Willie Weeks

Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also gained fame touring with many of rock's heavyweights throughout his career.

Career

Weeks was born in Salemburg, North Carolina, and began playing the electric bass in the early 1960s. His earliest influences were the country, pop and R&B music he heard on the radio. Weeks counts bassists Ron Carter, James Jamerson, and Ray Brown as early influences.

Weeks has worked in the studio or toured with a wide range of artists, including Gregg Allman, David Bowie, Jimmy Buffett, Kevin Chalfant, Eric Clapton, Hank Crawford, Bo Diddley, The Doobie Brothers, Lou Fellingham, Aretha Franklin, Isaac Hayes, George Harrison, Donny Hathaway, Etta James, Billy Joel, Chaka Khan, B.B. King, Neil Larsen, Lyle Lovett, Gail Davies, David Lee Roth, Michael McDonald, Don McLean, John Mayer, Bette Midler, Randy Newman, Andy Newmark, Pino Palladino, Boz Scaggs, John Scofield, Carly Simon, Soulive, Rod Stewart, The Rolling Stones, James Taylor, Joe Walsh, Steve Winwood, Bobby Womack, Stevie Wonder, Ronnie Wood and Eikichi Yazawa.

His playing on Donny Hathaway's ''Live'' (1972), including a 3½ minute bass solo on "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)", which is regarded by many bass players as some of Weeks' best work. He played a 1962 Fender P-Bass through an Ampeg SVT amplifier on the recording (though it had initially been reported that he played through an Ampeg B-15).

Weeks' contributions to the Hathaway album impressed many English rock musicians, leading to his work with Ronnie Wood, The Rolling Stones ( "It's Only Rock & Roll"), George Harrison and David Bowie from 1974 onwards. In a press conference for his 1974 North American tour, Harrison cited Weeks' musicianship when dismissing the likelihood of a Beatles reunion, saying he would "rather have Willie Weeks on bass than Paul McCartney".

Weeks played with Ask Rufus, the precursor band to Rufus with Chaka Khan. He appeared on their recording of Al Kooper's song "Brand New Day". Weeks also played with the Fabulous Amazers and Bill Lordan (pre Robin Trower drummer) in the Minnesota group Gypsy. He also played bass guitar for Michael's Mystics back in the 1960s in Minnesota, with Lordan again on drums. That band recorded "Pain" by the Grassroots, a big hit locally for the Mystics.

He also played bass at Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival on July 28, 2007 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois.

Equipment

In addition to his red 1962 Fender Precision bass, Weeks uses a maple-neck 1958 Precision bass and a 1964 Fender Jazz Bass, as well as a tobacco sunburst Kay four-string acoustic bass for Clapton's "unplugged repertoire". Weeks used a sunburst 1963 P-Bass during Clapton's 2008 European Summer tour. In 2014 he began using his "WW" Willie Weeks signature bass by Bee Basses.

On the 2009 Australasian and British tours, Weeks played Fender, Kay and Alleva Coppolo basses. In 2017, Weeks used a custom-made Alien Audio bass made by Charles "Chopper" Anderson in Nashville.

Weeks appeared in the films '' Blues Brothers 2000'' (in a fictional supergroup along with other musicians he's worked with) and ''Lightning in a Bottle''.

Discography

With Gypsy
* 1971 '' In the Garden''
With Donny Hathaway
* 1973 '' Extension of a Man''
With Herbie Mann
* 1973 '' Turtle Bay''
With Stevie Wonder
* 1973 '' Innervisions''
With Gloria Jones
* 1973 '' Share My Love''
With Splinter
* 1974 '' The Place I Love''
With Aretha Franklin
* 1974 '' Let Me in Your Life''
With Randy Newman
* 1974 '' Good Old Boys''
* 1977 '' Little Criminals''
* 1979 ''Born Again''
With Ronnie Wood
* 1974 '' I've Got My Own Album to Do''
* 1975 '' Now Look''
* 2001 '' Not for Beginners''
With Rod Stewart
* 1974 '' Smiler''
* 1976 '' A Night on the Town''
With George Harrison
* 1974 ''Dark Horse''
* 1975 '' Extra Texture (Read All About It)''
* 1976 '' Thirty Three & 1/3''
* 1979 ''George Harrison''
* 1981 '' Somewhere in England''
* 1982 '' Gone Troppo''
With Don McLean
* 1974 '' Homeless Brother''
With David Bowie
* 1975 '' Young Americans''
With Jorge Calderón
* 1975 '' City Music''
With James Taylor
* 1975 ''Gorilla''
* 1976 '' In the Pocket''
With Carly Simon
* 1975 '' Playing Possum''
With David Cassidy
* 1975 '' The Higher They Climb''
* 1976 '' Home Is Where the Heart Is''
With Terry Garthwaite
* 1975 ''Terry''
With Kenny Vance
* 1975 ''Vance 32''
With Al Jarreau
* 1976 '' Glow''
With Richie Havens
* 1976 ''The End of the Beginning''
With Dianne Brooks
* 1976 ''Back Stairs of My Life''
With The Miracles
* 1976 '' The Power of Music''
* 1977 '' Love Crazy''
With Maria Muldaur
* 1976 '' Sweet Harmony''
With David Batteau
* 1976 ''Happy in Hollywood''
With Steve Winwood
* 1977 '' Steve Winwood''
With Gregg Allman Band
* 1977 '' Playin' Up a Storm''
With Cher and Gregg Allman
* 1977 '' Two the Hard Way''
With Lenny Williams
* 1977 ''Choosing You''
With Dan Fogelberg
* 1978 '' Twin Sons of Different Mothers''
With Joe Walsh
* 1976 '' You Can't Argue With a Sick Mind''
* 1978 '' But Seriously, Folks...''
With Rickie Lee Jones
* 1979 ''Rickie Lee Jones''
With Bette Midler
* 1979 '' Thighs and Whispers''
With The Whispers
* 1979 '' Whisper in Your Ear''
With Adam Mitchell
* 1979 ''Redhead in Trouble''
With Chaka Khan
* 1980 '' Naughty''
With Stephen Bishop
* 1980 '' Red Cab to Manhattan''
With Michael McDonald
* 1982 '' If That's What It Takes''
* 1986 '' No Lookin' Back''
* 2017 '' Wide Open''
With Bill LaBounty
* 1982 '' Bill LaBounty''
With John Mellencamp
* 1983 '' Uh-huh''
* 1989 '' Big Daddy''
* 2001 '' Cuttin' Heads''
With Patrick Simmons
* 1983 ''Arcade''
With Rosanne Cash
* 1985 '' Rhythm & Romance''
With Jimmy Buffett
* 1986 '' Floridays''
With William Lee Golden
* 1986 ''American Vagabond''
With Webb Wilder
* 1989 ''Hybrid Vigor''
With Etta James
* 1989 '' Seven Year Itch''
* 1992 '' The Right Time''
With Vince Gill
* 1989 '' When I Call Your Name''
* 1991 '' Pocket Full of Gold''
* 1992 '' I Still Believe in You''
* 1994 '' When Love Finds You''
* 2000 '' Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye''
* 2003 '' Next Big Thing''
* 2013 ''Bakersfield''
* 2016 '' Down to My Last Bad Habit''
With Kenny Rogers
* 1989 '' Something Inside So Strong''
* 1997 '' Across My Heart''
With Marty Balin
* 1991 '' Better Generation''
With Ronna Reeves
* 1991 ''Only the Heart''
With Joan Baez
* 1992 '' Play Me Backwards''
* 1997 '' Gone from Danger''
With Wynonna Judd
* 1992 '' Wynonna''
* 1993 '' Tell Me Why''
* 1996 '' Revelations''
* 1997 '' The Other Side''
* 2000 '' New Day Dawning''
* 2003 '' What the World Needs Now Is Love''
With John Michael Montgomery
* 1992 '' Life's a Dance''
With Tracy Lawrence
* 1994 '' I See It Now''
With Billy Burnette
* 1994 ''Coming Home''
With Chris Norman
* 1994 ''The Album''
With Rodney Crowell
* 1995 '' Jewel of the South''
With Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
* 1995 ''Long Way Home''
With Peter Cetera
* 1995 '' One Clear Voice''
* 2001 '' Another Perfect World''
With Janis Ian
* 1995 ''Revenge''
* 2000 '' God and the FBI''
With Tanya Tucker
* 1995 '' Fire to Fire''
* 2002 '' Tanya''
With Mac Gayden
* 1995 ''Nirvana Blues''
With Russ Taff
* 1995 '' Winds of Change''
With Lisa Brokop
* 1996 '' Lisa Brokop''
With Dan Hill
* 1996 ''I'm Doing Fine''
With Lari White
* 1996 '' Don't Fence Me In''
With Anita Cochran
* 1997 '' Back to You''
With Mark Nesler
* 1998 ''I'm Just That Way''
With Tara Lyn Hart
* 1999 '' Tara Lyn Hart''
With Sonya Isaacs
* 2000 ''Sonya Isaacs''
With Robert Cray
* 2001 '' Shoulda Been Home''
With Gov't Mule
* 2001 '' The Deep End, Volume 1''
With The Tractors
* 2001 ''Fast Girl''
With Hal Ketchum
* 2001 '' Lucky Man''
With Alicia Keys
* 2003 '' The Diary of Alicia Keys''
With Keb' Mo'
* 2004 '' Keep It Simple''
With Amy Grant
* 2005 '' Rock of Ages... Hymns and Faith''
With J. J. Cale and Eric Clapton
* 2006 '' The Road to Escondido''
With John Mayer
* 2006 '' Continuum''
With Eric Clapton
* 2010 '' Clapton''
* 2013 '' Old Sock''
With LeAnn Rimes
* 2013 ''Spitfire''
* 2014 '' One Christmas: Chapter 1''
* 2015 '' Today Is Christmas''
* 2016 '' Remnants''
With Boz Scaggs
* 2013 '' Memphis''
* 2018 '' Out of the Blues''
With Leon Russell
* 2014 '' Life Journey''
With John Oates
* 2014 ''Good Road to Follow''
With Colin James
* 2015 ''Hearts on Fire''
With Mark Ronson
* 2015 '' Uptown Special''
With Cyndi Lauper
* 2016 '' Detour''
With Elizabeth Cook
* 2016 ''Exodus of Venus''
With Ronnie Baker Brooks
* 2017 ''Times Have Changed''
With Gloria Gaynor
* 2019 ''Testimony''
With Wendy Moten
* 2020 ''I've Got You Covered''
With Cravity
* 2020 '' Season 2. Hideout: The New Day We Step Into''

References

External links

* Clark, Doug (January 21, 2007).
The mark of a musician
. ''The Sampson Independent''. Retrieved on August 31, 2007.
* Johnston, Richard (August 2005).
Willie Weeks Does It All
. ''Bass Player''. Retrieved on August 31, 2007. (Se
web archive version

* ''Guitar Player''. November 1990.

Eric Clapton's Fan Club

Bass Player.com Willie Weeks

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weeks, Willie
1947 births
Living people
American country bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
American rock bass guitarists
American session musicians
The Doobie Brothers members
People from Sampson County, North Carolina
Guitarists from North Carolina
20th-century American bass guitarists
Gypsy (band) members
Country musicians from North Carolina
20th-century American male musicians
The David Lee Roth Band members