Wilton Frederick "Freddy" Weller (born September 9, 1943)
is an American rock and roll and
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
and artist. He recorded for
between 1969 and 1980. He had his highest charted single in 1969 with his debut release, "Games People Play".
Biography
Early career
He was born in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, United States.
Weller played in a high school group, The Believers, which also included
Joe South
Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, ...
.
One of his first recording sessions was playing guitar on
Billy Joe Royal
Billy Joe Royal (April 3, 1942 – October 6, 2015) was an American country soul singer. His most successful record was " Down in the Boondocks" in 1965.
Life and career
Born in Valdosta, Georgia, to Clarence and Mary Sue Smith Royal, and ra ...
's 1965 track, "
Down in the Boondocks", which was written by South.
Paul Revere & the Raiders
His recording career continued in 1967, as lead guitarist in the band
Paul Revere & The Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...
.
Around the time he joined the band, the group's two main members,
Mark Lindsay
Mark Lindsay (born March 9, 1942) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders.
Early life
Lindsay was born in Eugene, Oregon, and was the second of eight children of George and Esther Ell ...
and
Paul Revere
Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, military officer and industrialist who played a major role during the opening months of the American Revolutionary War in Massachusetts, ...
, had just started hosting the show ''
Happening '68''. The other Raiders members, Charlie Coe,
Keith Allison, and Joe Correro Jr, acted as the show's in-studio houseband. He penned their 1969 hit "We Gotta All Get Together".
Weller remained in the Raiders until its split in 1975. The group soon reformed without Weller.
Solo
Weller recorded many rock and roll and country songs, such as Joe South's "
'Games People Play", which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard
Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
chart in 1969;
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...
's "
The Promised Land" and "
Too Much Monkey Business
"Too Much Monkey Business" is a song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, released by Chess Records in September 1956 as his fifth single. It was also released as the third track on his first solo LP, '' After School Session'', in May 1957; and a ...
", "She Loves Me Right Out Of My Mind", "
Indian Lake", both 1971, and many others. Weller also played guitar backing for both South and Royal.
He co-wrote "
Dizzy" and "
Jam Up and Jelly Tight", which were hits for
Tommy Roe
Thomas David Roe (born May 9, 1942) is an American rock and pop singer-songwriter.
Best-remembered for his hits " Sheila" (1962), "Sweet Pea" (1966) and " Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of th ...
in 1969 and 1970.
After releasing his 1980 single "Lost In Austin" and his 1982 studio album Ramblin' Man, Weller would semi-retire from the music industry, not making another release for thirty years, when he released the single "Your Memory Walks Through Walls" in 2010.
Discography
With
Paul Revere & the Raiders
Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revolu ...
Studio albums
Singles
Solo
Albums
Singles
References
External links
*
Freddy Wellerat Allmusic.com
Freddy Weller
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weller, Freddy
American country guitarists
American male guitarists
American country singer-songwriters
Singers from Atlanta
1947 births
Living people
Columbia Records artists
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
20th-century American guitarists
Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
20th-century American male musicians
American male singer-songwriters
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)
Paul Revere & the Raiders members