Todd Wolfe
Encyclopedia
Todd Stewart Wolfe is an American blues-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

.

During a professional career that has spanned three decades, Wolfe has had numerous album releases with his own band in the blues and rock genre. He has also worked as the lead guitarist for Carla Olson from 1991 to 1993 and for Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...

 from 1993 to 1998.

As a writer, Wolfe's songs have been covered by Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...

, Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...

, Deborah Coleman
Deborah Coleman
Deborah Coleman is an American blues guitarist, songwriter and singer. Coleman won the Orville Gibson Award for "Best Blues Guitarist, Female" in 2001, and was nominated for a W.C...

, and others.

Since departing Sheryl Crow's band, Wolfe has been gaining popularity as a solo artist and guitarist in North America and Europe—especially in Germany—where he and his band have toured extensively since 2001.

Early life

Wolfe was born in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, New York, an area of New York City renowned for its musicians, with former residents including Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...

, The Ramones, Leslie West
Leslie West
Leslie West is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West...

, and Simon & Garfunkel.

Wolfe's parents contributed to his musical tastes. As his father was a native New Yorker and his mother from the small town of Marshall, Texas, Todd heard many types of music as a boy. The different styles of music regularly heard in the Wolfe household encouraged Todd's love music for its own sake. Like many Americans of that era, the appearance of the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 on the Ed Sullivan Show accelerated Wolfe's growing appreciation for music. He was particularly inspired by the sounds emanating from the guitars of George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

 and John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

. His appreciation deepened with the arrival in the United States of the British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...

 with bands such as The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...

, The Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five were an English pop rock group. Their single "Glad All Over" knocked The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" off the top of the UK singles charts in January 1964: it eventually peaked at No.6 in the United States in April 1964.They were the second group of the British Invasion,...

, The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds
- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...

 and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

.

After the arrival of the second "British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...

" and the play of Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...

 and the Cream
The cream
"The cream" is a testosterone-based ointment that is used in conjunction with anabolic steroids such as tetrahydrogestrinone in order to mask doping in professional athletes....

, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, British guitarists such as Peter Green
Peter Green
Peter Green may refer to:* Peter Green , Australian rules footballer* Peter Green , British historian & translator* Pete Green , ice hockey coach...

, Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...

 and Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...

, and the emergence of American guitarists such as Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...

, Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...

, and Leslie West
Leslie West
Leslie West is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West...

, Wolfe began to develop his own skills as a guitarist. At thirteen, he purchased his first guitar, a Dakota red Fender Mustang, and began learning the fundamentals of playing a guitar. Two key components to his apprenticeship were attending numerous concerts and listening to records. From these experiences, Wolfe's interests expanded to include the works of American blues guitarists such as B.B. King, Freddy King, Otis Rush
Otis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...

, Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer, best known for his celebrated work, from 1955, as guitarist in Howlin' Wolf's band. His singular playing is characterized by "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic...

, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...

, and Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...

. Wolfe found similar inspiration in the electric blues of Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...

 and Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf
Chester Arthur Burnett , known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....

 bands. These artists, whose works greatly influenced British musicians, were equally inspirational to Todd Wolfe.

By the time he was sixteen, Wolfe was committed to developing his skills as a guitarist. Concurrently, he began the long path of refining an artistic sensibility that drew fully from the foundations laid by musicians in the United States and Great Britain.

Early career

In 1979, Wolfe began his career by playing in garage bands. He played at local parties and participated in "battle of the bands" competitions. While still in high school, Wolfe put together his first band. Four years later, he formed his first club band, Nitetrain. The band included Wolfe and fellow Forest Hills residents, drummer Steven Menasche and bassist Emil Samuels. During their first year, the band opened for Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...

, Dickey Betts
Dickey Betts
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won with the band a best rock performance Grammy Award for his...

, and Walter "Wolfman" Washington
Walter "Wolfman" Washington
Walter "Wolfman" Washington is an American singer and guitarist, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. While his roots are in blues music, he blends in the essence of funk and R&B to create his own unique sound....

.

Four years later, he formed his first club band, Troy & the Tornados. This band opened for many acts appearing in the metropolitan New York area. These groups included Gregg Allman
Gregg Allman
Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...

, The Outlaws
The Outlaws
The Outlaws are a southern rock band formed in Tampa, Florida in late 1967 by guitarist–vocalist Hughie Thomasson, drummer David Dix, bassist Phil Humburg, guitarists Hobie O'Brien and Frank Guidry, plus singer Herb Pino. Guidry brought the name Outlaws with him when he joined...

, Dickey Betts
Dickey Betts
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won with the band a best rock performance Grammy Award for his...

, Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...

, Robin Trower
Robin Trower
Robin Leonard Trower , known professionally as Robin Trower, is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio.-Biography:...

, and The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers
The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana.-History:The group notion started in 1976, when the four brothers of the Neville family, Art , Charles , Aaron , and Cyril The Neville Brothers, an American R&B and soul group, was formed in 1977 in...

.

During his time with Troy & the Tornados, Wolfe continued to sharpen his skills as a guitarist. Because he was focused on developing his virtuosity as a musician, he was reluctant to be the front man for his own bands.

During this same interval, Wolfe met two women who would play pivotal role in his growth as a musician: Carla Olson of the Textones and Sheryl Crow. At that time, Crow was honing her skills while working as an in-studio back-up singer. She was introduced to Wolfe by Stephen "Scooter" Weintraub, who would later manage both artists. From this introduction began a creative relationship that shaped the careers of both artists. In short order, Wolfe and Crow went from collaborating together in studio sessions in New York City to the two traveling to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, forming a band, and working to earn a record deal.

Although this effort did not result in a record contract for Crow, Wolfe used the opportunity to relocate permanently to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and to revamp his band's line up. Troy & the T's played in "holes in the wall" throughout Southern California. During this time, Wolfe also began to score music for the Playboy Channel. In 1991, Wolfe teamed up with Olson, whom he had met while still in New York. Wolfe accepted Olson's invitation to join The Textones as the band's lead guitarist, a spot he held for the next two years.

In 1993, Crow offered Wolfe the lead guitar spot in the touring band she was forming to support her debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club
Tuesday Night Music Club
Tuesday Night Music Club is the debut album from American singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow, released on August 3, 1993. The lead single "Run, Baby, Run" was not particularly successful...

. Based upon her earlier work with Wolfe, Crow understood that his dynamic stage presence would bring an additional measure of excitement to her live shows. During the next five years, Crow and her band would sojourn from "all in the van" tours of local establishments to a string of world tours in which they opened for performers such as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

, The Eagles, Plant & Page, and Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

. In 1996, Todd Wolfe co-wrote with Sheryl Crow "Hard to Make a Stand," which appeared on Crow's eponymously titled second album, Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow (album)
Sheryl Crow is the second album by American singer Sheryl Crow, released in 1996. Reaching #6 on the Billboard 200, Sheryl Crow sold 2.9 million units in the United States as of January 2008 and is certified 3× platinum. On the UK Album Chart, Sheryl Crow reached #5...

.

In 1995, while a member of Crow's band, Wolfe put together a band which signed with A & M Records. The band, Mojoson, included Wolfe as the lead guitarist, Scott Bryan—a fellow member of Crow's band—on guitar, keyboards and lead vocals, bassist Eric Massimino and drummer Michael Lawrence
Michael Lawrence
Michael Lawrence is an English writer for children and young adults. He is best known as the author of the Withern Rise trilogy and the Jiggy McCue books.- Biography :...

, who also played for Sun 60. Over a three-year period, the band recorded two studio albums. However, A&M underwent a transition of ownership before the albums were released. Consequently, the label's "takeover" albums went unissued, Mojoson's contract was dissolved, and the band was disbanded.

In 1998, Todd Wolfe left Sheryl Crow's band so that he could focus on a new project. He formed a new band with a varying lineup of players including two former members of Mojoson—Eric Massimino and Michael Lawrence
Michael Lawrence
Michael Lawrence is an English writer for children and young adults. He is best known as the author of the Withern Rise trilogy and the Jiggy McCue books.- Biography :...

— as well as Rich Pagano, Dave Hollingsworth, and others. Currently, Wolfe's band features drummer Roger Voss and bassist Suavek Zaniesienko who replaced Massimino and Lawrence. This lineup recorded Wolfe's sixth (studio) release since leaving Sheryl's band, Stripped Down at The Bang Palace. Wolfe and his band have kept busy with six album releases and over a dozen European tours to Europe in the last ten years.

Discography

Year Title Label
1999 Live from Manny's Car Wash Blue Lizard Music
2002 Wolfe Ulftone Music, Okra Tone Records
2004 Delaware Crossing Ulftone Music, Valley Entertainment
2006 Why, Thank You Very Much Ulftone Music, Valley Entertainment
2008 Borrowed Time Blues Leaf Records
2009 Stripped Down at the Bang Palace Blues Leaf Records
2011 Live American Home Entertainment

Additional credits

Year Title Artist Credit
1988 Sweden USA Carla Olson Guitar
1991 Too Hot for Snakes Mick Taylor Guitar
1991 Too Hot for Snakes Plus Mick Taylor Guitar
1993 Within an Ace Carla Olson Guitar
1994 Fast Track to Nowhere: Songs from "Rebel Highway" Various Artists Guitar
1994 Reap the Whirlwind Carla Olson Guitar
1995 Boys on the Side Original Soundtrack Composer, Guitar
1995 Live One Phish Composer
1995 Wave of the Hand: The Best of Carla Olson Carla Olson Guitar
1996 Pompatus of Love Original Soundtrack Guitar
1996 Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow Dobro, Guitar (Electric), Guitar
1996 Sheryl Crow [Japan] Sheryl Crow Dobro, Composer, Guitar (Electric), Guitar
1997 Hard to Make a Stand Sheryl Crow Pedal Steel, Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
1997 Live on Letterman: Music from the Late Show Various Artists Pedal Steel
1998 Enchanted: The Works of Stevie Nicks Stevie Nicks Guitar
1998 Faith Faith Hill Guitar
1998 Love Will Always Win Faith Hill Composer
1998 Globe Sessions Sheryl Crow Soloist, Guitar (Electric)
1998 Globe Sessions [DVD] Sheryl Crow Guitar (Electric)
1998 Globe Sessions [SACD/Bonus Track] Sheryl Crow Guitar (Electric), Soloist
1999 Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions Shannon Curfman Composer
1999 Hampton Comes Alive Phish Composer
2001 Honest as Daylight: The Best of Carla Olson (1981-2000) Carla Olson Guitar
2001 Livin' on Love Deborah Coleman Composer
2001 Best of Sessions at West 54th, Vol. 1 Various Artists Guitar
2002 2 Good 4 U Michelle Penn Slide Guitar
2002 Live Phish, Vol. 08 Phish Composer
2002 Mystic Fire Mountain Slide Guitar
2002 Live Phish, Vol. 14 Phish Composer
2003 Chas Chas Slide Guitar
2003 Live Phish, Vol. 17 Phish Composer
2004 Chartbuster Karaoke: Faith Hill, Vol. 1 Karaoke Composer
2004 Songs I Left Behind Mike Tramp Guitar
2007 Masters of War Mountain Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar
2007 Collection Leslie West Guitar (Rhythm), Guitar
2008 Step Up Doña Oxford Guitar, Soloist
2008 Dark Horses Carla Olson Guitar
2008 Beautiful People/Circles The New Seekers Composer

External links

  • http://www.toddwolfe.com/
  • http://reverbnation.com/toddwolfe
  • http://myspace.com/toddwolfemusic
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