Michael Ward (February 21, 1967 – April 1, 2024) was an American guitarist from

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, who was best known as a member of the 1990s alternative rock group

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers are an American rock music, rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. It ha ...

Biography

Ward was born in Minneapolis in 1967. He was a founding member of the early 1990s alternative rock band School of Fish on Capitol Records, his unique tone provided the underpinning hook for the band’s hit single "3 Strange Days". Michael's innovative approach to the guitar has captured the attention of several producers such as Matt Wallace (Faith No More, Maroon 5, Deftones, R.E.M) and Mark Endert (Madonna, Train, Miley Cyrus) leading to over 50 studio album recordings throughout his 35-year career. With Matt Wallace, Ward recorded the John Hiatt album ''Perfectly Good Guitar'', including the hit title track. Along with Mark Endert, he recorded the Gavin DeGraw album ''Chariot'', which featured the smash hit "I Don’t Wanna Be". In 1995, Ward was approached by Jakob Dylan to join

and record the album ''Bringing Down the Horse'', selling over 5 million copies and earning Michael a Grammy Award for "One Headlight" in the category of Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with vocal. Following the Wallflowers, Ward joined Ben Harper as one of the Innocent Criminals, contributing to ''Both Sides of The Gun'', ''Lifeline'', ''Call It What It Is'', along with Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama, where he earned an NAACP Image Award as Outstanding Gospel Artist for the album '' There Will Be a Light''. Ward played in over 50 countries worldwide. When not touring, he resided in Los Angeles, playing as a studio session musician and guitar instructor. In 1995 he played guitar for Adam Ant (an acoustic version of his song "Wonderful") on the Howard Stern radio show. On April 1, 2024, Michael Ward died at the age of 57 due to complications from diabetes. His sister Tracy Ward Hartfiel announced his death on Facebook, stating, “Michael Ward has left this plane. It’s with tremendous sorrow that I let you know complications from diabetes took his life last night.” The news was later confirmed by the Wallflowers on their official Facebook page, where they shared a tribute to Ward, expressing their love and gratitude for his contributions to the band.

Discography

References

External links

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Life of a Wallflower by Paul Hanson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Michael 1967 births 2024 deaths American rock guitarists American male guitarists The Wallflowers members Grammy Award winners Gogol Bordello members Guitarists from Los Angeles 20th-century American guitarists