Everything you Wanted to Know, See and Hear
of Waldo Weathers
Official Web Site
 |
Waldo Weathers 6216 Laredo Avenue Nashville, Tennessee USA 37209 Phone: 615.569.1766 E-Mail: saxual4u@aol.com |
Waldo Weathers is Nashville's musical gem - waiting to be discovered as a solo artist. After playing with James Brown for the last twelve years, Mr. Weathers has decided last February to go out on his own. Waldo stated, "I have traveled the world four times with the legends, James Brown, Charley Pride, Johnny Taylor. Now it's my time". This September could very well be his coming out party in Nashville. On Saturday night September 22, at the Boardwalk Café, Waldo and his band will be performing starting at 9 p.m. "for your saxual pleasure". You can also catch Waldo at Riff's Lounge every Wednesday night.
Waldo Weathers is a multi-talented singer and musician; he plays Baritone, Tenor, Alto and Soprano Sax, drums, piano, bass and guitar. He has performed with, in addition to the aforementioned legends, BB King, Bo Diddley, Delbert McClinton, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Church, Dr. John, Christian Hastings, Dewey Grooms, Martha High, Bobby Jones, Little Richard, New Birth, The Maniacs, Ray Wiley Hubbard, Stacy Michart, The Endeavors, Tyron Smith and Johnny Reno & the Sax.
What the critics - what his peers say - plus his achievements are all testimony to this great talent. Nancy Bishop, The Dallas Morning News… "Saxophonist Waldo Weathers: 'not just another face on the bandstand'". John Lomax, III… "I predict that we'll be3 hearing a lot more from Waldo Weathers". Dan Wunsch editor Nashville Music Guide… "Waldo Weathers seduces you in three ways from the stage, with his sax, with his voice and with his soul." He has appeared on TV on Arsenio Hall, Good Morning America, HBO Special Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He has been awarded instrumentalist of the year from the Texas Music Association, the Johnny High Country Music Review award, 1984 Southland Records Instrumentalist of the Year award.
That Waldo plays the sax like Louis Armstrong played the trumpet sometimes undermines the fact that Waldo has one of the best blues and R&B voices this side o the Mississippi. If you like a performer with a gritty edge to his voice mixed in with a truckload of soul, then Waldo is for you. Waldo is definitely a "Must" see act. He is backed up by the Christian Hastings Band and the Jimmy Church band in Music City Venues.
Waldo hails from Louisville, Kentucky. As a youngster, he started singing in the church, where his mother was the organist and his Dad sang in the choir. Waldo related, "Even though my mother was religious, she'd let me go play out in the clubs when I was young. A car would pull into the driveway and the driver would say, "Hey can the kid play tonight'. I'd hop into the car and away I would go with my mom's blessing." As a musician, his instrumental journey took him from bass to drums to piano and finally to the saxophone.
Waldo would perform numerous gigs in and around Louisville in the 60's. He began playing in a soul band called The Night Lighters at the age of 12 and this band became New Birth, which in 1966 had the hit "Wild Flower". IN the early 80's Waldo went "country" and released a country album Waldo the Country Sax. This led to another big break. While promoting his country career at Fan Fair in Nashville, Charley Pride saw him play and invited him to join his band. That started his career playing with the mega stars. Waldo's perspective on his fame… "Some things are meant to be. It's your destiny."
How did he end up in the James Brown band? It turns out that Waldo new Charles "Sweets" Sherrell, who played bass for James Brown. One night he joked with Sweets… "Hey, get me a gig with Brown! I'm available." Well six months later, Sweets came into Mere Bulles where Waldo was performing and asked him, "You still want that gig? Me and Brown were talking about a baritone sax player a few days ago". That started a twelve-year career with James Brown that took Waldo literally around the world. In addition, with James Brown in 1995 he recorded an album live with the Godfather of Soul entitled Live at the Apollo 1995. He has just recorded with James Brown Live at the House of Blues 2000.
On one of his tours with James Brown, Waldo related a very funny story that few know. It turns out that James was booked to do a show in Italy in a pool auditorium. A stage was set up on one side of the pool with audience sitting in the bleachers. Waldo reminisced… "Well it turns out James Brown can't swim. IN the middle of the set, he jumps off the stage right into the deep end of the pool. The backup singers knowing he cannot swim dive in to rescue him. Soon other members of the band were jumping into the pool along with the fans. After it was all over, James Brown gave everyone in the band a bonus of $100 if they jumped in the pool. Unfortunately, I couldn't swim so I never got my bonus".
The night NMG first ran into Waldo was in July right before the NAMM show. In town for the show were "Jabo" Stacks and Clyde Stubblefield, who had stopped at Riffs Lounge to see their ex-band member Waldo. The two have been James Brown's drummers throughout their careers both as members of the band and also session musicians on all of James Brown's hit records. Jabo graced the audience with a couple of tunes and started the show by commenting "I'm not really a singer". Well you could have fooled this writer. He totally mesmerized the crowd with a stellar performance that would have made any Memphis club proud and had the crowd on their feet several times.
Waldo could very well be the performer that breaks in to the mainstream with Blues and R&B. His voice is truly meant to song the blues and he is a maestro when it comes to the sax. Look for him to keep gigging in Nashville, but at the same time branch-out and headline festivals and concerts. Now's the time to see him in local club venues before he becomes an ant on stage in an arena and the only way you'll get close to him is through your binoculars. Look out for his seventh album coming out this spring.