Brett Walker
Encyclopedia
Carl Brett Walker is an American songwriter
, musician
, and record producer
. As a singer/songwriter, his music can be heard on over 300 network television shows, including The Young and the Restless
, One Tree Hill
, Felicity, CSI: Miami
, Everwood
, Malcolm in the Middle
, Baywatch
, and One Life to Live
.
Walker was born in Norman, Oklahoma, on November 14, 1961. At the age of 21 he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a songwriter and collaborated with a number of artists and songwriters, including Survivor
, Nick Gilder
, Jonathan Cain
(Journey
), Russ Ballard
and Alias
featuring Freddy Curci
.
In 1991 Walker co-wrote the song "Waiting for love" for the band Alias on EMI Capitol records and went on to become Walker's first top-10 international hit. The Alias CD earned platinum sales throughout the world and the song "Waiting for Love" received a BMI
Award for top radio airplay that year.
Walker then signed a publishing deal with EMI VIRGIN and went on to collaborate with writers such as Jeff Paris, John Purdell
(producer and writer for Ozzy Osbourne
) and Jonathan Cain.
Walker's first solo record, Nevertheless, released in 1994, generated a top-10 hit in Europe with the song "Lecia". Nevertheless was produced by David Prater (Producer of Dream Theater
& Fire House). Two songs from this CD were also co-written and produced by Jonathan Cain. The CD was released on Empire Records in Europe and Japan and reached the top-40 national sales charts in Scandinavia.
, HBO, MTV
& VH-1.
Walker is actively involved in contributing and raising funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
in Memphis Tennessee.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. As a singer/songwriter, his music can be heard on over 300 network television shows, including The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in a fictional Wisconsin town called Genoa City, which is unlike and unrelated to the real life village of the same name, Genoa City, Wisconsin...
, One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, Felicity, CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
, Everwood
Everwood
Everwood is an American drama television series that initially aired in the United States on The WB. The series is set in the fictional small town of Everwood, Colorado, and was filmed in Ogden, South Salt Lake, and Draper, Utah, except the series pilot which was filmed in Canmore, Alberta,...
, Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle
Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
, Baywatch
Baywatch
Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, sans the 1990-1991 season, of which it was not in production...
, and One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
.
Walker was born in Norman, Oklahoma, on November 14, 1961. At the age of 21 he moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a songwriter and collaborated with a number of artists and songwriters, including Survivor
Survivor (band)
Survivor is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1978. The band achieved its greatest success in the 1980s with its AOR sound, which garnered many charting singles, especially in the United States. The band is best known for its double platinum-certified 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger", the theme...
, Nick Gilder
Nick Gilder
Nicholas George "Nick" Gilder , is an English-Canadian musician who first came to prominence as the frontman for the glam rock band Sweeney Todd. He later had a successful solo career as a singer as well as a songwriter.-Biography:...
, Jonathan Cain
Jonathan Cain
Jonathan Cain is an American musician, best known for his work with The Babys, Journey and Bad English.-Early life:...
(Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
), Russ Ballard
Russ Ballard
Russell Glyn Ballard is an English singer, songwriter and musician.-Career:Ballard was initially a guitarist with Buster Meikle & The Day Breakers in 1961, together with Roy Ballard, Russ's older brother on piano and Bob Henrit on drums...
and Alias
Alias (band)
Alias was a Canadian album-oriented rock/hard rock supergroup band, formed in 1988 by vocalist Freddy Curci and guitarist Steve DeMarchi of the Canadian arena rock band Sheriff , along with Heart founding members Roger Fisher, Steve Fossen, and Mike DeRosier.The band released its self-titled debut...
featuring Freddy Curci
Freddy Curci
Freddy Curci is a Canadian AOR rock vocalist and songwriter best known for his stints in Alias and Sheriff.Curci has a multi-octave vocal range and holds the Guinness World Record for Longest Note Held in a pop song, for 30 seconds, timed and submitted by University of Houston, for the ending note...
.
In 1991 Walker co-wrote the song "Waiting for love" for the band Alias on EMI Capitol records and went on to become Walker's first top-10 international hit. The Alias CD earned platinum sales throughout the world and the song "Waiting for Love" received a BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
Award for top radio airplay that year.
Walker then signed a publishing deal with EMI VIRGIN and went on to collaborate with writers such as Jeff Paris, John Purdell
John Purdell
John Purdell was a musician and record producer who is credited on such albums as the 1991 Ozzy Osbourne's heavy metal No More Tears and Dream Theater's Awake. He was born in San Diego and raised in Los Angeles...
(producer and writer for Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
) and Jonathan Cain.
Walker's first solo record, Nevertheless, released in 1994, generated a top-10 hit in Europe with the song "Lecia". Nevertheless was produced by David Prater (Producer of Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
& Fire House). Two songs from this CD were also co-written and produced by Jonathan Cain. The CD was released on Empire Records in Europe and Japan and reached the top-40 national sales charts in Scandinavia.
Discography
- 1990 Stranger Michael ThompsonMichael Thompson (guitarist)Michael Thompson is an American guitarist and songwriter.Thompson achieved enduring modest success with his 1989 melodic rock/AOR group Michael Thompson Band but is most noted for his work as a popular session guitarist on the recordings of some of the most popular musical artists of the 1980s,...
Band / Geffen RecordsGeffen RecordsGeffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
. - 1991 "Waiting for Love" AliasAlias (band)Alias was a Canadian album-oriented rock/hard rock supergroup band, formed in 1988 by vocalist Freddy Curci and guitarist Steve DeMarchi of the Canadian arena rock band Sheriff , along with Heart founding members Roger Fisher, Steve Fossen, and Mike DeRosier.The band released its self-titled debut...
/ EMI Capitol Records (BMI Award Winning Top 10 Single). - 1992 Taste of Love Jimi JamisonJimi JamisonJimmy Wayne "Jimi" Jamison is a rock vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer for the band Survivor from 1984–1989 and 2000-2006.- Further biography :...
/ Scotti Bros Records (Billboard magazine AOR top 50 hit) Also available on Jimi Jamison/Survivor’s Greatest hits Volume 2 / Scotti Brothers RecordsScotti Brothers RecordsScotti Brothers Records was a California-based record label founded by Tony and Ben Scotti in 1974. Their first success was releasing albums from teen pop star Leif Garrett. They later helped launch the careers of Felony, Survivor, and "Weird Al" Yankovic...
. - 1993 After the Tears Jeff ParisJeff ParisJeffrey Bruce Paris is a British mathematician known for his work on mathematical logic, in particular provability in arithmetic, uncertain reasoning and inductive logic with an emphasis on rationality and common sense principles....
/ Now And Then records. - 1994 Nevertheless (Solo CD) Brett Walker / Empire Records Scandinavia / Toshiba EMI Japan (Scandinavian Top-40 National Sales Charts / with Top 10 radio hit).
- 1994 Snakes in Paradise (co wrote 5 songs & produced the album) Snakes in Paradise / Toshiba Japan / Various Labels In Europe.
- 1995 LECIA / Greatest AOR Hits compilation CD. Released on Virgin RecordsVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
. - 1996 Brett Walker & The Railbirds (Solo CD) Brett Walker / Intersound Records / Westcoast Sony Scandinavia (Top 40 Radio Hit In Sweden & Denmark).
- 1996 Silver & Gold, It's a Good Thing, Drown in Your Ocean / Westcoast Records Compilation CD / Westcoast/SGA Europe.
- 2000 Lift Off (Solo CD) MTM RecordsMTM RecordsMTM Records was an American independent record label specializing in country music. It was founded in 1984 as a subsidiary of the production company of the same name, a company owned by actress Mary Tyler Moore. After MTM Enterprises was sold in late 1988, the label was absorbed into Capitol Records...
world wide. - 2006 Spirit Junky (Solo CD) NL world wide distribution.
Television appearances
Walker’s TV appearances include American BandstandAmerican Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
, HBO, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
& VH-1.
Personal life
Walker is married and currently resides in [Draper, Utah]. He has 3 children from one previous marriage.Walker is actively involved in contributing and raising funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded in 1962, is a leading pediatric treatment and research facility focused on children's catastrophic diseases. It is located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is a nonprofit medical corporation chartered as a 501 tax-exempt organization under IRS regulations.In...
in Memphis Tennessee.
External links
- http://www.nehrecords.com/shop/WalkerSpirit.htm
- http://www.aor.nu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=91&Itemid=129
- http://www.melodicrock.com/interviews/brettwalker.htm