Dick Wagner, the guitarist, songwriter and bandleader who worked with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Kiss and Aerosmith, among others, died Wednesday (July 30, 2014) at the age of 71.
In his lifetime, Wagner played guitar with a
number of notable names in pop and rock, including Rod Stewart, Hall and
Oates and Meatloaf, among others. He also made a name for himself as a
songwriter for his mid-Seventies work with Cooper.
Wagner was born in Iowa but grew up in the
Detroit area and, as a self-taught guitarist, was asked to back Jerry
Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison on one-off gigs. By the later part of the
decade, he came to prominence as the frontman for the rock group the
Frost and, after moving to New York City in the early Seventies, as a
member of Ursa Major.
The latter group, whose original group featured
keyboardist Billy Joel, recorded with Alice Cooper producer Bob Ezrin,
who recognized Wagner's talent and brought him in to play additional
guitar on a few albums.
The Ezrin connection would pave the way for Wagner's biggest gigs. His playing was featured on some of Lou Reed's greatest recordings.
Wagner's final album was 2009's Full Meltdown
. MORE HERE & HERE Mindrocker: The Complete Series Vol. 1-13 Anthology of 60 US Punk Garage Psych
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