Waddy Wachtel

Legendary rock'n'roll session guitarist par excellence Robert "Waddy" Wachtel was born on May 24, 1947 to Harry and Rhoda Wachtel in the Jackson Heights section of Queens, New York City. He acquired his unusual nickname "Waddy" when he was a teenager and took guitar lessons from teacher Gene Dell from ages nine to fourteen. Wachtel started out performing in local bands around the New York area. In 1970 Waddy moved to Los Angeles, California to work as a composer and producer for the Cowsills. He got his first big break in the music business when he was hired by singer/songwriter Warren Zevon to be a guitarist in the backing band for the Everly Brothers. Wachtel got his first major album credit on the 1972 Everly Brothers album "Stories We Could Tell" and subsequently went on tour with the famous duo. Waddy soon amassed a huge list of credits as a session guitarist, composer and producer who's contributed to hundreds of albums and singles; among the many folks he's worked with are Bob D