John Waldo "Fee" Waybill (born September 17, 1950 in
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...
) is the lead singer and songwriter of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
band
The Tubes
The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early ...
. Waybill has also worked with other acts, including
Toto
Toto may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets
* Toto (Oz), Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''
* Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns#Plot, The Cat Returns''
Characters of agency
* a ...
,
Richard Marx
Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Marx's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, " D ...
, and
Billy Sherwood
William Wyman Sherwood (born March 14, 1965) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, record producer and mixing engineer. He is best known for his tenures in the English progressive rock band Yes as guitarist and keyboardist fr ...
.
Early life and education
Waybill moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in the 1950s and grew up in the Southwest Village area. He then attended
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...
, where he had planned to study oceanography. Ultimately, he discovered acting and decided to pursue that as a field of study. Waybill eventually dropped out of college and, while hanging out in the Verde Valley of Arizona, got to know his future bandmates, Roger Steen and
Prairie Prince
Charles Lempriere "Prairie" Prince (born May 7, 1950) is an American drummer and graphic artist. He came to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the San Francisco–based rock group The Tubes, was a member of Jefferson Starship from 1992 to ...
.
Career
Waybill, along with the Tubes, appeared in
Robert Greenwald
Robert Greenwald (born August 28, 1945) is an American filmmaker, and the founder of Brave New Films, a nonprofit film and advocacy organization whose work is distributed for free in concert with nonprofit partners and movements in order to educa ...
's ''
Xanadu
Xanadu may refer to:
* Shangdu, the ancient summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire in China
* a metaphor for opulence or an idyllic place, based upon Coleridge's description of Shangdu in his poem ''Kubla Khan''
Other places
* Xanadu (Titan), ...
'' (1980), and
Lou Adler
Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass Ro ...
's ''
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains'' (1982). In the latter film, he played the character Lou Corpse, the washed-up frontman of a band called the Metal Corpses. In 1984, a year after the Tubes released one of their most successful albums, Waybill released his first solo album called ''Read My Lips''. In 1996, Waybill released another album called ''Don't Be Scared By These Hands''.
With the Tubes, Waybill would perform as crippled Nazi Dr. Strangekiss, country singer Hugh Heifer, glam rocker Quay Lewd, and punk parody Johnny Bugger.
During the early 1980s, Waybill appeared as himself on a short-lived television program called ''
Rock 'N' America
''Rock 'N' America'' is an American sketch comedy and music video show.
In most markets that syndicated the program, it was usually aired Friday or Saturday evenings, usually at midnight or later. During Smith's run as host, much of the show's ...
'', usually performing as a street reporter who annoyed pedestrians with nonsensical interviews. He also made a cameo in ''
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
''Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure'' is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film directed by Stephen Herek and written by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon. The first installment of the ''Bill & Ted'' franchise, it stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Wi ...
'' as one of "The Three Most Important People in the World", and appeared, both acting and performing with The Tubes, in one of the "Fishin' Musician" skits on ''
Second City TV''.
In addition to his work with the Tubes, Waybill now works as a record producer. He was the producer for a number of pop music artists including singer-songwriter
Richard Marx
Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Marx's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, " D ...
.
Personal life
Waybill and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills area.
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Read My Lips'' (1984)
* ''Don't Be Scared by These Hands'' (1996)
* ''Fee Waybill Rides Again'' (2020)
with The Tubes
* ''
The Tubes
The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their eponymous 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope," while their 1983 single "She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the early ...
'' (1975)
* ''
Young and Rich'' (1976)
* ''
Now'' (1977)
*
What Do You Want From Live? (1978)
* ''
Remote Control
In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
'' (1979)
* ''
The Completion Backward Principle'' (1981)
* ''
Outside Inside'' (1983)
* ''
Love Bomb'' (1985)
* ''
Genius of America'' (1996)
*
Tubes World Tour 2001 (2001)
*
Wild in London (2005)
* ''Mondo Birthmark'' (2009)
Singles
* "You're Still Laughing" (1984)
* "I Don't Even Know Your Name (Passion Play)" (1984)
* "Meeting Half the Way" (1990)
* "Faker" (2020)
Soundtrack appearances
* "You're Still Laughing" & "Saved My Life" (from
''St. Elmo's Fire'') (1985)
*"Running Scared" (from ''
Running Scared'') (1986)
*"You'd Better Wait" (from ''
Dream a Little Dream'') (1989)
References
External links
The Tubes official websiteExclusive Fee Waybill Radio InterviewSteve Lukather website news*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waybill, Fee
1950 births
Living people
American rock singers
Songwriters from Nebraska
Record producers from Nebraska
The Tubes members
Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska