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Les Dudek

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Les Dudek
Born (1952-08-02) August 2, 1952 (age 72)
Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, United States
GenresBlues rock, Southern rock
Occupation(s)Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals
Years active1976–present

Les Dudek (born August 2, 1952, at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, United States) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter.[1]

In addition to his solo material, Dudek has played guitar with Steve Miller Band, The Dudek-Finnigan-Krueger Band, Stevie Nicks, Cher, Boz Scaggs, The Allman Brothers Band, as well as Maria Muldaur, Bobby Whitlock, Mike Finnigan, Jim Krueger and Dave Mason.[2]

Early years

Les Dudek's father, Harold, was born in Campbell, Nebraska, and was a World War II veteran in the United States Navy. His mother, Alma, born in Brooklyn, was a former Radio City Music Hall Rockette. Les has one older sister, Sandy, who was born in Brooklyn. The family is of Czech, German, Italian, and Russian descent. Six years after Les was born, his father retired from the Navy and the family moved to Florida where he grew up.

Musical career

The Beatles caught Dudek's ear at an early age.[1] In 1962, at the age of ten, Les asked his parents for a guitar for Christmas. They bought him an acoustic guitar from Sears & Roebuck. His musical influences, along with The Beatles, were Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and The Ventures.[3] He had built quite a reputation around the Florida area as a proficient guitar player, having started playing in local bands as a teenager. Those bands were "The United Sounds", "Blue Truth" and "Power". That reputation would place him in the studio with the Allman Brothers Band for the recording of the Brothers & Sisters album.[1] He played guitar harmonies with Dickey Betts on the well-known song "Ramblin' Man" and acoustic guitar on "Jessica".[1][4] In Alan Paul's book, One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band, Dudek claimed to have written the part in "Jessica" from when it modulated into G then eventually back to A.[5]

His next stops were as a guitarist for Boz Scaggs and The Steve Miller Band.[1] Dudek was invited to play with Journey,[citation needed] but he had received an offer to record for Columbia Records as a solo artist. He recorded four solo albums for Columbia Records, Les Dudek, Say No More, Ghost Town Parade and Gypsy Ride.[1] He had two minor hits with "City Magic" and "Old Judge Jones" which were played frequently on local radio stations in the Los Angeles, California area, where he lived at the time, having moved to West Hollywood in the mid-1970s.[citation needed]

He later collaborated with Cher, Stevie Nicks, and with two other Columbia artists, Mike Finnigan and Jim Krueger, with whom he formed The Dudek Finnigan Krueger Band in 1978. A DFKB album was released by Columbia Records a year later.[1]

Between the years 1979 and 1982, Les and Cher had a personal as well as professional relationship[6][7]. Dudek wrote and performed some of the music for the 1984 movie Mask starring Cher, Sam Elliott, Eric Stoltz, and Laura Dern.[1] He had a small part in the film as "Boner", a biker.[8] Dudek also appeared in the TV movie, Streets of Justice (1985).[9] He has worked for NBC, ABC, ESPN, Fox Sports, and E! Entertainment Television. He can be heard on many television series including Friends.[citation needed]

In 1985, Dudek played guitar with Stevie Nicks on her album, Rock a Little, and undertook her subsequent tour.[1][10]

In 1989, he did a brief stint with Canadian rock group John Kay & Steppenwolf as their guitarist. But problems developed between Dudek and Kay which led to him leave the band after a month of touring.[citation needed]

Two more solo albums later, Deeper Shades Of Blues (1994) and Freestyle,[1] Dudek hit the road again with his own band, and has been performing songs from all his records, plus a few hits he has recorded with other artists.[citation needed]

In 2013, he released another solo album, Delta Breeze.[11]

Discography

Les Dudek
The Dudek, Finnigan, Krueger Band
  • The Dudek, Finnigan, Krueger Band (1980)[13]
Steve Miller Band
Stevie Nicks
Cher
Boz Scaggs
Maria Muldaur
  • Southern Winds (1978)[20]
Richard T. Bear
  • Red Hot & Blue (1978)
Mike Finnigan
  • Black & White (1978)[21]
The Allman Brothers Band
Bobby Whitlock
  • Rock Your Sox Off (1976)[23]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Greg Prato. "Les Dudek : Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  2. ^ "Les Dudek | Credits". AllMusic. 1952-08-02. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  3. ^ "Les Dudek". Lesdudek.com. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  4. ^ "Biography". Lesdudek.com. 1971-10-29. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  5. ^ Alan Paul (2015). One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. St. Martin's Griffin. p. N/K. ISBN 978-1250040503.
  6. ^ Berman, Connie (2001). Cher (Women of Achievement). Chelsea House Pub. pp. 45–47. ISBN 9780791059074.
  7. ^ "Cher's Many Men". On Yahoo!.
  8. ^ "Mask (1985) : Full Cast & Crew". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  9. ^ "Streets of Justice (1985 TV Movie) : Full Cast & Crew". Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  10. ^ a b "Rock a Little : Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  11. ^ "Delta Breeze - Les Dudek | User Reviews". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  12. ^ "Les Dudek | Album Discography". AllMusic. 1952-08-02. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  13. ^ "The Dudek, Finnigan, Krueger Band - The Dudek Finnigan Krueger Band | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  14. ^ "Fly Like an Eagle - Steve Miller,Steve Miller Band | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  15. ^ "Book of Dreams - Steve Miller Band | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  16. ^ "Living in the 20th Century - Steve Miller Band | Credits". AllMusic. 1987-12-15. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  17. ^ "Wide River - Steve Miller Band | Credits". AllMusic. 1993-06-08. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  18. ^ "Black Rose (8) - Black Rose (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  19. ^ "Silk Degrees - Boz Scaggs | Credits". AllMusic. 1976-08-15. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  20. ^ "Southern Winds - Maria Muldaur | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  21. ^ "Mike Finnigan - Black & White (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  22. ^ "Brothers and Sisters - The Allman Brothers Band | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
  23. ^ "Rock Your Sox Off - Bobby Whitlock | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
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