James Jeffrey Weider (born December 21, 1951) is an American guitarist, best known for his work with the

Band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

. He joined the reformed version of the Band in 1985 to replace original guitarist Robbie Robertson.

Biography

A native of

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 20 ...

, Weider was born in 1951 and began playing guitar at age 11. Some of his early influences included

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

and

Scotty Moore Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968. Rock critic ...

. While still a teenager in Woodstock, Weider was influenced by guitarist

Buzz Feiten Howard "Buzz" Feiten (born November 4, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, session musician, and luthier. He is best known as a lead and rhythm guitarist and for having patented a tuning system for guitars and similar instrument ...

, Robbie Robertson and harp blues musician

Paul Butterfield Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

, he became acquainted with Levon Helm and

Garth Hudson Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...

and was exposed to the Band's music. Weider went on to become an accomplished studio session player in cities such as Nashville, touring with

Johnny Paycheck Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song " Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greate ...

Lee Clayton Lee Clayton (born Billy Schatz; October 29, 1942June 12, 2023) was an American songwriter and musician. He notably wrote Waylon Jennings' 1972 outlaw country song "Ladies Love Outlaws". Biography Clayton grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee an ...

and James Talley and in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

working at Axis Studios with

Harvey Brooks (bassist) Harvey Brooks (born Harvey Goldstein; July 4, 1944) is an American bass guitarist. Music career Bob Dylan Brooks came out of a New York music scene in the early 1960s. One of the younger players on his instrument, he was a contemporary of Feli ...

and

Richard Bell (musician) Richard Bell (March 5, 1946 – June 15, 2007) was a Canadian musician best known as the pianist for Janis Joplin and her Full Tilt Boogie Band. He was also a keyboardist with the Band during the 1990s. Early life and career Richard Bell was ...

but eventually returned to Woodstock to tour with

Robbie Dupree Robert Dupuis (born December 23, 1946), known professionally as Robbie Dupree, is an American singer best known for his hit songs " Steal Away" (No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100) and " Hot Rod Hearts" (No. 15). Early life Robbie Dupree was ...

and Levon Helm Woodstock All Stars. Levon Helm invited Jim to become the Band's sole guitarist in 1985, remaining until the group's dissolution in 2000 following the death of

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

in late 1999. Highlights with The Band include performing at Roger Waters THE WALL in Berlin, Germany 1990, Bob Dylan's 30th anniversary celebration and

Woodstock '94 Woodstock '94 was an American music festival held in 1994 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock festival of 1969. It was promoted as "2 More Days of Peace and Music". The poster used to promote the first concert was r ...

. Weider co-wrote on all three Band albums, including the song "Remedy" for

Jericho (The Band album) ''Jericho'' is the eighth studio album by Canadian-American rock group the Band. Coming seventeen years after their "farewell concert", it was released in 1993 and was the first album to feature the latter-day configuration of the group, as wel ...

. As a member of The Band, he opened for the Grateful Dead at their final show. Weider's main instrument is his 1952

Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bo ...

, but he also plays a vintage 1960s Silvertone

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

(primarily for

slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...

) and a vintage 1960s

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

Starfire III. For amplification, Weider uses a combination of Fender amplifiers and his own signature series JW40 amp, designed in conjunction with Fargen Amplification, Inc. He is also the co-designer of the AnalogMan King of Tone pedal, which he uses on his pedalboard, and BIG-T PICKUPS he co-designed with

Lindy Fralin Lindy Fralin is a US manufacturer of "boutique" guitar pickups based in Richmond, Virginia. He got his start in the early 1990s winding by hand on a homemade machine because he was not satisfied with commercially available pickups. After a number ...

. In addition to his work with the Band and his own musical group, the Jim Weider Band, Weider has performed and recorded with numerous other musicians, including Mavis Staples (co-wrote "Have a Little Faith", winning the 2005 Blues Music Award), Los Lobos,

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from ...

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

and Bob Weir. He has also played alongside

and

, who worked with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Jim produced and played on

Paul Burlison Paul Burlison (February 4, 1929 – September 27, 2003) was an American pioneer rockabilly guitarist and a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. Burlison was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, where he was exposed to music at an early age ...

's album ''Train Kept A-Rollin and Tom Pacheco's ''Woodstock Winter''. He is also featured in several instructional videos produced by Homespun Video. Following the departure of Jimmy Vivino in early 2009, Weider performed with the

Levon Helm Band Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...

until Helm's death in 2012. The latest incarnation of The Band's history, The Weight Band, originated inside the barn of Levon Helm Studios in 2013 when Jim Weider and Randy Ciarlante, both former members of The Band, were performing "Songs of The Band" with Garth Hudson, Jimmy Vivino and Byron Isaacs. After receiving support from fans, Weider, Ciarlante and Isaacs decided to continue the tradition of performing songs from The Band and invited Brian Mitchell and

Marty Grebb Marty may refer to: Names * Marty (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters, also includes stage names * Marty (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Marty, California, a former settlement * Marty, ...

-who contributed to both the Jericho and Jubilation albums- to complete their sound. The Weight Band later added Albert Rogers (2016), Michael Bram (2017) and Matt Zeiner (2019). In 2015, Jim Weider started Camp Cripple Creek with The Weight Band, a celebration of The Band's music, with the first year at Levon Helm Studios and the years after at Full Moon Resort in Big Indian. Some of the guest artists were Jackie Greene, Larry Campbell (musician),

Paul Barrere Paul Barrere (July 3, 1948 – October 26, 2019) was an American musician most prominent as a member of the band Little Feat, which he joined in 1972 some three years after the band was created by Lowell George. Career Barrere recorded and per ...

& Fred Tackett,

David Bromberg David Bromberg (born September 19, 1945) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. David Bromberg biographyat Billboard.com An eclectic artist, Bromberg plays bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock a ...

, Maria Muldaur and

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

Infinity Hall Infinity Hall is an American performing arts venue located in Norfolk, Connecticut, located in a historic building from 1883. Another venue also named Infinity Hall is operated by the same company in Hartford, Connecticut. Infinity Hall, Norfolk ...

Live program began airing a televised performance by The Weight Band, featuring new music by the band. In January 2018, Weider announced the first studio album for the Weight Band, World Gone Mad. "Common Man" - co-written by Levon Helm - was released as the first single. Recently, The Weight Band was announced as the first headliner for the new Folk & Americana Music Series, a celebration of the genre's rich musical history and influence, at the Boch Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Their first guest was the Guthrie Family (

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

). In addition to playing in The Weight Band, Weider tours with

G.E. Smith George Edward Smith ('' né'' Haddad; born January 27, 1952) is an American guitarist. Smith was the lead guitarist for the duo Hall & Oates during the band's heyday from 1979 to 1985, playing on five number one singles. After Hall & Oates went ...

and

Tom Principato Tom Principato (born 1952) is an American electric blues and blues rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Principato has recorded more than twenty albums over the years. One of his most recent releases, ''Robert Johnson Told Me So'' (2013) ...

as Masters of the Telecaster and does solo shows with his touring band Project Percolator.

Discography

With the Band

*1993 ''

The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration ''The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration'' is a live double-album release in recognition of Bob Dylan's 30 years as a recording artist. Recorded on October 16, 1992, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, it captures most of the concert, ...

'' (tribute to Bob Dylan) *1993 '' Jericho'' *1995 '' Let It Rock'' (tribute to Ronnie Hawkins) *1996 '' Not Fade Away (Remembering Buddy Holly)'' *1996 '' High on the Hog'' *1998 '' Jubilation'' *1999 '' Tangled Up in Blues'' *1999 '' The Best of The Band, Vol. II''

Solo

*2000 ''Big Foot'' *2003 ''Remedy'' *2006 ''Percolator'' *2006 ''Festivalink Presents: Jim Weider's Project'' *2009 ''Pulse'' *2012 ''Jim Weider's Project Percolator Live at Olde Mystick Village''

With the Weight Band

* ''World Gone Mad'' (2018) * ''Acoustic Live'' (2019) *''Live Is a Carnival'' (2020) *''Shines Like Gold'' (2022)

Others

*'' Let It Rock'' by Ronnie Hawkins, featuring several other members of The Band, 1995 *'' Carry Me Home'' by Levon Helm and Mavis Staples, 2022

References

External links

*
The Band History

Homespun Video
instructional DVDs and videocassettes
Fargen Amplification, Inc.
builder of the JW40 signature series amplifier
Jim Weider's Project Percolator collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive
Auxoro interview with Zach Grossfeld
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weider, Jim 1951 births American rock guitarists American male guitarists The Band members Living people People from Woodstock, New York 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists