Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf (born August 25, 1952 in Vienna, Austria) is a Grammy-nominated composer, producer, songwriter and arranger who lived in Birmingham for a period of time during the mid-1970s. He was awarded knighthood in the form of the highest honor from his birth country of Austria, "Das Grosse Ehrenkreuz der Republik Österreich für Kunst und Kultur" (the Great Honor Cross of the Republic of Austria for Art and Culture). On March 20, 2008, Wolf returned to Birmingham and was a performer during the Birmingham Area Music Awards ceremony held at the historic Carver Theatre.
Early years
Wolf began classical piano study as a young boy at Vienna’s Conservatory of Music. At age 16, he won the European Jazz Festival as a solo pianist, and was twice awarded the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, a German award, for his work on Andre Heller and Erika Pluhar. Coming to America in his early twenties, he worked with local musicians such as Neal Starkey (bassist) and Bill Hatcher (guitarist) in Atlanta, Georgia and with Steve Sample, Jr (drummer) and Ray Reach (keyboardist, guitarist, vocalist) in Birmingham. After his time in the southeastern United States, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he played keyboards for Frank Zappa in the late 1970s.
Recordings made with Frank Zappa
Peter made several recordings as a member of Fran Zappa's band, including:
- Sheik Yerbouti (March 1979), #21 US (Single "Bobby Brown", Peter Wolf on Keyboards, Butter)
- Joe's Garage 1 (1979), #27 US
- Joe's Garage 2 & 3 (April-June 1979)
- Tinsel Town Rebellion (May 11, 1981), #66 US
- Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (May 1981)
Studio keyboard and arranging work
Wolf was recognized as one of America's top ranking studio keyboardists and arrangers from 1980 to 1985, and became very successful as a music producer and songwriter.
Peter produced eight #1 songs and has produced, arranged and/or written for a wide range of musical talents. A list of his pop hit productions includes:
- Jefferson Starship ("No Way Out" #23 US, 1984)
- The Commodores ("Nightshift" #3 US, #3 UK, 1985)
- Starship ("We Built This City" #1 US, #12 UK, 16 and 23 Nov. 1985)
- Starship ("Sara" #1 US, March 15, 1986)
- Wang Chung ("Everybody Have Fun Tonight" #2 US, #76 UK, 1986)
- Wang Chung ("Let's Go" #9 US, #81 UK, 1987)
- El Debarge ("Who's Johnny" #1 US, 1986, main theme of the film, Short Circuit)
- Nik Kershaw ("The Works", 1989)
- Go West ("King of Wishful Thinking" from the movie Pretty Woman #8 US, #18 UK, 1990)
- Go West ("Faithful" #14 US, #13 UK, 1992)
- Heart ("These Dreams" #1 US, 1986),
- Heart ("What About Love" #10 US, 1985) (Synth, Piano & Creative Input)
- Patti Labelle ("On My Own" #1 US, 1986)
- Kenny Loggins ("Playing with the Boys" from the movies Top Gun and Avalon)
- The Escape Club ("I'll Be There" #8 US, 1991)
- Starship ("Good Heart" #81 US, 1991)
- Indecent Obsession ("Kiss Me" #1 South Africa for an amazing 27 weeks, 1992)
A list of others pop artists with which Wolf has worked includes: Pablo Cruise, Grace Slick, Santana, Survivor, The Pointer Sisters, Chicago, Cliff Richard, Natalie Cole, The Scorpions, 'N Sync, Oleta Adams, Big Country, Sergio Mendes, Boz Scaggs, Joe Sample, Thomas Anders, Laura Branigan, BB King, Zucchero and The Who.
Film scores
Wolf has also scored a number of motion pictures including the 1993 film Neverending Story III, as well as Weekend at Bernie's II. He has also composed many scores in Europe including the new animated picture entitled “Nutcracker and Mouse King” featuring a star-studded cast which was nominated for the Deutscher Filmpreis. He scored Leon DeWinter’s movie “The Hollywood Sign”, starring Rod Steiger, Burt Reynolds and Tom Berenger.
Wolf’s compositional credits also include the score for the number one German picture in 1997 Irren Ist Maennlich (To Err is a Male Thing), as well as films such as Die Cellistin (The Cellist), Widows, St. Pauli Nacht (St. Pauli Night) and The Fearless Four. Peter is currently composing songs and score for the American picture Band on the Run, slated for release in 2008. In 1995, Wolf received the "Billy Wilder Award" of the Austrian Film Academy and University of Vienna.
Recordings as a leader
Solo
Albums
- 1968 - A Change in My Life
- 2000 - Progression - A Symphony by Peter Wolf
- 2003 - The Other Side
- 2004 - Sense-ation - A Symphony by Peter Wolf
Singles
- 1969 - "Kraft durch Freude"
- 1980 - "Tutti" (dedicated to his friend Janus)
Gipsy Love
Albums
- 1970 - Gipsy Love (The White Album)
- 1972 - Here We Come
Wolf & Wolf
Albums
- 1982 - Culture Shocked
- 1984 - Wolf & Wolf
Singles
- 1982 - "Think Pink"
- 1984 - "Don't Take the Candy"
Vienna
- 1987 - Guess What?
References
- Whitburn, Joel The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits.
- Thompson, Brent (March 13, 2008) "Hungry like the Wolf: Famed producer Peter Wolf returns to Birmingham." Birmingham Weekly.
External links
- Peter Wolf website
- Peter Wolf Music website
- Powerhaus Music website
- Peter Wolf on MySpace