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Jeff Blue (born November 21, 1967) is a multi-platinum music producer, A&R executive, songwriter, and lawyer who is currently Artists and Repertoire consultant for Atlantic Records. He has worked as Sr. VP A&R/Staff Producer for Warner Bros. Records|Warner California, Interscope Records, Virgin/Capitol Music Group, Sony/BMG/Jive Records, and RCA/J Records. He has dedicated his entire career to discovering and recruiting unsigned artists and is most notably known for "discovering" and signing Linkin Park, Macy Gray, and The Last Goodnight. In addition to signing Limp Bizkit and Korn, he has written hit singles for artists such as Hoobastank, Syndicate, TLG and has produced numerous platinum movie soundtracks & major label albums resulting in more than 130 Million record sales worldwide.

Biography[link]

Blue graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. He was a Communications Major focusing on Media Law and after passing the Bar, Blue worked as a music journalist for Billboard, HITS and Entertainment Weekly, and eventually published his own magazine, Crossroads, which focused on discovering unsigned artists while he simultaneously managed, produced, and played drums in two signed major label bands while also working as an attorney for the law offices of Ross Schwartz. During this time he also pursued a career in acting which led to him featuring in many national television commercials.

Zomba Music Publishing was impressed by Blue’s versatility, and hired him. He cites that the combined experience from his professions gave him the insights and thoughts he needed to succeed in the Artists and Repertoire division. During his career with Zomba, Blue taught "Songwriting" and "Artist Development” classes at UCLA, Blue hired guitarist Brad Delson as his intern and signed his band, Xero to a publishing deal on the night of their first performance. After developing Xero for two years, and changing the band name to Hybrid Theory, Blue met Chester Bennington, a singer from Arizona. Blue arranged for Bennington to become a member of the band, which later changed its name to Linkin Park. Blue shopped the band for three years and showcased them forty-four times. Unable to get them a deal, Blue negotiated his employment contract with Warner Bros. Records to include the signing of Linkin Park. Months later, they released their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which has since sold over 60 million albums worldwide.

Blue also developed and co-wrote with an artist named Macy Gray. After recording Gray's demos, Blue secured a deal for the artist with Epic Records and which led to him co-writing the top ten hit "Still" for Gray. During this time Blue also signed rock bands Korn and Limp Bizkit. Blue's discoveries and signings have helped shape popular culture for the last 15 years.

Blue personally signed as a writer to Warner Chappell Music Publishing and in addition to signing [Linkin Park] he worked, signed and developed and wrote for releases such as Queen of the Damned Soundtrack, Beautiful Creatures', several compilations, and co-developed the artist Daniel Powter.

Blue co-produced the 2005 Better than Ezra album, "Before the Robots" which spawned two top ten singles. In 2008 he developed, co-wrote, and co-produced the debut album for Roadrunner artist, Steadlur.

Blue is currently signed as a songwriter to Universal Music Publishing where he co-wrote the 2009 hit single "So Close, So Far" for multi-Platinum artist Hoobastank. Blue won a BMI Award for his songwriting on "Pictures of You" for The Last Goodnight. He additionally produced, A&R'd, and performed on the Virgin Records album which also spawned Australia's #1 song of the year, and "Stay Beautiful"

In December 2009, Blue secured a deal for his development band Shoreline's End with Mercury/Island Def Jam.

Blue currently co-manages, co-A&R's, and co-writes for Omaha rock band Emphatic, who signed to Atlantic Records in December 2009. Emphatic finished recording their major-label debut in Los Angeles with Howard Benson which is set for release early 2011.

His company Rock Shop Music Group focuses on writing and producing for major artists as well as artist development and management. Rock Shop has already yielded three major label signings. Emphatic to Atlantic Records, Shorelines End to Island Def Jam, and Syndicate to Sony. In addition, Blue Developed writers Shawn Hlookoff (EMI), Jared Lee (Universal)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jeff Blue Music Official Website
• Jeff Blue @ IMDB.com
• Jeff Blue @ MSN Music
• Jeff Blue @ Artist Direct

Jeff Healey
Jeff Healey, August 31, 2002
Background information
Born	(1966-03-25)March 25, 1966 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died	March 2, 2008(2008-03-02) (aged 41) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Blues-rock, blues, jazz, rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, DJ, actor
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, trumpet
Years active	1983–2008
Labels	Arista, RCA, BMG, Eagle, Stony Plain, CBC, Arbor, Sony
Associated acts	The Jeff Healey Band, Blue Direction, The Jazz Wizards
Website	jeffhealey.com
Notable instruments
Squier JV Series Stratocaster

Norman Jeffrey "Jeff" Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a blind Canadian jazz and blues-rock vocalist and guitarist who attained musical and personal popularity, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s.

Early life[link]

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Healey was raised in the city's west end. He was adopted as an infant;^[1] his adoptive father was a firefighter. When he was one year old, Healey lost his sight to retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given artificial replacements.

Early career and success[link]

Healey began playing guitar when he was three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument flat on his lap. When he was 17, he formed the band Blue Direction, a four-piece band which primarily played bar-band cover tunes. Among the other musicians were bassist Jeremy Littler, drummer Graydon Chapman, and a schoolmate, Rob Quail on second guitar. This band played various local clubs in Toronto, including the Colonial Tavern.

Healey began hosting a jazz and blues show on radio station CIUT-FM where he became known for playing from his massive collection of vintage 78 rpm gramophone records.^[2]

Shortly thereafter he was introduced to two musicians, bassist Joe Rockman and drummer Tom Stephen, with whom he formed a trio, "The Jeff Healey Band". This band made their first public appearance at the Birds Nest, located upstairs at Chicago's Diner on Queen Street West in Toronto. They received a write-up in Toronto's NOW magazine, and soon were playing almost nightly in local clubs, such as Grossman's Tavern and the famed blues club Albert's Hall (where Jeff Healey was discovered by guitarists Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins).

After being signed to Arista Records in 1988, the band released the album See the Light, featuring the hit single "Angel Eyes" and the song "Hideaway", which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. While the band was recording See the Light, they were also filming (and recording for the soundtrack of) the Patrick Swayze film Road House.^[3] Healey had numerous acting scenes in the movie with Swayze, as his band was the house cover band for the bar featured in the movie. In 1990, the band won the Juno Award for Canadian Entertainer of the Year. The albums Hell to Pay and Feel This gave Healey 10 charting singles in Canada between 1990 and 1994, including a cover of The Beatles' While My Guitar Gently Weeps which featured George Harrison and Jeff Lynne on backing vocals and acoustic guitar.^[4]

Later work and life[link]

By the release of the 2000 album Get Me Some, Healey began to concentrate his talent in another direction closer to his heart, which was the appreciation for another original American music form, jazz.

He went on to release three CDs of music of traditional American jazz from the 1920s and 1930s. He had been sitting in with these types of bands around Toronto since the beginning of his music career. Though known primarily as a guitarist, Healey also played trumpet during live performances.

Healey was an avid record collector and amassed a collection of well over 30,000 78 rpm records. He had, from time to time, hosted a CBC Radio program entitled My Kind of Jazz, in which he played records from his vast vintage jazz collection. He hosted a program with a similar name on Toronto jazz station CJRT-FM; as of 2010, the latter program continues to air in repeats.

He had also been touring with his other group, The Jazz Wizards, playing American hot jazz. (At the time of his death, they had been planning to perform a series of shows in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands in April 2008.)

For many years, Healey toured throughout North America and Europe and performed at his club, "Healey's" on Bathurst Street in Toronto, where he played with his blues band on Thursday nights and also with his jazz group on Saturday afternoons. The club moved to a bigger location at 56 Blue Jays Way and was rechristened "Jeff Healey's Roadhouse." Though he had lent his name to the club and often played there, Jeff Healey did not own or manage the bar. (The name came from the 1989 film, Road House, in which Healey appeared.)

Over the years, Healey toured and sat in with many legendary performers, including Dire Straits, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, BB King, ZZ Top, Steve Lukather, Eric Clapton and many more. In 2006, Healey appeared on Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan's CD/DVD Gillan's Inn.

Healey discovered and helped develop the careers of other musical artists, including Terra Hazelton and Amanda Marshall.^[5]

In early 2009, Healey's album Mess of Blues won in The 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Blues Album.^[6]

Illness and death[link]

On January 11, 2007, Healey underwent surgery to remove metastatic tissue from both lungs. In the previous eighteen months, he had two sarcomas removed from his legs.^[7]

On March 2, 2008, Healey died of cancer^[8] at St. Joseph's Health Centre in his home town of Toronto.^[9] He was 41 years old. His death came a month before the release of Mess of Blues, which was his first rock/blues album in eight years.^[10]

Healey is survived by his wife, Cristie, and two children.^[11] A tribute concert was held on May 3, 2008, to benefit Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund, which, according to Cristie Healey, had helped make major strides in research and future advances for people born with the same genetically inherited retinoblastoma^[12] which led to her husband's blindness at eleven months of age. Cristie and Jeff Healey's son was also born with the same disability.^[13]

In 2009, Healey was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame.

Discography[link]

Jeff Healey Band[link]

• 1986: Adrianna/See the Light (Private Press)
• 1988: See the Light (Arista)^[14]
• 1989: Road House Soundtrack^[15]
• 1990: Hell to Pay (Arista)
• 1992: Feel This (Arista)
• 1995: Cover to Cover (Arista)^[16]
• 2000: Get Me Some (Universal Canada)
• 2005: The Jeff Healey Band Live at Montreux 1999 (Eagle)
• 2011: Live At Grossman's 1994 (Eagle Rock North/Convexe)

Jeff Healey solo[link]

• 2002: Among Friends^[17]
• 2003: Live at Healey's (Bolder)^[18]
• 2004: Adventures in Jazzland (Healeyophonic)^[17]
• 2006: It's Tight Like That (Stony Plain)^[19]
• 2008: Mess of Blues
• 2009: Songs From The Road (Stony Plain)
• 2010: Last Call (Stony Plain Records)

Compilations[link]

• 1998 The Very Best of Jeff Healey (RCA)^[20]
• 1998 The Very Best of Jeff Healey (MSI Music Distribution)^[21]
• 1999 Master Hits (Arista)
• 2004 The Platinum and Gold Collection (Arista)
• 2008 Super Hits (Sony)
• 2009 Legacy, Volume 1 (Arbor)^[22][23]

Compilation inclusions[link]

• 2002 While My Guitar Gently Weeps
• 2004 What's Love? A Tribute to Tina Turner (Versailles)^[24]
• 2006 Ruf Records Anthology: 12 Years of Where Blues Crosses Over (Ruf Records)^[25]
• 2006 Saturday Night Blues: 20 Years (CBC)^[26]

Film, DVD[link]

• 1989 Roadhouse
• 1999 Live At Montreux^[27]
• 2004 See The Light (BMG)^[28]
• 2009 Legacy, Volume 1 (Arbor)^[23]

See also[link]

• Canadian blues
• Canadian rock
• Music of Canada

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeff Healey

• Jeff Healey official website
• Jeff Healey biography at CanadianBands.com
• NY Times Obituary
• BBC News Item announcing Healey's death
• Obituary in The Times

Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck at the Palais, Melbourne, Australia 26 January 2009
Background information
Birth name	Geoffrey Arnold Beck
Also known as	A.N. Other
Born	(1944-06-24) 24 June 1944 (age 68) Wallington, Surrey England, United Kingdom
Genres	Blues rock, jazz fusion, instrumental rock, hard rock, electronica, progressive rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, actor
Instruments	Guitar, bass, backing vocals, contrabass
Years active	1964-present
Labels	EMI, Epic
Associated acts	The Yardbirds, The Jeff Beck Group, The Honeydrippers, Beck, Bogert & Appice, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Big Town Playboys, Upp, Eric Clapton, Suzi Quatro, Duff McKagan, Tal Wilkenfeld
Website	www.jeffbeck.com
Notable instruments
Fender Jeff Beck Signature Model Stratocaster Jeff Beck 1954 Les Paul Oxblood

Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds (Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page are the other two). Beck also formed The Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice.

Much of Beck's recorded output has been instrumental, with a focus on innovative sound and his releases have spanned genres ranging from blues-rock, heavy metal, jazz fusion and an additional blend of guitar-rock and electronica. Although he recorded two hit albums (in 1975 and 1976) as a solo act, Beck has not established or maintained the sustained commercial success of many of his contemporaries and bandmates.^[1][2] Beck appears on albums by Mick Jagger, Kate Bush, Roger Waters, Donovan, Stevie Wonder, Les Paul, Zucchero, Cyndi Lauper, Brian May and ZZ Top. In 1988, he made a cameo appearance in the movie Twins.

He was ranked 5th in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"^[3] and the magazine has described him as "one of the most influential lead guitarists in rock".^[4] MSNBC has called him a "guitarist's guitarist".^[1] Beck has earned wide critical praise and received the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance six times and Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance once. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of The Yardbirds (1992) and as a solo artist (2009).^[5]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Beck was born in 1944 to Arnold and Ethel Beck at 206 Demesne Road, Wallington, England. As a ten year old Beck sang in a church choir. As a teenager he learned to play a borrowed guitar and made several attempts to build his own instrument, first by gluing and bolting together cigar boxes for the body and an unsanded fence-post for the neck with model aircraft control-lines and frets simply painted on. When fabricating a neck for his next try he attempted to use measurements for a bass guitar.

Beck has cited Les Paul as the first electric guitar player who impressed him.^[6] Beck has said that he first heard an electric guitar when he was six years old and heard Paul playing "How High the Moon" on the radio. He asked his mother what it was and after she replied it was an electric guitar and was all tricks, he said, "That's for me".^[7] Cliff Gallup, lead guitarist with Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps was also an early musical influence, followed by B.B. King and Steve Cropper.^[8]

Upon leaving school he attended Wimbledon College of Art, after which he was briefly employed as a painter and decorator, a groundsman on a golf course and a car paint-sprayer. Beck's sister Annetta introduced him to Jimmy Page when both were teenagers.

Early career[link]

Beck began his career in the 1960s. He joined The Rumbles, a Croydon band, in 1963 for a short period as lead guitarist, playing Gene Vincent and Buddy Holly songs, displaying a talent for mimicking guitar styles. His first appearance on vinyl was as a session guitarist on a 1964 Parlophone single by The Fitz and Startz entitled "I'm Not Running Away", with B-side "So Sweet".

In March 1965, Beck was recruited by The Yardbirds to replace Eric Clapton on the recommendation of fellow session man Jimmy Page, who had been their initial choice.^[9] The Yardbirds recorded most of their Top 40 hit songs during Beck's short but significant 20-month tenure with the band allowing him only one full album which became known as Roger the Engineer (titled Over Under Sideways Down in the U.S.), released in 1966. Beck was actually pictured on the cover of For Your Love which was released by the Yardbirds' American label in June 1965, however Clapton played guitar on most of the songs. From September to November 1966, Beck shared lead guitar duties with Page in the Yardbirds, who initially joined as bass player^[9] in June of that year. A clip of this iteration of the band can be seen in the 1966 British film Blow Up.

Beck with the Jeff Beck Group, 1968

Beck was fired in the middle of a US tour for being a consistent no-show -- as well as difficulties caused by his perfectionism and explosive temper.^[10] After leaving the Yardbirds, Beck recorded the one-off "Beck's Bolero" (with Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, Nicky Hopkins and Keith Moon) and two solo hit singles in the UK, "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and "Tallyman". He then formed The Jeff Beck Group, which featured Rod Stewart on vocals, Ronnie Wood on bass, Nicky Hopkins on piano and, after a series of drummers, eventually Micky Waller in early 1967.

The group produced two albums for Columbia Records (Epic in the US): Truth (August 1968) and Beck-Ola (July 1969). Truth, released five months before the first Led Zeppelin album, features "You Shook Me", a song written and first recorded by Willie Dixon that was also covered on the Led Zeppelin debut. It sold well (reaching number 15 on the Billboard charts). Beck-Ola saw drummer Micky Waller replaced by Tony Newman, and, while well-received, was less successful both commercially and critically. Resentment, coupled with touring incidents, led the group to dissolve in July 1969.

Nick Mason recalls in his autobiography that during 1967 Pink Floyd had wanted to recruit Beck to be their guitarist after the departure of Syd Barrett^[11] but "None of us had the nerve to ask him".^[12] In 1969, following the death of Brian Jones, Beck was approached about joining the Rolling Stones.^[10]

After the break-up of his group, Beck took part in the Music from Free Creek "super session" project, billed as "A.N. Other" and contributed lead guitar on four songs, including one co-written by him. Next he teamed with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, the rhythm section of Vanilla Fudge, in September 1969, when Bogert and Appice came to England to resolve contractual issues, but when Beck fractured his skull in a car accident near Maidstone in December the plan was postponed for two-and-a-half years, during which time Bogert and Appice formed Cactus. Beck later remarked on the 1960s period of his life: "Everyone thinks of the 1960s as something they really weren't. It was the frustration period of my life. The electronic equipment just wasn't up to the sounds I had in my head."^[13]

In 1970, when Beck had regained his health, he set about forming a band with drummer Cozy Powell. Beck, Powell and producer Mickie Most flew to the US and recorded several tracks at Motown's famed Studio A in Hitsville U.S.A. with The Funk Brothers, Motown's in-house band, but the results remained unreleased. By April 1971 Beck had completed the line-up of this new group with guitarist/vocalist Bobby Tench, keyboard player Max Middleton and bassist Clive Chaman. The new band performed as the "Jeff Beck Group" but had a substantially different sound from the first line-up. Rough and Ready (October 1971), the first album they recorded, on which Beck wrote or co-wrote six of the album's seven tracks (the exception being written by Middleton), included elements of soul, rhythm-and-blues and jazz, foreshadowing the direction Beck's music would take later in the decade.

Beck playing in 1973

A second album Jeff Beck Group (July 1972) was recorded at TMI studios in Memphis, Tennessee with the same personnel.^[14] Beck employed Steve Cropper as producer^[15] and the album displayed a strong soul influence, five of the nine tracks being covers of songs by American artists. One, "I Got To Have A Song", was the first of four Stevie Wonder compositions covered by Beck. Shortly after the release of the Jeff Beck Group album the band was dissolved and Beck's management put out the statement that: "The fusion of the musical styles of the various members has been successful within the terms of individual musicians, but they didn't feel it had led to the creation of a new musical style with the strength they had originally sought."^[16]

Beck then started collaborating with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice, who became available following the demise of Cactus but continued touring as Jeff Beck Group in August 1972, to fulfil contractual obligations with his promoter, with a line-up including Bogert, Appice, Max Middleton and vocalist Kim Milford. After six appearances Milford was replaced by Bobby Tench, who was flown in from the UK^[17] for the Arie Crown Theatre Chicago performance and the rest of the tour,^[18] which concluded at the Paramount North West Theatre, Seattle.^[19] After the tour Tench and Middleton left the band and the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice appeared: Appice took on the role of vocalist with Bogert and Beck contributing occasionally.^[19] They were included on the bill for Rock at The Oval in September 1972, still as the "Jeff Beck Group", which marked the start of a tour schedule of UK, the Netherlands and Germany. Another US tour began in October 1972, starting at the Hollywood Sportatorium Florida and concluding on 11 November 1972 at The Warehouse, New Orleans.^[20] In April 1973 the album Beck, Bogert & Appice was released (on Epic Records). While critics acknowledged the band's instrumental prowess the album was not commercially well received except for its cover of Stevie Wonder's hit "Superstition".

On 3 July 1973 Beck joined David Bowie on-stage to perform "The Jean Genie"/"Love Me Do" and "Around and Around". The show was recorded and filmed but none of the released editions included Beck. During October 1973 Beck recorded tracks for Michael Fennelly's^[21] album Lane Changer and attended sessions with Hummingbird, a band derived from The Jeff Beck Group, but did not to contribute to their eponymous first album.^[22]

Early in January 1974 the band played at the Rainbow Theatre, as part of a European tour. The concert was broadcast in full on the US show Rock Around the World in September of the same year. This last recorded work by the band previewed material intended for a second studio album, included on the bootleg At Last Rainbow. The tracks Blues Deluxe and BBA Boogie from this concert were later included on the Jeff Beck compilation Beckology (1991).^[23] Beck, Bogert & Appice dissolved in April 1974 before their second studio album (produced by Jimmy Miller) was finished. Their live album Beck, Bogert & Appice Live in Japan, recorded during their 1973 tour of Japan, was not released until February 1975 by Epic/Sony.

After a few months Beck entered Underhill Studio and met with the group Upp, whom he recruited as backing band for his appearance on the BBC TV programme Guitar Workshop in August 1974. Beck produced and played on their self-titled debut album and their second album This Way Upp, though his contributions to the second album went uncredited. In October Beck began to record instrumentals at AIR Studios with Max Middleton, bassist Phil Chen and drummer Richard Bailey, using George Martin as producer and arranger. Blow by Blow (March 1975) evolved from these sessions and showcased Beck's technical prowess in jazz-rock. The album reached number four in the charts and is Beck's most commercially-successful release. Beck, fastidious about overdubs and often dissatisfied with his solos, often returned to AIR Studios until he was satisfied. A couple of months after the sessions had finished Martin received a telephone call from Beck, who wanted to record a solo section again. Bemused, Martin replied: "I'm sorry, Jeff, but the record is in the shops!"^[6]

Beck performing in Amsterdam; 1979

Beck put together a live band for a US tour, preceded by a small and unannounced gig at The Newlands Tavern in Peckham, London. He toured through April and May 1975, mostly supporting the Mahavishnu Orchestra, retaining Max Middleton on keyboards but with a new rhythm section of bassist Wilbur Bascomb and noted session drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. In a May 1975 show in Cleveland, Ohio (Music Hall), he became frustrated with an early version of a talk box he used on his arrangement of The Beatles' "She's a Woman," and after breaking a string, tossed his legendary Yardbirds-era Stratocaster off the stage. He did the same with the talk box and finished the show playing a Les Paul and without the box. During this tour he performed at Yuya Uchida's "World Rock Festival," playing a total of eight songs with Purdie. In addition he performed a guitar and drum instrumental with Johnny Yoshinaga and, at the end of the festival, joined in a live jam with bassist Felix Pappalardi of Mountain and vocalist Akira "Joe" Yamanaka from the Flower Travellin' Band. Only his set with Purdie was recorded and released.

He returned to the studio and recorded Wired (1976), which paired drummer and composer Narada Michael Walden and keyboardist Jan Hammer. The album used a jazz-rock fusion style which sounded similar to the work of his two collaborators. To promote the album, Beck joined forces with the Jan Hammer Group, playing a show supporting Alvin Lee at The Roundhouse in May 1976, before embarking on a seven-month long world tour. This resulted in the live album Jeff Beck with the Jan Hammer Group Live (1977).

At this point, Beck was a tax exile and took up residency in the US, remaining there until his return to the UK in the autumn of 1977. In the spring of 1978, he began rehearsing with bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Gerry Brown towards a projected appearance at the Knebworth Festival, but this was cancelled after Brown dropped out. Beck toured Japan for three weeks in November 1978 with an ad-hoc group consisting of Clarke and newcomers Tony Hymas (keyboards) and Simon Phillips (drums) from Jack Bruce's band. Work then began on a new studio album at The Who's Ramport Studios in London and continued sporadically throughout 1979, resulting in There and Back in June 1980. It featured three tracks composed and recorded with Jan Hammer, while five were written with Hymas. Stanley Clarke was replaced by Mo Foster on bass, both on the album and the subsequent tours. Its release was followed by extensive touring in the USA, Japan and the UK.

1980s[link]

In 1981 Beck made a series of historic live appearances with his Yardbirds predecessor Eric Clapton at the Amnesty International-sponsored benefit concerts dubbed The Secret Policeman's Other Ball shows. He appeared with Clapton on "Crossroads", "Further On Up The Road", and his own arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Cause We've Ended As Lovers". Beck also featured prominently in an all-star band finale performance of "I Shall Be Released" with Clapton, Sting, Phil Collins, Donovan and Bob Geldof. Beck's contributions were seen and heard in the resulting album and film, both of which achieved worldwide success in 1982. Another benefit show, the ARMS Concert for Multiple Sclerosis featured a jam with Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. They performed "Tulsa Time" and "Layla". This is the only time all of the Yardbirds lead guitarists appeared on stage together.^{[citation needed]}

In 1985 Beck released Flash, featurng a variety of vocalists, but most notably former bandmate Rod Stewart on a rendition of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready".

After a four year break, Jeff made a return to instrumental music with the album Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop (1989), the first album to feature Beck as a fingerstyle guitarist, leaving the plectrum playing style. It was only his 3rd album to be released in the 1980s. Much of Beck's sparse and sporadic recording schedule was due in part to a long battle with noise-induced tinnitus.

1990s[link]

Jeff Beck at the Enmore Theatre, Sydney

In the 1990s, Beck had a higher musical output. He is featured on lead guitar on Roger Waters' 1992 concept album Amused to Death, and on Kate Bush's 1993 album The Red Shoes.

He recorded the instrumental soundtrack album Frankie's House (1992), as well as Crazy Legs (1993), a tribute album to 50's rockabilly group Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps and their influential guitarist Cliff Gallup.

Beck rehearsed with Guns N' Roses for their concert in Paris in 1992, but did not play in the actual concert due to ear damage caused by a Matt Sorum cymbal crash, causing Beck to become temporarily deaf.^[24] The Yardbirds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. In Beck's acceptance speech he humorously noted that:

He accompanied Paul Rodgers of Bad Company on the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters in 1993. Jeff's next release would not be until 1999, his first foray into guitar based electronica, Who Else! The album also marked Beck's first collaboration with a female musician, Jennifer Batten, in touring, writing, and recording as well as the first time he had worked with another guitarist on his own material since playing in The Yardbirds. Beck continued to work with Batten through the post-release tour of You Had It Coming in 2001.^[26]

2000s[link]

Jeff Beck won his third Grammy Award, this one for 'Best Rock Instrumental Performance' for the track "Dirty Mind" from You Had It Coming (2001).

The song "Plan B," from the 2003 release Jeff, earned Beck his fourth Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and was proof that the new electro-guitar style he used for the two earlier albums would continue to dominate. Jeff Beck was the opening act for B.B. King in the summer of 2003 and appeared at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2004.

Beck with Tal Wilkenfeld on the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival tour

In 2007, he accompanied Kelly Clarkson for her cover of Patty Griffin's "Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)", during the Idol Gives Back episode of American Idol. The performance was recorded live and afterwards was immediately released for sale. In the same year, he appeared once again at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival, performing with Vinnie Colaiuta, Jason Rebello, and the then 21-year-old bassist Tal Wilkenfeld.

Beck announced a world tour in early 2009 and remained faithful to the same lineup of musicians as in his tour two years before, playing and recording at Ronnie Scott's in London to a sold out audience. Beck played on the song "Black Cloud" on the 2009 Morrissey album Years of Refusal and later that year, Harvey Goldsmith became Beck's Manager.^[27]

Beck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 4 April 2009, as a solo artist.^[28] The award was presented by Jimmy Page.^[29] On 4 July 2009, David Gilmour joined Beck onstage at the Albert Hall. Beck and Gilmour traded solos on "Jerusalem" and closed the show with "Hi Ho Silver Lining".

2010s[link]

Beck's latest album, Emotion & Commotion, was released in April 2010. It features a mixture of original songs and covers such as "Over the Rainbow" and "Nessun Dorma". Joss Stone provides some of the guest vocals.^[30] Two tracks from Emotion & Commotion won Grammys in 2011: "Nessun Dorma" won the Best Pop Instrumental Performance and "Hammerhead" won the Best Rock Instrumental Performance".^[31] Beck collaborated on "Imagine" for the 2010 Herbie Hancock album, The Imagine Project along with Seal, P!nk, India.Arie, Konono N°1, Oumou Sangare and others and received a third Grammy in 2011 for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for this track.^[32][33]

Beck's 2010 World Tour band featured Grammy winning musician Narada Michael Walden on drums, Rhonda Smith on bass and Jason Rebello on keyboards. He has also released a live album titled Live and Exclusive from the Grammy Museum on October 25, 2010.

In 2011, Beck received two honorary degrees from British universities. On 18 July 2011, he was honoured with a fellowship from University of the Arts London in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to the field of Music".^[34] He was also presented with an honorary doctorate from University of Sussex by Sanjeev Bhaskar, the university's chancellor for “an outstanding musical career and celebrated the relationship between the university and the Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM)" on 21 July 2011.^[35][36]

Influences[link]

One of the most influential guitarists in the history of rock music,^[4][37][38] Jeff Beck has cited his major influences as Les Paul,^[6] The Shadows, Cliff Gallup, Ravi Shankar, Roy Buchanan,^[39] Chet Atkins, Django Reinhardt, Steve Cropper and Lonnie Mack.^[40] Of John McLaughlin, he said: "he has given us so many different facets of the guitar and introduced thousands of us to world music, by blending Indian music with jazz and classical. I'd say he was the best guitarist alive."^[41]

While Beck was not the first rock guitarist to experiment with electronic distortion, he nonetheless helped to redefine the sound and role of the electric guitar in rock music. Beck's work with The Yardbirds and The Jeff Beck Group's 1968 album Truth were seminal influences on heavy metal music, which emerged in full force in the early 1970s.^[42]

Technique and equipment[link]

Beck stopped regular use of a pick (plectrum) in the 1980s. He produces a wide variety of sounds by using his fingers and the vibrato bar on his signature Fender Stratocaster, and he frequently uses a wah-wah pedal both live and in the studio. As Eric Clapton once said, "With Jeff, it’s all in his hands".^[43] Along with Fender Stratocasters, Beck occasionally plays Fender Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul models as well. His amplifiers are primarily Fender and Marshall. In his earlier days with the Yardbirds, Beck also used a 1954 Fender Esquire guitar (now owned by Seymour W. Duncan, and housed in the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame^[44]) through Vox AC30s. He has also played through a variety of fuzz pedals and echo-units along with this set-up and has used the Pro Co RAT distortion pedal. The Seymour Duncan JB model's name is an acronym for both Jazz & Blues and Jeff Beck, as it was designed in conjunction with the guitarist.

During the ARMS Charity Concerts in 1983 Beck used his battered Fender Esquire along with a 1954 Fender Stratocaster and a Jackson Soloist. On the Crazy Legs (1993) he played a Gretsch Duo Jet, his signature Fender Stratocaster and various other guitars. Recently^[when?] Fender created a Custom Shop Tribute series version of his beat-up Fender Esquire as well as his Artist Signature series Stratocaster.

Personal life[link]

Beck has been married to Sandra Cash since 2005.^[45] Beck describes himself as a vegetarian. He has an interest in classic Ford hot rods, performing much of the work on the exteriors and engines of the cars by himself.^[46]

Discography[link]

See also[link]

• List of rock instrumentals

Bibliography[link]

• Carson, Annette. Jeff Beck: Crazy Fingers. Backbeat books (2002). ISBN 0-87930-632-7
• Horjt, Chris and Hinman, Doug. Jeff's book : A chronology of Jeff Beck's career 1965-1980 : from the Yardbirds to Jazz-Rock. Rock 'n' Roll Research Press, (2000). ISBN 0-9641005-3-3
• Foster, Mo.17 watts?: The Birth of British Rock Guitar. Sanctuary (1997 and 2000). ISBN 978-1-86074-267-5

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeff Beck

• Official website
• Press conference and master class by Jeff Beck in Moscow 2010
• Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame: Jeff Beck FuseTV
• Jeff Beck at Epic Records
• Jeff Beck 1954 Les Paul Oxblood
• Jeff Beck unofficial website

Tal Wilkenfeld
Tal Wilkenfeld performing in November 2008
Background information
Birth name	Tal Wilkenfeld
Born	(1986-12-02) 2 December 1986 (age 25) Sydney, Australia
Genres	Jazz, jazz fusion, blues-rock, rock
Occupations	Musician, composer, bandleader
Instruments	Bass, guitar, vocals
Years active	2002-present
Associated acts	Jeff Beck, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jason Rebello, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Wayne Krantz, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Keith Carlock
Website	www.talwilkenfeld.com
Notable instruments
Sadowsky Bass Guitar

Tal Wilkenfeld (born 2 December 1986 in Sydney, Australia) is a bass guitarist who has gained worldwide attention performing alongside some of rock and jazz music's most notable artists. In addition to her work as a supporting musician, she has assumed the role of bandleader of her own eponymous bands, whose musicians have included Wayne Krantz, Keith Carlock, John Beasley and Jeff "Tain" Watts. In 2008, Wilkenfeld was voted "The Year's Most Exciting New Player" in a Bass Player magazine readers' choice poll.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Wilkenfeld began playing guitar when she was fourteen years old. Two years later she dropped out of high school, saying that "it just wasn't going to work for me",^[1] and emigrated to the United States where she studied electric guitar. Within a year she had switched to electric bass.^[2] Wilkenfeld graduated from Los Angeles Music Academy College of Music in 2004. After a few months she accepted an endorsement from Sadowsky Guitars; devoting herself to forming a band and composing songs of her own. At 18 she moved to New York City and began making a name for herself in New York's jazz clubs.

Professional career[link]

In 2006 Wilkenfeld performed as a guest with The Allman Brothers Band and recorded her entire debut album, Transformation in just two days when she was 20 years old.^[3] Wilkenfeld composed, produced, arranged and played bass on seven intricate tunes with Wayne Krantz, Geoffrey Keezer, saxophonist Seamus Blake and Keith Carlock.

Aware that Chick Corea was seeking a bassist for an upcoming tour, Wilkenfeld sent him demos of Transformation. She was elated to be selected to accompany him on his Australian tour^[1] in early 2007, along with Frank Gambale and Antonio Sanchez. A few months later she joined Jeff Beck, Vinnie Colaiuta and Jason Rebello for Jeff Beck's summer European tour. After returning from Europe the group completed their tour at Eric Clapton's 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Chicago, Illinois, performing to a sell-out crowd of approximately 40,000 people. By November 2007 Wilkenfeld had rejoined Jeff Beck and the other band members for a week-long residency at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London. Jeff Beck selected the famous venue to record a new DVD and CD, with a few guests, including Clapton, Joss Stone and Imogen Heap. It was recorded, filmed, and was released as Live at Ronnie Scott's. On the same trip, Wilkenfeld joined Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, singer Corinne Bailey Rae and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta on a session filmed for the A&E series, Live from Abbey Road. Wilkenfeld wrapped up 2007 with two standing-room-only Greenwich Village gigs with Krantz.

In 2008 Wilkenfeld accompanied Krantz on gigs in Los Angeles before embarking on a tour of Australia with Krantz and Carlock in the fall - a reunion of the core band that appeared on Transformation. At the conclusion of the tour, Krantz and Carlock, along with John Beasley backed Wilkenfeld during her headlining set for Bass Player LIVE! 2008, in Los Angeles. In July she accompanied Jeff Beck in a tribute to George Martin concert in Los Angeles. She appeared at Warren Haynes's 20th Annual Christmas Jam, reuniting with The Allman Brothers Band and guesting with Gov't Mule, Ivan Neville and Robben Ford.

Wilkenfeld touring with Jeff Beck during his Jazz à Juan tour 15 July 2009

At the start of 2009, Wilkenfeld toured Australia and Japan with Jeff Beck, who commented in an interview; "It's interesting to have some amazing players in my band like Tal, who is about, you know half, a quarter of the age of either Vinnie or me. She's a genius. She will pick up mistakes that we, even Vinnie and I miss. So she's a great anchor as well." ^[4] Weeks later they went on to tour in the United States, beginning at Jeff Beck's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where they played "Beck's Bolero" and were joined by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page on "Immigrant Song". Beck recalled; "When I was inducted we were going to have Jimmy Page come on and play '(Beck's) Bolero'. But I didn't think it would be right for him to be playing rhythm guitar all the way through that one number. Then the phone rang and it was Tal Wilkenfeld, my then bass player. She was on the way down in the elevator and told me we should play "Immigrant Song". We were going on in ten minutes and had no time to rehearse. She said 'Oh, when you stop in the middle of 'Bolero', when the rhythm changes, we'll kick in to "Immigrant Song"'. "That's what I like - right on the hoof. Nobody knew, the lighting and sound guys didn't know, the organizers didn't know. I just grabbed the microphone and shouted, 'Jimmy Paaaage' and went straight into the song. I loved that. That's what you call dangerous, that's living on your reflexes." ^[5] The DVD including this performance, Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame: Legends was released in 2010.  In the few weeks' break between touring Japan and America, Wilkenfeld appeared with The Roots on the Jimmy Fallon show, and then embarked on Beck's summer tour through Europe, Canada and the UK. During the UK run David Gilmour sat in with the group during a special performance at the Royal Albert Hall.

In October Wilkenfeld reunited with Beck at Madison Square Garden for the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame's 25th Anniversary two-night concert. The set included guests Buddy Guy on "Let Me Love You Baby", Sting singing "People Get Ready" and Billy Gibbons on "Foxy Lady". The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Concerts DVD, featuring these performances along with "Big Block", "A Day in the Life" and "Freeway Jam", was released in 2010. In addition Wilkenfeld was featured on four tracks on Beck's new album Emotion & Commotion, leading Bass Player magazine to write; "Wilkenfeld powers four tracks with present, prescient parts; this includes "Serene," with her ear-grabbing fills and brief but bright solo."

After three years with Beck, Wilkenfeld returned to composing and recording as a solo artist. While working in Los Angeles she was asked to contribute to Herbie Hancock's The Imagine Project on "A Change is Gonna Come" and "Don't Give Up", to Macy Gray's The Sellout on "That Man" and to Lee Ritenour's Six String Theory on "68", "In your Dreams", "Give Me One Reason" and Guthrie Govan's song "Fives", which features a solo by Wilkenfeld. On 23 May 2010 she appeared in The Baked Potato's 40th anniversary show at the Ford Amphitheater with Steve Lukather's band and in June and July accompanied Herbie Hancock on dates across the U.S., Canada and Europe to promote the new release on which she had played. This short tour included a special show at Carnegie Hall to celebrate Hancock's 70th birthday.  Wilkenfeld has also performed with Hiram Bullock, Susan Tedeschi, Rod Stewart, John Mayer, and Prince.

Tal Wilkenfeld and Jeff Beck (left)
The 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival

The Tal Wilkenfeld Trio November 2008
L to R: Krantz, Carlock, Wilkenfeld

Equipment[link]

Wilkenfeld endorses Sadowsky Bass Guitars and strings^[6] as well as EBS Professional Bass Equipment amplifiers, cabinets, and pedals.^[7]

Discography[link]

• 2007 Transformation; Wilkenfeld's first solo effort on CD
• 2007 "Crossroads: Eric Clapton Guitar Festival 2007"; Tal's performance with Jeff Beck on "Cause We've Ended as Lovers" and "Big Block".
• 2008 Live at Ronnie Scott's Jeff Beck CD
• 2009 Live at Ronnie Scott's Jeff Beck DVD
• 2010 Emotion & Commotion Jeff Beck CD
• 2010 The Imagine Project Herbie Hancock CD
• 2010 The Sellout Macy Gray CD; Wilkenfeld performs on the track "That Man"
• 2010 Six String Theory Lee Ritenour CD; Wilkenfeld performs on "68" with Steve Lukather, Neal Schon, and Slash; "In your Dreams" With Steve Lukather and Lee Ritenour; "Give Me One Reason" with Joe Bonamassa and Robert Cray; and "Fives" with Guthrie Govan which features a solo by Wilkenfeld.
• 2010 "The 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts" DVD Featuring Wilkenfeld with Jeff Beck, Sting, Buddy Guy, and Billy Gibbons.
• 2010 "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum LIVE LEGENDS" DVD; featuring Wilkenfeld with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page.
• 2012 Jacaranda Trevor Rabin CD

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tal Wilkenfeld

• Official website
• Tal Wilkenfeld on Myspace
• Tal Wilkenfeld on Facebook
• Review of Tal Wilkenfeld's Transformation, from "All About Jazz"
• Review of Tal Wilkenfeld's Transformation, from Bass Player magazine
• Review of Tal Wilkenfeld concert from The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 May 2007
• Serendipity website featuring Tal's music and links

Jeff Dunham
Dunham and his character "Achmed the Dead Terrorist", February 2009
Birth name	Jeffrey Dunham
Born	(1962-04-18) April 18, 1962 (age 50) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up
Nationality	American
Genres	Ventriloquism, observational comedy, black comedy
Influences	Edgar Bergen[1]
Spouse	Paige Dunham (1994-2008)
Notable works and roles	Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special The Jeff Dunham Show Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos
Website	jeffdunham.com

Jeff Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has four specials that run on Comedy Central: Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, and Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009.^[1] His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder".^[2] Describing his characters, Time observes, "All of them are politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered."^[3] Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism,^[4] and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.^[1]

Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate.com, and according to the concert industry publication Pollstar, he is the top-grossing standup act in North America, and is among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales,^[5] and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube as of October 2009 (his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time).^[1] A Very Special Christmas Special was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with its DVD going quadruple platinum (selling over 400,000) in its first two weeks.^[6] Forbes.com ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock,^[5] and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period.^[7]

Early life[link]

Dunham was born in Dallas, Texas on April 18, 1962.^[8][9][10] When he was three months old he was adopted by real estate appraiser Howard Dunham, and his homemaker wife Joyce, who raised him in a devoutly Presbyterian household^[10] in an affluent Dallas neighborhood as an only child.^[11] He began ventriloquism in 1970 at age eight, when his parents gave him a Mortimer Snerd dummy for Christmas, and an accompanying how-to album.^[9] The next day he checked out a how-to book on ventriloquism from the library,^[1][10] and explained in 2011 that he still had it, remarking that he was "a thief in the third grade". By the fourth grade, Dunham decided he not only wanted to be a professional ventriloquist, but the best one ever.^[10] Dunham began practicing for hours in front of a mirror, studying the routines of Edgar Bergen, and the how-to record Jimmy Nelson's Instant Ventriloquism,^[1] finding ventriloquism to be a learned skill, similar to juggling, that anyone with a normal speaking voice can acquire.^[12] Dunham explains that as an only child, he enjoyed being alone, likening his solitude to a "warm blanket" with which he could explore his own thoughts and ideas, which prepared him for the solitude of living alone when he later moved to Los Angeles as a struggling comedian.^[10]

When Dunham was in the sixth grade, he began attending the Vent Haven ConVENTion in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, an annual international meeting of ventriloquists that includes competitions, where he met Jimmy Nelson in person. Dunham has missed only one ConVENTion since then, in 1977. The organizers of the ConVENTion eventually declared Dunham a "retired champion", ineligible from entering any more competitions, as other attendees were too intimidated to compete against him. The Vent Haven Museum devotes a section to Dunham, alongside Señor Wences and his idol, Edgar Bergen.^[1]

Career[link]

Career beginnings and move to Los Angeles[link]

Dunham began performing for audiences as a teenager,^[9] in various venues such as school, church, and during his job at Six Flags. By his middle school years, he began to perform for banquets attended by local celebrities such as Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, having developed his style of lampooning those he performed for, using the puppets to say things too risque for him to say without them.^[1] Dunham's television debut came in 1976 when the still prepubescent performer caught the attention of Dallas reporters like Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Dunham for a local news story.^[10] Dunham later did commercials for Datsun dealerships in Dallas and Tyler while in high school.^[1][10] While emceeing a high school talent show, he dealt with a heckler, and won over the rest of the audience.^[10] During this period he became so associated with his craft that he and one of his dummies "cowrote" a column in the school paper, and he would pose with his dummies for yearbooks^[1] as an inexpensive way to acquire professional photos of his act for promotional purposes.^[13] He was voted Most Likely to Succeed, and in 1980, after he graduated from high school, Dunham gave himself a career goal of obtaining, within ten years, an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which was seen as the "holy grail" for comedians.^[10]

That year Dunham began attending Baylor University, hoping to graduate with a degree in communications, while performing around campus.^[10] He would also fly around the country on weekends,^[1] doing up to 100 private shows a year,^[10] entertaining corporate customers such as General Electric, whose CEO, Jack Welch, he mocked during his routine.^[1] By his junior year in college (1983–1984), Dunham was making $70,000 a year, and as word spread of his act, he landed featured spots opening for Bob Hope and George Burns, though he still perceived his act as raw, as he did not have any knowledge of standup comedy beyond his Bill Cosby albums.^[10] He caught a break in 1985 when he was asked to join the Broadway show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller, replacing the outgoing variety act. For the naive and devoutly-raised Dunham, Broadway was a new world filled with beautiful showgirls and crusty stagehands, and his first taste of entertainment industry egos came when Rooney called Dunham into his dressing room, and told him he was there for one reason alone: so that Rooney could change his costumes.^[10] Dunham also performed at the Westbury Music Fair on Long Island. These early experiences, in which he used characters like José Jalapeño on a Stick, taught him the value of modifying his act regionally, as the jalapeño jokes that worked well in Texas were not as well received by audiences in Long Island.^[2]

After graduating from Baylor University in 1986,^[12] he continued honing his act in comedy clubs in the Southwest with new characters such as Peanut and Jose Jalapeño, but struggled against the perception he relates from fellow comedians that he was not a true a comedian because he relied on props. His experience at Catch a Rising Star in New York City served as a bitter confirmation of where ventriloquists stood in the comedic food chain, as the emcee at that club gave Dunham little respect. According to Dunham, after he arrived at the club in the evening and informed the emcee that he was a ventriloquist, the emcee reacted with derision, telling Dunham that he would be given a late time slot, and after that time slot came and passed, kept postponing Dunham's stage time until Dunham left the club.^[10] By the end of 1988, Dunham felt his career went as far as it could go in Texas, and he moved to Los Angeles, California,^[9][10] never having, as he has commented, "a real job",^[2][14] much to the concern of his parents, who assumed he would relegate his act to local venues such as church groups. When he first arrived in Los Angeles, the comedy in his act bombed. Dunham attributes to his underdeveloped comedy, explaining that while the characters' personalities were developed at that point, his jokes were not. In addition to this, the comedy world was not welcoming to ventriloquists, and his manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, did not use the word "ventriloquist" when finding bookings for him, choosing to present him as a comedy duo. After Dunham became friends with Mike Lacey, the owner of The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, Lacey gave Dunham a steady slot at the club, where Dunham sharpened his act by observing the techniques of comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, and taking the advice of colleague Bill Engvall, moving away from his G-Rated material toward edgier, more adult themes.^[10]

[edit] The Tonight Show and beyond

At the end of 1988, Dunham was told by James McCawley, a talent booker for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, that Dunham would be given a spot on the coveted program. Though the 26-year-old Dunham was elated that his 10-year goal was arriving two years early, McCawley later cancelled Dunham's appearance after attending, with Roseanne Barr, a public performance of Dunham's the day before Dunham's scheduled Tonight Show taping. McCawley informed Dunham on the day of the scheduled taping that he had been wrong in his initial assessment of Dunham, whom he now said was not ready for The Tonight Show. His dreams dashed, the humiliated Dunham continued to tighten his act in Los Angeles clubs, performing same six minute segment with Peanut a total of nine times for McCawley over the next few months. Finally at the Ice-House in Pasadena in April 1990, after Dunham did the same segment, McCawley informed Dunham that he would finally get his Tonight Show appearance. Dunham and Peanut appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on April 6, 1990, alongside guests Bob Hope and B.B. King.^[10] Following his bit, he was invited to sit on Johnny Carson’s couch, a mark of approval that only three comedians had ever garnered during their first Carson appearance.^[2][10] Upon sitting down next to Carson's desk, Dunham pulled out Walter, who told Carson sidekick Ed McMahon, "Stop sending me all your damn mail." At the time, Dunham saw his Tonight Show appearance as his big break, but was frustrated at his parents' initial disapproval over Walter's use of the words "hell" and "damn",^[10] and he would toil in obscurity for another twelve years, continuing his stand up at venues such as The Improv chain, and appearing in small roles on TV.^[5] One of these was such as a 1996 episode of Ellen, in which he appeared with Walter.^[1] Dunham also appeared with Walter in a TV commercial for Hertz.^[15] Dunham would appear on The Tonight Show a total of four times, as well as similar TV venues such as Hot Country Nights, appearing in one segment on that show with singer Reba McEntire. This exposure helped make Dunham a large theater headliner, a rare accomplishment for a ventriloquist, but by the mid 1990s, his television appearances had dwindled, and with them, so did his stage audiences.^[10]

Dunham moved back to clubs, more than 200 appearances a year. To maintain a connection with his fan base, he would use question cards that he had audiences fill out for his performances to build a database, which was tailor-made for the burgeoning World Wide Web. Though he was voted Funniest Male Standup at the American Comedy Awards in 1998, his club work kept him away from his wife and daughters between two and three weeks each month, which put a strain on his marriage, and made paying bills for his expanded family difficult. By 2002, Dunham was hoping to obtain more TV work to raise his profile and ease his standup schedule. Such exposure was elusive until a successful appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, where Dunham and Walter made jokes at the expense of co-hosts Tom Arnold, Michael Irvin, John Salley and John Kruk, generating laughter from them, and giving Dunham much-needed exposure. In 2003, Dunham was the frontrunner to replace Jimmy Kimmel on Fox NFL Sunday, but hosts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw were not amenable to the idea of being upstaged by a puppet, and, as Dunham tells it, did not provide a welcoming atmosphere to Dunham, nor allow him to get a word in edgewise during his appearance.^[10]

Finding stardom: Dunham's first Comedy Central specials[link]

On July 18, 2003, Dunham appeared on Comedy Central Presents, his first solo appearance on Comedy Central. During his half hour piece, he showcased José Jalapeño on a Stick, Walter, an early version of Melvin the Superhero Guy and Peanut, whom Dunham had begun to merchandise into a line of dolls. The appearance was successful, but Comedy Central resisted giving Dunham more airtime, feeling that he was not a good fit for them.^[1] By 2005 Dunham decided to gamble on financing his own comedy DVD, Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, which was taped in Santa Ana, California.^[10] Dunham’s manager, Judi Brown-Marmel, lobbied the network to air it, pointing to Dunham's drawing power and merchandising profits, and arguing that the network needed more diverse content. Surprised by the high ratings of the first Blue Collar Comics concert movie that same year, the network began to reconsider its brand. In late 2006, Comedy Central aired Arguing with Myself, drawing two million viewers when it aired,^[1] and selling two million DVDs.^[10]

In 2007, Dunham appeared as The Amazing Ken with José Jalapeño on a Stick in the Larry the Cable Guy feature film Delta Farce.

His second special, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, was taped at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. that same year. It served not only to cement Dunham's stardom, but to introduce his most controversial character, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, which became a viral Internet sensation. A clip of Achmed from Insanity attracted over 140 million hits on YouTube,^[10] making it the ninth most watched clip on that website as of October 2009.^[1] By 2008, Dunham's characters had crossed language barriers, with his specials dubbed for audiences in various countries such as France, and Dunham attracting requests for performances in South Africa, Australia, Norway, Denmark, China and the Middle East.^[10] Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special was taped at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that same year, and premiered on Comedy Central on November 16, 2008, watched by 6.6 million people.^[1] It became available on DVD and Blu-ray on November 18, 2008.^[16] The special's premiere was the highest rated telecast in Comedy Central's history.^[3][17]

In September 2008, Dunham's career reached new heights as he began performing in arenas filled with tens of thousands of people. Dunham was somewhat wary of such large venues, but adapted by adjusting the timing of his often rapid exchanges with the puppets so that audience members farthest from the stage could have time to react.^[10]

In addition to his comedy specials, Dunham also released his first music album, Don't Come Home for Christmas, on November 4, 2008.^[18] It contains original Christmas songs as well as a parody of "Jingle Bells" by Achmed entitled "Jingle Bombs". All the songs, with the exception of "Jingle Bombs", were written and accompanied by Brian Haner, who joined Dunham's act as "Guitar Guy". His first onscreen appearance was in Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special.

2009 – present[link]

In March 2009, Dunham signed a multi-platform deal with Comedy Central. It included a fourth stand-up special to air in 2010, DVDs, a consumer products partnership, a 60-city tour beginning in September 2010, and an order for a television series called The Jeff Dunham Show that premiered on October 22, 2009.^[6][19] Despite having the most-watched premiere in Comedy Central history, and higher average ratings than other shows on that network initially, the show was canceled after only one season, amid poor reviews, dwindling ratings and higher production costs than other Comedy Central shows.^{[20] [21]}

Dunham appeared in a guest role with Bubba J on NBC's sictom 30 Rock, playing a ventriloquist named Rick Wayne and his dummy Pumpkin from Stone Mountain, Georgia.^[22] In November 2009 Dunham also appeared with Walter in "Hart to Hart", an episode of the Disney Channel series Sonny With a Chance, as two security guards.

Dunham appeared in the 2010 Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy, Dinner for Schmucks, as Lewis, with a new puppet named Diane.^[23]

His fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, premiered on September 25, 2011 on Comedy Central.

Critical praise and controversy[link]

In January 2008, Dunham was voted by fans the Top Comic in Comedy Central's “Stand-Up Showdown.” He is the only person ever to win the "Ventriloquist of the Year" Award twice, was nominated "Comedian of the Year" by the TNN Music City News Country Awards,^[14] and has drawn praise from the Dallas Morning News for his technique and timing.^[14]

Some have accused Dunham's characters of being racist caricatures, sexist, and homophobic.^[5][24] In 2008, a TV commercial for a ringtone featuring Dunham's character Achmed the Dead Terrorist (see Characters below) was banned by the South African Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint was filed by a citizen stating that the ad was offensive to Muslims, and portrayed all Muslims as terrorists. Dunham responded that "Achmed makes it clear in my act that he is not Muslim." However, the Advertising Standards Authority noted that the name Achmed was of Arab origin and was one of the names of Muhammad. Dunham responded, "I've skewered whites, blacks, Hispanics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, gays, straights, rednecks, addicts, the elderly, and my wife. As a standup comic, it is my job to make the majority of people laugh, and I believe that comedy is the last true form of free speech." He further commented, "I'm considering renaming Achmed, 'Bill.'"^[25][26] Dunham has conceded that he does exhibit particular sensitivity to the "conservative country crowd," or those characterized by "basic Christian values," as they are one of his largest constituencies, and part of his upbringing.^[1]

Dunham was heckled and criticized for mocking TV critics during a July 2009 press tour to promote his then-upcoming Comedy Central TV series, The Jeff Dunham Show, as well as Comedy Central programming chief Lauren Correo.^[1][27] In October 2009 The Jeff Dunham Show enjoyed good initial ratings, but was not well liked by critics,^[28] who did not find it funny, and either questioned the wisdom of translating his act into a series, or conceded a prejudice against Dunham, his previous specials, or ventriloquism itself.^{[29][30][31][32]}

J.P. Williams, the producer of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, has opined that Dunham's act is not funny on its own merits, and that his material gets a greater reaction because of the puppet characters that it would otherwise not garner by itself.^[1] Blue Collar veteran Bill Engvall, a friend of Dunham's insists otherwise, saying that Dunham is inherently funny with or without the puppets.^[10]

Books[link]

In 2003, BRASMA Publications released Dear Walter, a collection of questions asked of Dunham's fictional curmudgeon at live performances, authored by Dunham, and Walter Cummings.^[33]

Dunham's autobiography, All By My Selves: Walter, Peanut, Achmed and Me, was published by Dutton in November 2010.^[13]

Characters[link]

Walter[link]

Dunham with Walter, in a shot from a 2007 performance.

Walter is a retired, grumpy old man with arms always crossed in discontent. Dunham was inspired to create Walter when he watched Bette Davis' final appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, giving her honest, unfiltered candor to Walter, and patterning Walter's frown on Dunham's own.^[10] He has a brash, negative and often sarcastic view on today's world. He is a Vietnam War veteran and a former welder, and "doesn't give a damn" about anyone, especially his own wife and certain audience members. Walter has appeared in all four Comedy Central specials. He's been married for several decades, and when Dunham asks him if he remembers the happiest moment of his life after Walter tells him he has been married for forty-six years, Walter responds, "Forty-seven years ago!" Dunham created the Walter puppet himself, including both the initial sculpture and the silicon mold, though he eventually began using professional effects companies for the latter stages with his subsequent puppets.^[34]

Peanut[link]

Peanut is a hyperactive,^[1] purple-skinned "woozle"^[35] with white fur covering most of his body, a tuft of green hair on the top of his head, and one sneaker on his left foot. Dunham explains in Arguing with Myself that Peanut is from a small Micronesian island, and that they met in Florida. Peanut's humor is not based on a particular motif or stereotype, as those of the other characters, and has been described as "the bad kid".^[3] He often makes fun of Dunham, and torments and mocks José Jalapeño on a Stick. Touching upon his unusual appearance and personality, he asks Dunham in Arguing with Myself, after Dunham denies ever having done drugs, "Then how the hell did you come up with me?"

José Jalapeño on a Stick[link]

José is a talking jalapeño pepper on a stick who wears a small sombrero. José, who speaks with a thick Spanish accent, is typically paired with Peanut, who often makes fun of José, uses appeals to Latino stereotypes when doing so, and makes fun of his being on a stick.^[36] Although José was not Dunham's first puppet, it was the first that Dunham made himself.^[37]

Bubba J[link]

Bubba J is a beer-drinking redneck that Dunham describes in Arguing with Myself and A Very Special Christmas Special as "white trash trailer park", and whom Dunham uses for humor centered on such stereotypes. To this end, he frequently does jokes involving Bubba J's love of drinking beer and NASCAR, and his low intelligence. Touching upon such stereotypes, Bubba mentions in Arguing with Myself that he met his wife at a family reunion, and remembers seeing her with a corn dog in one hand, a beer in another, and leaning against a ferris wheel, "making it tilt".^[36] Although he does not appear onstage, Bubba has a prominent role as the backstage security guard in Controlled Chaos.

Sweet Daddy Dee[link]

Dunham introduces Sweet Daddy Dee in Arguing with Myself as his "new manager". He calls himself a "pimp", which he says stands for "Player In the Management Profession." According to Sweet Daddy, because he is a pimp, that makes Jeff the "ho". When Dunham objects, Daddy Dee points out that Dunham makes people laugh and feel good for a living. When Dunham agrees that this is the case, Daddy Dee says, "You a ho." When Dunham asks what he would say if he told him that he was a comedian only because he enjoyed it, Daddy Dee responds, "You a dumb ho."^[36]

Melvin the Superhero Guy[link]

Melvin wears a blue superhero costume, and is used to poke fun at superheroes. When asked about his superhuman powers, he indicates that he has X-ray vision, adding, "I love looking at boobies!" He appears to have no other powers, however: When Dunham asks how far he can fly, he responds, "How far can you throw me?", and when asked if he can stop a bullet like Superman, he responds, "Yeah. Once." Dunham portrays Melvin as unimpressed with other superheroes: When told Superman can leap tall buildings in a single bound, Melvin dismisses him as a "showoff," arguing that he can simply walk around them, observes that Aquaman has the same powers as SpongeBob SquarePants, asserts that the Flash's super speed is derived from methamphetamine, that the Hulk's vaunted ability to get stronger as he gets angrier merely mirrors "every white trash guy on COPS," and makes innuendo about the questionable relationship between Batman and the underage Robin. Melvin's first onscreen appearance was in the July 2003 Comedy Central Presents episode, in which he had small, black, beady eyes. By his next appearance, in Spark of Insanity, he had been modified to have large, blue, crossed eyes. He also has an enormous nose, which he claims is his symbol, and whose similarity in shape to that of a penis is alluded to in the act. Dunham sculpted the current version of Melvin's head himself, and hired an effects company called Renegade Effects Groups to create the rubber mold and complete the puppet, before then installing the mechanics himself.^[34]

Achmed the Dead Terrorist[link]

Achmed is the skeletal corpse of an incompetent suicide bomber, whom Dunham uses to satirize the contemporary issue of terrorism. He is known for yelling, "Silence! I kill you!" to Dunham and people laughing in the audience. Achmed first appeared in Spark of Insanity, and later made an appearance in the Very Special Christmas Special, singing a song called "Jingle Bombs". He also dubs the so-called Guitar Guy "You racist bastard"! for warming up with typical Arab chords. Most of the humor Dunham expresses with Achmed centers on this motif. When mentioning that Achmed appears to be dead because he's a skeleton, Achmed responds, "It's a flesh wound." When Dunham inquires as to how he died, Achmed explains his incompetence with explosives, while also casting aspersions on Dunham's sexual prowess, by saying that they both suffer from "premature detonation." Although he frequently mentions working for Osama Bin Laden, Achmed claims he does not think he's a Muslim ("look at my ass! It says 'Made in China'"). As of June 2009, the sketch in which Dunham introduced Achmed is the fourth most watched online video ever, having amassed nearly 200 million views.^[3][38] The large, round, articulated eyes of puppets such as Achmed and Achmed Junior are constructed by the same effects artist who created the dinosaur eyes for the Jurassic Park films.^[10]

Diane[link]

Diane first appeared with Dunham in the 2010 film Dinner for Schmucks as "Debbie", his character's "wife". She made her stand-up debut in Dunham's Identity Crisis Tour 2010.^[39]

Achmed Junior[link]

Achmed Junior is the estranged son of Achmed. He first appeared during the Identity Crisis Tour 2010, and makes his first onscreen appearance in Dunham's fourth special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos. Like his father, Achmed Junior is the victim of a bomb, which resulted in the destruction of the half of his face and body. He speaks with a British accent, and does not wish to be a suicide bomber.

Others[link]

Other characters that Dunham has voiced include a miniature puppet of Peanut's, which turns out to be a small version of Dunham himself, and an unseen worm inside a bottle of tequila, both of which he has used, for example, in his appearance on A&E's An Evening at The Improv.^[40] The miniature Dunham puppet was also used in Dunham's 2011 Comedy Central special, Controlled Chaos.

Personal life[link]

Dunham met his first wife, Paige Brown, at the Comedy Corner in West Palm Beach, Florida. They began dating in December 1992. In May 1994, Dunham married Brown and adopted her one and a half year-old daughter, Bree. Their daughters Ashlyn and Kenna were born in 1995 and 1997, respectively. Dunham's time away while performing proved a strain on the marriage,^[10] and in November 2008 he filed for divorce.^{[1][3][10][13]} By mid-2009, Dunham was in a relationship with fellow Texan Audrey Murdick, a certified nutritionist, personal trainer and competition bodybuilder,^[10][13] and on December 25, 2011 they became engaged.^[41]

In addition to building the dummies he uses in his act, Dunham also restores antique ones as a hobby, such as The Umpire, a 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) mechanized dummy built in 1941 to work the plate at a girl's softball game, but which went unused and packed away for 50 years, before Dunham acquired it in early 2008.^[1]

Dunham has harbored a love of helicopters since childhood and is fond of building and flying his own kit helicopters from Rotorway helicopter kits. At the time he finished writing his autobiography in June 2010, he was beginning to build his fourth kit.^[10][11][13] He is also an aficionado of muscle cars and Apple Computer products.^[13]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeff Dunham

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jeff Dunham

• Jeff Dunham's official website
• Jeff Dunham at Comedy Central
• Jeff Dunham at the Internet Movie Database