W. G. Snuffy Walden

Last updated

W. G. Snuffy Walden
W. G. Snuffy Walden 06-11-2016 -7 (27688658501) (cropped).jpg
Walden in 2016
Background information
Birth nameWilliam Garrett Walden
Also known asSnuffy Walden, W. G. Walden
Born (1950-02-13) February 13, 1950 (age 73)
Louisiana, U.S.
Genres Instrumental
Occupation(s)Composer, musician
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active1973–present
Website snuffywalden.com

William Garrett Walden, known as W. G. Snuffy Walden (born February 13, 1950), is an American musician and composer of film and television soundtracks. Walden is an Emmy Award winner for the theme music to The West Wing (NBC), [1] has been nominated for numerous other Emmys throughout his career, and has received 26 BMI Awards. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Walden was born in Louisiana on February 13, 1950, and raised in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas in 1967. In college he studied science and math, and he put himself through school working on a late-night radio show at KRBE in Houston and playing guitar in a strip club. [4]

Walden's middle name was his mother's maiden name, and this was the origin of his nickname. Members of his mother's family had sometimes been called Snuffy after the Southern snuff manufacturer Levi Garrett. His family and schoolmates addressed him as Garrett, but Snuffy began to stick when he was away at summer camp and the name was preferred by fellow musicians as his career began. [5]

Career

In the late 1960s, Walden dropped out of school, quit his job, and devoted his energies to the guitar full-time, picking up a bass player (Al Roberts) and drummer (Randy Reeder) to form a three-piece band named Aphrodite. They started touring and wound up in Denver, playing local clubs and opening for acts like Buddy Miles. It was in Denver that Emerson, Lake & Palmer's road manager, Neville Chesters, saw them in a club and offered them a recording contract with ELP's label, Manticore. In 1972, the group moved to England and was reformed, keeping Al Roberts and changing the name to Stray Dog. There, they were signed to Manticore and Greg Lake produced three songs from their first album Stray Dog. The new group toured with ELP as the opening act, but never really took flight, and eventually folded. Following the breakup of the band, Walden supplanted the ailing Paul Kossoff by providing guitar tracks for Free's final album Heartbreaker, which was released in 1973 (Walden plays on 'Common Mortal Man', 'Easy on My Soul' and 'Seven Angels'). He also played electric guitar in 1973, on the debut solo album Still by King Crimson lyricist, Peter Sinfield. In 1975, he joined The Eric Burdon Band and performed with them for a year. [2] [4]

In 1975, Walden moved to Los Angeles and spent the rest of the decade performing as a solo artist and supporting artists such as Stevie Wonder, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, and Eric Burdon. Notably, in 1975-6 he again filled in for Paul Kossoff as a session musician on Back Street Crawler's Second Street album. By the mid-1980s, television agents and producers became aware of Walden through his local performances in Santa Monica. When approached to score a new television show, Walden had mixed feelings but accepted the offer. "I could see the handwriting on the wall for touring," he would later remember, "and it wasn't pretty. I kept envisioning Holiday Inn at age 60." The television show he was hired for was Thirtysomething , which turned out to be a major hit television series and dramatically altered Walden's music career. [2] [4]

Following his success as a touring and session musician and an Emmy nomination for the "Theme from Thirtysomething", [6] Walden scored numerous television series, including The Wonder Years , Roseanne , Ellen , My So-Called Life , Felicity , Early Edition , Sports Night , The West Wing , George Lopez , I'll Fly Away , The Stand , Huff , Once and Again , Friday Night Lights and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip . [7]

In the summer of 2001, Walden released a solo album of mainly acoustic guitar pieces titled Music by... W. G. Snuffy Walden. The album included expanded or full versions of many of Walden's themes, such as "Once and Again", "Eugene's Ragtop", "Thirtysomething (Revisited)", and "West Wing Suite". [3]

In July 2002, Tom Guerra conducted a comprehensive interview of Walden for Vintage Guitar Magazine. [4] [8] In April 2008, Stephen J. Abramson interviewed Walden for a four-hour, multi-part video series for the Television Academy. [9]

Walden in 2014 W. G. Snuffy Walden at NAMM 1-23-2014 -2 (12178869935) (cropped).jpg
Walden in 2014

In March 2018, Up to Snuff , a documentary film about Walden's career, [10] won the documentary competition in its premier at the Pasadena International Film Festival. [11] [12]

In September 2018, Walden starred in a 1950s style cover of Africa by Toto along with the musical collective Postmodern Jukebox on YouTube. [13]

Awards and nominations

Emmys

Awards

Nominations

BMI Awards

Discography

Solo albums

Stray Dog albums

Guest appearances

Compilation albums

Filmography

YearTypeRole / notesSource
1979Laverne & Shirley: The Fourth Annual Shotz Talent Show Episodeguitarist [7]
1987 thirtysomething TV seriesEmmy nomination [1]
1988WinnieFilmcomposer (score) [7]
1988–1993 The Wonder Years TV seriesmusic by, theme composer [33]
1989 Roe vs. Wade TV moviecomposer (score) [7]
1990 The Outsiders TV series
1990 Working Girl TV series
1990Burning BridgesFilmcomposer (score) [7]
1990Guess Who's Coming for Christmas?Film
1991 The Chase Filmcomposer (score) [7]
1991Shoot First: A Cop's VengeanceFilmcomposer (score) [7]
1992 Leaving Normal Filmcomposer (score) [7]
1991–1992 I'll Fly Away TV seriesEmmy nomination [1]
1992CrossroadsTV series
1992Wild CardFilmcomposer (score) [7] [34]
1992 The Jackie Thomas Show TV series
1992The Good FightFilmcomposer (score) [7]
1993 A Place to Be Loved Film
1993 I'll Fly Away TV series
1993–1997 Roseanne TV seriesmusic by, theme composer [33]
1994Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd StoryFilmmusic by [35]
1994 Tom TV series
1994 The Stand miniseriesEmmy nomination [1]
1994 Sweet Justice TV series
1994–1998 Ellen TV seriesmusical score [33]
1995 Homage Filmcomposer (score) [7]
1994–1995 My So-Called Life TV seriesEmmy nomination [1]
1995 The Monroes TV series
1996 A Friend's Betrayal Film
1996 Homecoming Filmcomposer (score) [7]
1996 Ink TV series
1996–1997 Relativity TV series
1996–1998 Early Edition TV seriesEmmy nomination [1]
1997 413 Hope St. TV series
1998 Maggie Winters TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
1998–1999 Cupid TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
1998–2000 Sports Night TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
1998–2002 Felicity TV seriesEmmy nomination [1]
1998–2003 The Drew Carey Show TV seriesmusic by [36]
1999 Norm TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
1999–2000 Roswell TV seriescomposer (score) [37]
1999–2001 It's Like, You Know... TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
1999–2001 Providence TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
1999–2002 Once and Again TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2000 The $treet TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2001 Rock & Roll Back to School Special Film
2001 Three Sisters TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2002 George Lopez TV seriesmusic composer [38]
2002 Hidden Hills TV series
2003 Mister Sterling TV series
2003 The Brotherhood of Poland TV series
2003 The Lyon's Den TV series
2003 Boomtown TV series
2003 Miracles TV seriesEmmy nomination [1]
2005, 2008 Quarterlife Filmmusic composer [39]
2005–2007 The War at Home TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2005 Surface TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2006 The Book of Daniel TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
1999–2006 The West Wing TV seriesEmmy award [1]
2006 Huff TV seriesEmmy nomination [1]
2006–2007 Kidnapped TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2007 Heartland TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2006–2007 Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2008–2009 Lipstick Jungle TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2008 In Plain Sight TV seriescomposer (score) [7]
2009A MarriageFilmcomposer (score) [39]
2009 The Beast TV seriescomposer (score) [39]
2009 Hawthorne TV seriescomposer (score) [39]
2009–2010 Men of a Certain Age TV seriescomposer (score) [39]
2010 Huge TV seriescomposer (score) [39]
2011In the Key of EliFilmcomposer (score) [39]
2011Serving LiveFilmcomposer (score) [7]
2011 Friday Night Lights TV seriescomposer (score) [39]
2011 A Gifted Man TV seriescomposer (score) [39]
2012 Stetson, Street Dog of Park City Filmcomposer (score) [40]
2013–2015 Under the Dome TV seriesmusic by [41]
2012–2013 Nashville TV seriesmusic by [42]
2014Guilt By AssociationFilmcomposer (score) [39]
2017 Seal Team TV seriesmusic by [43]
2018Up To SnuffFilmmusic by [11]

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 "W. G. Snuffy Walden". Allmusic. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Grey, Hilarie (2001). "W. G. Snuffy Walden". Jazz Times. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "W.G. Snuffy Walden". Mambo Sons. Archived from the original on September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Nickname". Archive of American Television. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ↑ "W.G. Snuffy Walden – Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 "W.G. "Snuffy" Walden – Movies and Filmography". AllMovie. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  8. ↑ Guitar, Vintage (July 1, 2002). "July 2002". Vintage Guitar® magazine. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  9. ↑ "W.G. Snuffy Walden". Television Academy Interviews. January 1, 2018. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Documentary on TV Composer W.G. Snuffy Walden Leads a Strong Newport Beach Film Festival Music Program". OC Weekly. April 26, 2018. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Pasadena Now » Pasadena International Film Festival Wraps Up a Week of Celebrity Sightings, Screenings, World Premieres, and Golden Era Hollywood Film Parties". Pasadena.com. March 16, 2018. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
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  17. ↑ "Emmys: Awards and Nominations". Stephen King's The Stand. ABC. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Emmys: Awards and Nominations". My So-Called Life. ABC. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  19. 1 2 "Emmys: Awards and Nominations". Early Edition. CBS. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Emmys: Awards and Nominations". Felicity. WB. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Emmys: Awards and Nominations". The West Wing. NBC. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Emmys: Awards and Nominations". Miracles. ABC. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Emmys: Awards and Nominations". Huff. Showtime. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Emmys: Awards and Nominations". Kidnapped. NBC. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  25. ↑ Shared with John Lennon and Paul McCartney
  26. ↑ Shared with Allen Reynolds
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  28. ↑ Shared with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Bennett Salvay
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  30. ↑ "Stray Dog – Stray Dog – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  31. ↑ "Fasten Your Seat Belts – Stray Dog – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  32. ↑ "While You're Down There – Stray Dog – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  33. 1 2 3 Smith, William Michael (February 25, 2009). "Houston-Born TV-Theme Composer W.G. "Snuffy" Walden Enjoys His Wonder Years". Houston Press. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  34. ↑ Variety TV REV 1991–92 17. Variety Television Reviews Series. Taylor & Francis. 1994. p. 444. ISBN   978-0-8240-3796-3 . Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  35. ↑ Sandler, Adam (February 28, 1994). "Fox Night at the Movies Rise & Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story". Variety. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  36. ↑ Scott, Tony (September 13, 1995). "The Drew Carey Show". Variety. Archived from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
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  38. ↑ Muir, J.K. (2007). TV Year: The Prime Time 2005–2006 Season . TV Year. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p.  210. ISBN   978-1-55783-684-7 . Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  39. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "W. G. Snuffy Walden". Hollywood Elite Composers. December 13, 1961. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  40. ↑ "Stetson, Street Dog of Park City". Park City Film Music Festival. 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  41. ↑ Lowry, Brian (June 20, 2013). "Under the Dome". Variety. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  42. ↑ Parisi, Paula (October 8, 2016). "Nashville Tunes-Up for Season Five". MaxTheTrax. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  43. ↑ "CBS' 'SEAL Team' to Feature Music by W.G. Snuffy Walden & Patrick Rose". Film Music Reporter. September 27, 2017.
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