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Dr. Rick Kline - Dr John Christian Schiro DDS, FAGD and Dr Rick Kline DDS smiletexas.com |
Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949 in Perivale, London) is an English keyboard player, composer, and songwriter known as the keyboardist for progressive rock group Yes. Originally a classically trained pianist, he was a pioneer in the use of electronic keyboards and in the use of a rock band in combination with orchestra and choir.[citation needed] He purchased his first electronic keyboard at the age of 12.[1] In 1971 he acquired an early Minimoog synthesizer, purchasing it at half price from actor Jack Wild who believed that it was defective because it only played one note at a time.[1][2] He hosts a regular radio show on Planet Rock. He is considered by many to be one of the best rock keyboardists of all time.[3]
[edit] BackgroundRick Wakeman was born in the suburb of Perivale, West London, and attended Drayton Manor Grammar School. He initially studied piano, clarinet, orchestration and modern music at the Royal College of Music, but he left of his own accord after a year and a half in favour of work as a session musician. [edit] Early musical careerIn 1970-1971, Wakeman played with Strawbs, recording with them the albums Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios and From the Witchwood. Formerly, he had already contributed as a session musician to the Strawbs's album Dragonfly (1970). Especially in 1969-1973, Wakeman was also a very active studio musician, playing with such artists as David Bowie, Cat Stevens and Al Stewart notably playing piano (or Mellotron) on Bowie's Space Oddity, Life on Mars?, Changes and Oh! You Pretty Things, and on Cat Stevens' hit Morning Has Broken. (In 1985, Wakeman collaborated again with Bowie on Absolute Beginners). [edit] The Yes yearsWakeman joined Yes in 1971, after keyboardist Tony Kaye was asked to leave the band because of his refusal to play anything more than the Hammond organ. His first album with the band was Fragile released 1971 in the UK and 1972 in the US, and very nearly his last was Tales from Topographic Oceans, released in 1973. He also played on the studio album Close to the Edge (his favourite Yes album) and his live performances with the group were released as Yessongs. He left the band following the Tales from Topographic Oceans tour. [edit] Solo worksDuring his time with Yes, he released his first solo album, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (1973), which showcases his skills with various electronic and acoustic keyboard instruments. Some members of Yes played their respective instruments on certain tracks. His next solo album was Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974), a very successful concept album combining his rock band (the English Rock Ensemble) with a symphonic orchestra and a choir. In 1975, he released the concept album The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, which was supported by a live show featuring ice skating theatrical performances accompanied by a large number of musicians (his rock band, an orchestra and two choirs). The show was well received but expensive to produce, consuming much of the income from sales of the album.[1][4] [edit] DepartureOf all the members of Yes, Wakeman is the only non-vegetarian, a difference which contributed to his first departure from the band [5][1] The primary reason for that initial departure, however, was musical differences. Wakeman felt Tales from Topographic Oceans was thin on substance and did not connect with its themes. Further, he did not enjoy the experience of reproducing the entire work on stage each night. He felt the length of the songs prohibited the band from playing many of their more popular songs of the time. Following the tour, as the band began work on what would become Relayer, Wakeman felt further alienated from the group. Disenchanted with the direction in which Yes was going, and already into a successful solo career, he left. [edit] ReunionHe rejoined Yes for their 1977 album Going for the One, which especially features him in the 'epic' Awaken. He remained until their next album, Tormato, a year later. He is reputed to have given the album its name by throwing a tomato at a showing of the art used for the album's cover.[6][7] [edit] ABWHIn 1989, he joined with three fellow ex-Yes members to form Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe (a.k.a. ABWH). After ABWH's first album, some of the completed tracks for a planned second album were merged with tracks from an in-progress Yes album to create the album Union. Wakeman, along with the combined members of both bands then joined to form a Yes supergroup (made up of past and present members of Yes) for the subsequent tour in 1991. When the tour ended a year later, Wakeman left again. He then returned in 1996 for the Keys to Ascension albums but left before the band could tour. In 2002, he rejoined Yes and stayed with the band until their In the Present Tour in 2008. [edit] Studio appearancesWakeman has performed as a guest or session musician for artists such as:
[edit] Later solo career He has written the soundtracks for two films by Ken Russell: Lisztomania (1975), which features vocals from Roger Daltrey and which takes as its starting point the music of Liszt and Wagner; and Crimes of Passion (1984), much of which is built around themes taken from Dvořák's New World Symphony. As announced on the official Yes website, Rick Wakeman would not be joining Yes on their 40th Anniversary tour; he would instead be replaced by his son Oliver Wakeman (the tour was cancelled because of Jon Anderson's poor health). In 2008, Wakeman toured with a solo show, "Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show", an evening of biography, stories and music. 2009 saw the first complete performance of the "Six Wives" at Hampton Court Palace as part of the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne. [edit] InstrumentsAlthough Wakeman was a noted player of the Hammond organ and the Minimoog, he also used a Mellotron – an electronic musical instrument that used a bank of prerecorded magnetic tape strip loops, activated by each key on its keyboard. It proved too unwieldy and unreliable for regular touring, and he eventually doused his in petrol and set fire to it in a field [8]. Undeterred, he worked with David Biro to develop the Birotron, which used the then popular 8-track cassette format rather than bare tape loops. Also because of the advent of digital keyboards at that time, the Birotron was not a commercial or technical success. Only 35 Birotrons were produced, and Wakeman eventually threw his across the stage after it broke down mid-concert, an action he now regrets, as there are only six remaining examples.[8] [edit] Personal lifeWakeman had three heart attacks in his twenties.[6] The first of them occurred just after he first left Yes in early 1974, during the release of Journey to the Centre of the Earth. He married former Page Three model Nina Carter, although they have since divorced. He has had a renewal of his Christian faith,[9] which began around the time of their marriage.[10] A passionate football fan, Wakeman has supported Brentford F.C. since he was a child, and later on he also became a director of the West London club. After a disagreement with the board, he moved on to Manchester City F.C. but never stopped loving the Bees. He was involved in the ownership of the American soccer club Philadelphia Fury in the late '70s, along with other rock celebrities such as Peter Frampton and Paul Simon. He is a strong supporter of the UK's Conservative Party, and performed a concert in September 2004 for the benefit of the party. The Arthur section of his King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table suite has been used as the theme tune to the BBC's Election Night Coverage since 1979 (with the exception of 2001). Wakeman's album Fields of Green '97 featured the track "Election '97/Arthur", which was used by the BBC for their coverage of the 1997 General Election. The music was further revamped for the BBC's 2005 Election Night coverage. Wakeman can be seen as a contributor on BBC Two's series, Grumpy Old Men. He has also appeared in a number of episodes of Countdown; about twenty per year, according to Wakeman. He currently (2008) presents a weekly Saturday morning programme, "Rick's Place", on Planet Rock. He has also appeared on the satirical panel show Have I Got News For You as a guest. Wakeman appeared as himself in "Journey to the Centre of Rick Wakeman", the last episode of season two of Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music, a BBC Radio 4 comedy programme. The episode detailed a fictional war between England and Wales in 2009 which only Wakeman could stop. Wakeman provided piano for Benn's 2008 single "Sing Like an Angel", which was released on iTunes. In December 2006, Wakeman was the guest host for an episode of The Personality Test, a BBC Radio 4 programme where the panel stay the same and the host changes each week. The questions set in the programme are all about the host. He set a challenge for a new concept album idea, and the comedian Will Smith suggested "Spiders and Other Invertebrates". Rick said he liked that idea so much, he would include a track of his next album called "Spiders and Other Invertebrates", and would include a sleeve credit to Smith. Smith responded by saying that Rick had "...just made my life".[11] Wakeman has been president of the show business charity The Heritage Foundation (formerly Comic Heritage). The charity erects blue plaques on the homes and/or work-places of late entertainers and sportspeople. He is also Honorary President of the Classic Rock Society, a UK-based organisation helping to promote classic and progressive rock. In October 2007, Wakeman commenced a new tour 'Rick Wakeman's Grumpy Old Picture Show', where he accompanies video performers such as Gordon Giltrap and the English Rock Ensemble (Ashley Holt, Lee Pomeroy, Dave Colquhoun and Tony Fernandez). He also appeared on Top Gear and got a race track lap time of 1.55.26. In 2009, Wakeman became a Patron of Tech Music Schools. [edit] Discography[edit] Solo and with his son Adam
[edit] With Gordon Giltrap
[edit] With Strawbs[edit] Live album[edit] Studio album
[edit] With Yes[edit] Studio albums
[edit] Live albums
[edit] Compilation albums
[edit] With Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe[edit] Studio album[edit] Live album[edit] See also[edit] References
[edit] Publications
[edit] External links
Categories: English electronic musicians | English rock keyboardists | English session musicians | Yes (band) members | Alumni of the Royal College of Music | People from Ealing | People from Wembley | English Christians | 1949 births | Living people | The Ozzy Osbourne Band members | People self-identifying as alcoholics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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