Dean Parks | |
|---|---|
 Parks in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Weldon Dean Parks |
| Born | December 6, 1946 Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop, rock, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, pedal steel |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Website | www |
Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Parks has one Grammy nomination. [1]
Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher in 1970. In 1980, he was a founding member of the Christian Jazz Fusion band Koinonia. Parks is best known for his many contributions to albums by Steely Dan, Michael Jackson, and Bread. Notably, he played guitar on Steely Dan's Royal Scam track "Haitian Divorce". [2] Parks is also a long-time collaborator on David Foster albums, such as Shadows by Gordon Lightfoot. [3]
Parks features on Cat Beach's albums Letting Go and Love Me Out Loud. In 2008, Parks participated in the production of the album Psalngs, [4] the debut release of Canadian musician John Lefebvre.
Parks is very prominently featured on Viktor Krauss' album II (2007), where he plays a plethora of other stringed instruments in addition to electric and acoustic guitars. [3] [5] He played on eight Lyle Lovett albums. [6]
During the late 1970s, Parks teamed up with Bread for their "Lost Without Your Love" reunion tour, taking on the responsibilities of lead guitarist. [7] Following the departure of founding member Jimmy Griffin, Parks then became the 'unofficial' fourth member for the duration of the 1977/78 tours, including the visit to England to record a BBC TV special.
He continued the role when Bread's co-founder, David Gates, put together his own solo touring band shortly afterwards. In the spring of 2005 he joined David Crosby and Graham Nash on their European tour, as well as their U.S. tours in fall 2007, fall 2008, and spring 2011. In April 2017 Parks joined James Taylor's band while Taylor recovered from a broken finger.
Parks has played guitar for film scores such as Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation (with Carol Parks), Bowfinger , My Big Fat Greek Wedding , The Big Bounce , Days of Thunder , Dying Young , August Rush , Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story and Rosewood (with Tommy Morgan and John Williams).
He was married to fellow musician Carol Parks.
With America
With Bobby Bland
With Cher/Sonny & Cher
With Chris Botti
With Michael Bublé
With T Bone Burnett
With Joe Cocker
With Andraé Crouch
With Rita Coolidge
With The Crusaders
With Julia Fordham
With Kenny Loggins
With Lyle Lovett
With Aaron Neville
With Madeleine Peyroux
With Rebecca Pidgeon
With Joe Sample
With Steely Dan
With others
Vincent Peter Colaiuta is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2014. Colaiuta has won one Grammy Award and has been nominated twice. Since the late 1970s, he has recorded and toured with Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, and Sting, among many other appearances in the studio and in concert.
Michael Baird is an American drummer. He has played drums for Airborne, Vasco Rossi, Billy Idol, Hall and Oates, Pointer Sisters, Donna Summer, Riverdogs, Animotion, Richard Marx, Wang Chung, Michael Bolton, Rick Springfield, Eddie Money, Kenny Loggins, Yumi Matsutoya, Juice Newton, and Prism. He was a touring drummer for Journey on their tour for the Raised on Radio album.
Paul Milton Jackson Jr. is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist.
Neil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist.
Fredrick O. Tackett is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Originally a session player on guitar, mandolin, and trumpet, he is best known as a member of the band Little Feat.
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Dan Higgins is an American saxophone and woodwind player. He has worked with such artists as John Williams, Seth MacFarlane, Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, Maroon 5, Kenny Loggins, Barry Manilow, Elton John, Go West, The Temptations, Lionel Richie, Joe Cocker, Lisa Stansfield, and Eros Ramazzotti. He has over 800 motion picture soundtracks to his credit. He is also known as the saxophone sound of Bleeding Gums Murphy from The Simpsons.
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Dennis Matthew Budimir was an American jazz and rock guitarist. He was considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew.
Carlos Vega was a Cuban-born Los Angeles-based session drummer best known for his performances with James Taylor. As a part of the L.A. studio scene from the late 1970s through the 1990s, Vega contributed to a wide variety of music during the rise and popularity of the California singer-songwriter movement.
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