Randy Weeks is an American singer and songwriter.

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and ''Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

(who covered Weeks' song " Can't Let Go") has said: "Randy Weeks writes amazingly well crafted, beautifully melodic songs and delivers them with his own brand of laid back vocals and surfboard cool, very hip approach."

Biography

Weeks was born and raised in Windom, Minnesota. He first played the drums, and by age 16 he performed in a local country band. Weeks moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

, where he switched to guitar, and played in hard rock bands. He then moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

to further pursue his music career.

Lonesome Strangers

After Weeks met Jeff Rymes, they formed the Los Angeles country-rock band Lonesome Strangers. In 1985, the Strangers recorded their first album, ''Lonesome Pine'' (Wrestler).

Pete Anderson Pete Anderson is an American guitarist, music producer, arranger and songwriter. Anderson is most known for his guitar work with, and critically acclaimed production of, country music star Dwight Yoakam from 1984 through 2002, a partnership th ...

included the band on the compilation album ''

A Town South of Bakersfield ''A Town South of Bakersfield'' was a series of three compilation CDs showcasing New Country musicians in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The first album came out in 1986 and featured acts such as Dwight Yoakam, the Lonesome Strangers, and Candye ...

''. After that, Hightone offered them a contract and they cut the album ''The Lonesome Strangers'' and ''Land of Opportunity'' in 1997.

Session work and songwriting

Weeks toured with

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerabl ...

, and contributed vocals to Yoakam's albums ''

Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room ''Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room'' is the third studio album by American country music singer Dwight Yoakam, released on August 2, 1988. The album contains Yoakam's first two No. 1 Hot Country Singles singles. The first was "Streets of Bakers ...

'' and ''Under the Covers''. He sang and played on the 1989 self-titled album by Chris Gaffney and the Cold Hard Facts, which featured Weeks' song "I Was Just Feeling Good."

Solo career

Weeks' debut solo album ''Madeline'' was released by

HighTone Records HighTone Records was an American independent record label based in Oakland, California, United States. HighTone specialized in American roots music including, country, rockabilly, western swing, blues and gospel. The label was created by Larry ...

in 2000. It also featured

Tony Gilkyson Tony Gilkyson (born August 6, 1952) is a Los Angeles-based musician. He is the son of Jane Gilkyson and songwriter/folk musician Terry Gilkyson, as well as the brother of singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson. Career Gilkyson is a former member of ...

(guitar), Kip Boardman (bass), and

Don Heffington Don Heffington (December 20, 1950March 24, 2021) was an American drummer, percussionist, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the Los Angeles alternative country band Lone Justice, which he performed with from 1982 to 1985. Heffington was ...

(drums). Weeks' " Can’t Let Go" was the sole cover song and biggest hit on

’ Grammy-winning album, ''

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road ''Car Wheels on a Gravel Road'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, released on June 30, 1998, by Mercury Records. The album was recorded and co-produced by Williams in Nashville, Tennessee and Canoga Park, C ...

''. The song was also performed by

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...

and

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

on their 2021 album '' Raise the Roof''. From 2002 until 2006, Weeks played bi-monthly Saturday gigs at the Cinema Bar in

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

. When film director

Peter Farrelly Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist. Along with his brother Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and romantic comedy ...

saw Weeks perform there, he included a Weeks song on the

Shallow Hal ''Shallow Hal'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black about a shallow man who falls in love with a 300-pound woman after being hypnotized into only seeing a person's inner beauty. Directed by the Farrelly ...

film soundtrack. Other films such as Stuck on You, Sunshine State, and

Jack Frost Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, an ...

also feature Weeks’ songs. Weeks self-released ''Sold Out at the Cinema'' in 2004, and followed it with ''Sugarfinger'' (produced by Jamie Candiloro) in 2006. Upon relocating to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

from

in 2007, Weeks signed with Certifiable Records, and released the album ''Going My Way'' in 2009. Helping out were Will Sexton,

Eliza Gilkyson Eliza Gilkyson (born August 24, 1950, Hollywood, California) is a Taos, New Mexico-based folk musician.Gilkyson moved her base from Austin, Texas, to Taos in 2020. She is the daughter of songwriter and folk musician Terry Gilkyson and his wife, ...

Cindy Cashdollar Cindy Cashdollar is an American musician specializing in steel guitar and Dobro. She grew up in Woodstock, New York, where she perfected her skills by playing with bluegrass musician John Herald, blues musicians Paul Butterfield, and Levon ...

Rick Richards The Georgia Satellites are an American Southern rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They achieved mainstream success with their 1986 self-titled debut album, featuring their best-known single "Keep Your Hands to Yourself", which peaked at No. 2 on ...

, and

Mark Hallman Mark Hallman (born August 1, 1951) is an American producer, songwriter, engineer and multi-instrumentalist. He has worked with Carole King (appearing on six of her albums as a performer and producer), Ani DiFranco, and Eliza Gilkyson. In the ...

Discography

Solo Recordings

* 2000: ''Madeline'' ( HighTone) * 2004: ''Sold Out at the Cinema'' (self-released) * 2006: ''Sugarfinger'' (self-released) * 2009: ''Going My Way'' (Certifiable)

The Lonesome Strangers

* 1986: ''Lonesome Pine'' (Wrestler) * 1989: ''The Lonesome Strangers'' (HighTone) * 1997: ''Land Of Opportunity'' ( Mercury)

As composer

* 1990: Chris Gaffney - ''Chris Gaffney and the Cold Hard Facts'' (Rom) - track 6, "I Was Just Feeling Good" (co-written with Chris Gaffney and Wyman Reese) * 1998:

- ''

'' (Mercury) - track 7, "Can't Let Go" * 2014:

Beth Hart Beth Hart (born January 24, 1972) is an American musician from Los Angeles, California. She rose to fame with the release of her 1999 single " LA Song (Out of This Town)" from her second album ''Screamin' for My Supper''. The single was a number ...

and

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his ind ...

- '' Live in Amsterdam'' (J&R Adventures) - track 1-04, "Can't Let Go" * 2021:

and

- '' Raise the Roof'' - track 1-06, "Can't Let Go"

Also appears on

* 1987:

Wall Of Voodoo Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single " Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV ...

- ''

Happy Planet Happy Planet is a private company in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, known for making organic juices and smoothies. The company was started in 1994 by Randal Ius and Gregor Robertson. They originally started out with one farm producing car ...

'' ( I.R.S.) * 1988:

- ''

Buenas Noches From a Lonely Room ''Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room'' is the third studio album by American country music singer Dwight Yoakam, released on August 2, 1988. The album contains Yoakam's first two No. 1 Hot Country Singles singles. The first was "Streets of Bakers ...

'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

) * 1994:

- ''Working Class'' (Little Dog) * 1997: Dwight Yoakam: '' Under the Covers'' (Reprise) * 2002: Ramsay Midwood - ''Shoot Out at the OK Chinese Restaurant'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

) * 2006: Ramsay Midwood - ''Popular Delusions & the Madness Of Cows'' (Farmwire) * 2009: Peter Fahey - ''Thunder Underneath'' (Lotus Dweller) * 2006:

- ''Goodbye Guitar'' (Rolling Sea) * 2015: various artists - ''Cold And Bitter Tears: The Songs Of Ted Hawkins'' (Eight 30) - track 7, "I Got What I Wanted"

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weeks, Randy Living people People from Minnesota Singer-songwriters from Minnesota American male singer-songwriters American rock guitarists American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters American male guitarists Year of birth missing (living people)