Brett Tuggle (September 23, 1951 – June 19, 2022) was an American musician who is best known for his keyboard playing with

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

and the

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

band.

Career

Early years

As a child, he studied classical piano and learned guitar and organ in his birthplace of

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. As a teenager, he played in local Denver bands, including "The Dimensions," "U.S. Male" and "Phaedra." When he left home, he played in touring bands in Texas, where he learned a range of

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

styles. He then returned to Colorado where he launched the band Head First. In 1979, record producer Keith Olsen invited Tuggle to go to Los Angeles to meet an artist who needed a keyboard player.

Performing

In Los Angeles, Tuggle made numerous professional contacts with

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

s, which helped to start his touring career. He was the keyboardist for John Kay & Steppenwolf, before meeting

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

and joining his band in early 1982. He also played keyboards with

in Roth's post-

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

career 1986–1994 and briefly returned in 1997. In 1988, Tuggle co-wrote the top 10 hit single " Just Like Paradise" with Roth. In 1992, Tuggle was invited by

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and actor. He is the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of the group's bassist John Mc ...

to be a member of the band The Zoo. Tuggle also toured with

Steve Lukather Steven Lee "Luke" Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to ...

from Toto. Tuggle played with

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. Noted for his reverb-laden rockabilly revivalist style and wide vocal range, he is popularly known for his breakthrough hit and sig ...

and

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

. While Tuggle was known for his onstage keyboard playing for

, he was best known for his performing and songwriting as keyboard player for Roth on the 1986/1987 ''

Eat 'Em and Smile ''Eat 'Em and Smile'' is the debut studio album by former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth, released on July 7, 1986. It follows his successful debut EP '' Crazy from the Heat'' (1985). The album was certified platinum in the U.S., selling over ...

'' tour, the 1988 ''

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

'' tour, the 1991 '' A Little Ain't Enough'' tour where he also has several co-writes on that album, and up to the 1994 '' Your Filthy Little Mouth'' tour. He continued to perform on various occasions with Roth until some point in 1996/1997. Tuggle also played keyboards, guitars and sang backing vocals for

on their live recording '' The Dance'' in May 1997 and the ensuing tour through the fall of 1997. ''Scouting'' magazine's review of Roth's album ''

'', praised Tuggle's co-writing work on what it called the "best tunes" on the album. The review calls Tuggle and Roth's co-written song " Just Like Paradise" "...sexy, sassy, and memorable" and states that Tuggle's keyboard playing "...give the music an extra dimension and make "Paradise" the bounciest cut Roth's been involved in since "Jump"." Rick Springfield's book ''Late, Late at Night'' states that with his touring band, "Tim on guitar, Mike Siefret on bass, Brett Tuggle on keyboards", Springfield formed a "special camaraderie" with Tuggle on the road due to their shared interest in "illicit sex" with women.

Death

Brett Tuggle died on June 19, 2022, of complications related to cancer. He was 70 years old.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuggle, Brett 1951 births 2022 deaths musicians from Denver American heavy metal keyboardists American heavy metal guitarists Songwriters from Colorado Singers from Colorado American male singers 20th-century American musicians 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American male musicians Steppenwolf (band) members 20th-century American keyboardists Deaths from cancer in the United States The David Lee Roth Band members