Danny Weis (pronounced ; born September 28, 1948 in Huntington Park, California) is an American guitarist, best known as a founding member of both

Iron Butterfly Iron Butterfly is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1966. They are best known for the 1968 hit " In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida", providing a dramatic sound that led the way towards the development of hard rock and heavy metal musi ...

and

Rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

, as well as co-writer of Rhinoceros's only charting single, "Apricot Brandy". Though he left Iron Butterfly after only one album due to internal tensions,2001 June 2001 Interview with Danny Weis
Official Rhinoceros web site. his work was an influence in the band for most of their history, since his replacement Erik Brann made a conscious effort to imitate his playing. Weis later recounted "Erik Braunn replaced me in Iron Butterfly, and if I remember correctly, he bought a lot of my equipment, some of my clothes, they tried to clone me basically..." Weis appeared on Iron Butterfly's first two singles, " Don't Look Down On Me" and " Possession", and their debut LP ''

Heavy Heavy may refer to: Measures * Heavy (aeronautics), a term used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft capable of 300,000 lbs or more takeoff weight * Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight * Heavy, ...

''. In addition, the later album '' Live'' included a performance of "You Can't Win", a song from ''Heavy'' for which Weis wrote the music. After leaving Iron Butterfly, Weis became a founding member of Rhinoceros and played on all three of their albums. "Apricot Brandy", an instrumental he co-wrote with Rhinoceros keyboardist

Michael Fonfara Michael Fonfara (11 August 1946 – 8 January 2021) was a Canadian keyboard player who was most notable for his work as a member of The Electric Flag and Rhinoceros in the 1960s, Rough Trade and Lou Reed's backing band in the 1970s and The Downchi ...

, reached No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100Joynson, Vernon (1995)
''Fuzz, Acid, & Flowers''
. London: Borderline Books. and has been used as background music on a number of TV shows. After Rhinoceros disbanded in 1970, Weis briefly served as a member of

The Rascals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. He then reunited with several fellow members of Rhinoceros to form the band Blackstone, which broke up after one commercially unsuccessful album. In 1974 Weis played lead guitar on Lou Reed's '' Sally Can't Dance'' album and on the subsequent world tour. In 1979 Weis appeared as the Band Leader and Guitarist of "The Rose Band" in the movie '' The Rose'' with Bette Midler. In December 2006, his debut solo album, an instrumental

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

effort titled ''Sweet Spot'', was released on Marshmellow Records.''Sweet Spot'' review
AllMusicGuide.

References

External links

Danny Weis Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weis, Danny 1948 births Living people People from Huntington Park, California American rock guitarists American male guitarists Iron Butterfly members 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Rhinoceros (band) members