamla, Polydor Records, Epic Records, EMI Records, Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic, Capitol, Columbia, EMI, CBS, Elektra |
| Notable instruments | |
| 1963 Fender P-Bass | |
Willie Weeks (born 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also gained notoriety touring with many of rock's heavyweights throughout his career. In 2006–2007 he was most visible as the chosen bassist for Eric Clapton's house band, during his world tour with the Crossroads Guitar Festival.
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[edit] Career
Weeks was born in Salemburg, North Carolina and began playing the electric bass in the early 1960s. His earliest influences were the country, pop and R&B music he heard on the radio. Weeks counts bassists Ron Carter, James Jamerson, and Ray Brown as early influences.
Weeks has worked in the studio and/or toured with artists as varied as Gregg Allman, David Bowie, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Jimmy Buffett, Kevin Chalfant, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Hank Crawford, Robert Cray, Pino Daniele, Bo Diddley, The Doobie Brothers, Aretha Franklin, Vince Gill, Isaac Hayes, George Harrison, Billy Joel, Wynonna Judd, B.B. King, Lyle Lovett, Gail Davies, David Lee Roth, Michael McDonald, Don McLean, John Mayer, Bette Midler, Randy Newman, Pino Palladino, John Scofield, Carly Simon, Rod Stewart, The Rolling Stones, James Taylor, Richard and Linda Thompson, Joe Walsh, Bobby Womack, Leon Russell, Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder, Ronnie Wood, Soulive, and Eikichi Yazawa.
Weeks' playing on Donny Hathaway's Live (1972), including a 3½ minute bass solo on "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)", [1] is regarded by many bass players as some of Weeks' best work. Weeks played a 1962 Fender P-Bass through an Ampeg SVT amplifier on the recording (though it had initially been reported that he played through an Ampeg B-15). Weeks also played the Crossroads Guitar Festival on July 28, 2007 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois.[2]
Weeks also played with the Fabulous Amazers and Bill Lordan (pre Robin Trower drummer) in the Minnesota group, Gypsy.
[edit] Equipment
In addition to his red 1962 P-Bass, Weeks also uses a maple-neck 1958 Precision, a 1964 Jazz Bass and a sunburst Marcus Miller signature, as well as a tobacco sunburst Kay four-string acoustic bass for Clapton's "unplugged repertoire". Weeks used a sunburst 1963 P-Bass during Clapton's 2008 European Summer tour.
On the 2009 Australasian and British tours, Weeks played Fender, Kay and Alleva Coppolo basses.
Weeks appeared in the films Blues Brothers 2000 and Lightning in a Bottle.
[edit] Discography
[edit] With Gypsy
- 1971 In the Garden, Metromedia
[edit] With Donny Hathaway
- 1972 Live
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Clark, Doug (January 21, 2007). "The mark of a musician". The Sampson Independent. Retrieved on August 31, 2007.
- Johnston, Richard (August 2005). "Willie Weeks Does It All". Bass Player. Retrieved on August 31, 2007.
- Guitar Player. November 1990.
- Eric Clapton's Fan Club
- Bass Player.com Willie Weeks
