John Weider

John Weider
Weider with Animals and Friends in 1967
Background information
Born	(1947-04-21)21 April 1947 Shepherd's Bush,London,England
Genres	Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Guitar bass violin
Years active	1965–1990
Labels	Anchor Gold Castle

John Weider(born 21 April 1947) is an Englishrockmusician who playsguitar,bass,andviolin.He is best known as the guitarist forthe Animalsfrom 1966 to 1968. He was also the bass player forFamilyfrom 1969 to 1971.

Biography

Early career

As a teenager, Weider initially joined the Steve Laine Combo. The Combo played R&B at places such asThe Flamingo ClubinSohowith the likes ofGeorgie Fame.Weider left Steve Laine when that group went to Europe to become theLiverpool Five.Later he played alongsideSteve Marriottin a band called Steve Marriott and the Moments.He then went on to replaceMick Greenas lead guitarist inJohnny Kidd & the Pirates.

In August 1965 Weider was the first in a succession of guitar players replacingEric ClaptoninJohn Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.This was followed by a stint inJimmy Winston and His Reflectionswith whom he recorded two singles.

Eric Burdon and the Animals

In 1966,Eric Burdon,frontmanforthe Animals,put together a new Animals lineup when the original group, with the exception of drummerBarry Jenkins,ceased working with Burdon. The new group, variously called "Eric Burdon and the New Animals" or "Eric Burdon and the Animals", included Weider on guitar and violin. The first album by the new ensemble was the 1967 effortWinds of Change,in which the Animals abandoned their oldbluessound and wentpsychedelic.Weider stayed with the group until its dissolution in December 1968, after releasing three albums that yearThe Twain Shall Meet,Every One of Us,andLove Is,the latter being a soul-based psychedelic rock album. After bassistDanny McCullochand guitaristVic Briggswere fired from the band in mid-1968, Weider and new guitaristAndy Summers(later ofthe Police) alternated between guitar and bass during the band's concerts.

Family

By 1969, Weider was inCaliforniaplaying in a group called Stonehenge, members of whom would later formCrabby Appleton,whenRic Grechabruptly left Family to join Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and Ginger Baker in the new 'supergroup'Blind Faithduring Family's firstU.S.tour and the band needed a new bassist immediately. Weider thus replaced Grech in Family. Like Grech, he was both a bassist and a violinist, and many of Family's songs had incorporated violin in theirarrangements.Weider joined midway through the tour, which ended prematurely owing to lead singerRoger Chapman's visa problems, and a fight with rock promoter/venue ownerBill Graham,which made return visits to the U.S. difficult.

Thesingle"No Mule's Fool",Family's first single with Weider as a band member, took the band in acountry rockdirection. Weider appears on Family's two 1970 albums,A Song for MeandAnywayreleased ten months apart. He left the band in the summer of 1971.

Later career

Weider later joinedStud,a group that featured guitarist-bassistJim Cregan,who would become Family's final bass player in 1972. The band also included the rhythm section of John Wilson and Richard McCracken fromTaste,Rory Gallagher's pre-solo power trio. Weider served as a multi-instrumentalist in Stud, playing guitar, bass, piano, violin and cello.After Stud broke up, Weider did some session work and released his self-titled debut solo album in 1976. In the mid 1970s, he was also a member of the band Moonrider withKeith West.Weider played violin and sang backing vocals on "Nightmare (Please Wake Me Up)", the closing track fromthe Who'sJohn Entwistle's second solo albumWhistle Rymes(1972). He played guitar on theAlice Coopertrack "I'm Flash" which also featured Entwistle on the albumFlash Fearless Vs. the Zorg Women, Pts. 5 & 6(1975), and later Cooper's 4-CD box setThe Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper(1999).

In 1979, he was featured on Gulliver's album "Ridin' the Wind".

Weider's more recent albums are more closely associated withnew-age music.

Solo discography

• John Weider(1976)
• Intervals in Sunlight(1987)
• Essence(1989)
• Ancients Weep(1990)

External links

• John WeideratAllMusic
• John Weiderdiscography atDiscogs
• John WeideratIMDb