Steve Conte
Encyclopedia
Steve Conte is an American singer and rock musician and lead singer of the band The Contes, along with his brother John Conte, both formerly members of the band Crown Jewels. He is perhaps more popularly known for his collaborations with composer Yoko Kanno, as well as being former lead guitarist of the New York Dolls
. Conte also plays guitar in Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe
's new band, The Michael Monroe Band—along with fellow New York Doll and bassist Sami Yaffa, and guitarist Ginger of The Wildhearts. Conte currently fronts his latest band, Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth. Their eponymous, critically acclaimed, Steve Conte-produced debut album was released on October 20, 2009 on Varèse Sarabande Records.
Conte first became known to the music industry in the early 1990s
as the songwriter
and guitarist
of the band Company of Wolves (Mercury Records
) and has since worked with artists such as Peter Wolf
, Willy DeVille
, Maceo Parker
, Phoebe Snow, Billy Squier
, Suzi Quatro
, Jill Jones
, Chuck Berry
, Paul Simon
, Simon & Garfunkel, David Johansen & The Harry Smiths, Willie Nile
, and many others. Conte also occasionally plays guitar with Eric Burdon
& The Animals
.
Conte often works with composer Yoko Kanno
and lyricist Tim Jensen
, creating soundtracks to anime
series, such as "Stray," the opening theme to the Wolf's Rain
, as well as the tracks "Heaven's Not Enough" and "Could You Bite the Hand?" All three appear on the OST albums.
Conte's vocals can also be heard in some episodes of Cowboy Bebop
, as well as the 2001 film
most notably for the song "Call Me Call Me," as well as "Words That We Couldn't Say," "No Reply," and "Diggin'." He also sang the OST CD version of "Rain," which is sung by Mai Yamane
in the series. He would later sing alongside Shanti Snyder
on "Living Inside the Shell," the ending theme to 2004's Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG.
He also performed on the duet "The Garden of Everything" with Japanese singer Maaya Sakamoto
on her RahXephon
-related single "Tune the Rainbow."
He provided the vocals for the 2007 video game Sonic and the Secret Rings
closing credits song titled "Worth a Chance," as well as the game's main theme "Seven Rings in Hand."
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
. Conte also plays guitar in Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe
Michael Monroe
Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm , best known by his stage name, Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician, and multi-instrumentalist who rose to fame as the vocalist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, and has served as the frontman for all-star side projects, such as Demolition 23...
's new band, The Michael Monroe Band—along with fellow New York Doll and bassist Sami Yaffa, and guitarist Ginger of The Wildhearts. Conte currently fronts his latest band, Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth. Their eponymous, critically acclaimed, Steve Conte-produced debut album was released on October 20, 2009 on Varèse Sarabande Records.
Conte first became known to the music industry in the early 1990s
1990s in music
For music from a year in the 1990s, go to 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99This article includes trends in popular music in the 1990s....
as the songwriter
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...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
of the band Company of Wolves (Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
) and has since worked with artists such as Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf is an American Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll musician, best known as the lead vocalist for the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983; and for a successful musical solo career to date with writing partner Will Jennings.- Life and career :Wolf was born in the Bronx, New York...
, Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five year career, first with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary...
, Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...
, Phoebe Snow, Billy Squier
Billy Squier
William Haislip "Billy" Squier is an American rock musician. Squier had a string of arena rock hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke" on his 1981 album release Don't Say No...
, Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro
Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor.She scored a string of hit singles in the 1970s that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, and had a recurring role on the popular American sitcom Happy Days.-Music:Quatro began her...
, Jill Jones
Jill Jones
Jill Jones is an American singer and songwriter, who was a backing vocalist for Teena Marie and Prince in the 1980s.-Biography:...
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, Simon & Garfunkel, David Johansen & The Harry Smiths, Willie Nile
Willie Nile
Willie Nile is an American singer-songwriter. In 1980 Nile released his self-titled debut album which according to one critic remains “one of the most thrilling post-Byrds folk-rock albums of all time”...
, and many others. Conte also occasionally plays guitar with Eric Burdon
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon is an English singer-songwriter best known as a founding member and vocalist of rock band The Animals, and the funk rock band War and for his aggressive stage performance...
& The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
.
Conte often works with composer Yoko Kanno
Yoko Kanno
is a composer, arranger and musician best known for her work on the soundtracks for many games, anime films, TV series, live-action movies, and advertisements...
and lyricist Tim Jensen
Tim Jensen
Tim Jensen is a long-time collaborator with anime soundtrack producer/composer Yoko Kanno and her group The Seatbelts, as an original member. He is the voice on "Tank", the opening song of Cowboy Bebop...
, creating soundtracks to anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series, such as "Stray," the opening theme to the Wolf's Rain
Wolf's Rain
is an anime series created by writer and story editor Keiko Nobumoto and produced by Bones Studio. The series was directed by Tensai Okamura and featured character designs by Toshihiro Kawamoto with a soundtrack produced and arranged by Yoko Kanno. It focuses on the journey of four lone wolves...
, as well as the tracks "Heaven's Not Enough" and "Could You Bite the Hand?" All three appear on the OST albums.
Conte's vocals can also be heard in some episodes of Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop
is a critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. Its 26 episodes comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of five bounty...
, as well as the 2001 film
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
, known internationally as Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, is a 2001 animated film directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. The screenplay was written by Keiko Nobumoto, based on the Cowboy Bebop television series created by Sunrise. The plot centers on Spike Spiegel and his crew as they find a criminal who is...
most notably for the song "Call Me Call Me," as well as "Words That We Couldn't Say," "No Reply," and "Diggin'." He also sang the OST CD version of "Rain," which is sung by Mai Yamane
Mai Yamane
is a Japanese singer, well known for her work on the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack with Yoko Kanno. Her career started at the very beginning of the 1980s when she participated in a young singer's contest in Japan. Six months, later she finished her first album...
in the series. He would later sing alongside Shanti Snyder
Shanti Snyder
Shanti is a half Japanese/French lyricist, singer, songwriter, and music TV host based in Japan. She performs with a few different formations in the Tokyo area in some of the best clubs and has also appeared with many top artists....
on "Living Inside the Shell," the ending theme to 2004's Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG.
He also performed on the duet "The Garden of Everything" with Japanese singer Maaya Sakamoto
Maaya Sakamoto
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actress, and voice actress. She made her debut as a voice actress in 1992 as the voice of Chifuru in the anime series Little Twins, but is more well known for her role as Hitomi Kanzaki in the hit anime series The Vision of Escaflowne...
on her RahXephon
RahXephon
is a Japanese anime series about 17-year-old Ayato Kamina, his ability to control a godlike mecha known as the RahXephon, and his inner journey to find a place in the world...
-related single "Tune the Rainbow."
He provided the vocals for the 2007 video game Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic and the Secret Rings
is a video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega as part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released exclusively for the Wii on February 20, 2007 in North America; March 2 in Europe; and March 15 in Japan. It is the first Sonic game for the console, released in place of an...
closing credits song titled "Worth a Chance," as well as the game's main theme "Seven Rings in Hand."
With Company of Wolves
- Company of Wolves (1990, Mercury RecordsMercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
) - Shakers and Tambourines (1998, Ryf Records)
- Steryl Spycase (2001, Ryf Records)
With New York Dolls
- One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This (2006, Roadrunner RecordsRoadrunner RecordsRoadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
) - Cause I Sez SoCause I Sez SoCause I Sez So is the fourth studio album by the New York Dolls. It was released on May 5, 2009 on Atco Records. The album was produced by Todd Rundgren, who also produced their self-titled debut album. One of the songs, "Trash", is a re-recording of a song that originally appeared on their debut...
(2009, Atco RecordsAtco RecordsATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...
)
With Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth
- Steve Conte & The Crazy Truth (2009 Varèse SarabandeVarèse SarabandeVarèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
)
With Michael Monroe
- Another Night In The Sun - Live in Helsinki (2010 Spinefarm RecordsSpinefarm RecordsSpinefarm Records is a Finland-based record label focusing mainly on heavy metal artists. In 1999, a sub-label titled Spikefarm Records was started by Sami Tenetz from Thy Serpent...
) - Sensory Overdrive (2011 Spinefarm Records)