Les Dudek (born August 2, 1952, at Naval Air Station,

Quonset Point, Rhode Island Quonset Point (), also known simply as Quonset, is a small peninsula in Narragansett Bay in the town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. Its name is widely known from the Quonset hut, which was first manufactured there. ''Quonset'' is an Algonq ...

, United States) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

, singer and songwriter. In addition to his solo material, Dudek has played guitar with Steve Miller Band, The Dudek-Finnigan-Krueger Band,

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Boz Scaggs William Royce "Boz" Scaggs (born June 8, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. An early bandmate of Steve Miller in The Ardells and the Steve Miller Band, he began his solo career in 1969, though he lacked a major hit until h ...

, The Allman Brothers Band, as well as

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

, Bobby Whitlock, Mike Finnigan,

Jim Krueger Jim Krueger () is an American comic book writer, novelist, and filmmaker. Early life Jim Krueger and his brother grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He developed an interest in comic books and storytelling in his youth, and has described a fateful t ...

and Dave Mason.

Early years

Dudek's father, Harold, was born in Campbell, Nebraska, and was a World War II veteran in the United States Navy. His mother, Alma, born in Brooklyn, was a former

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

Rockette The Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since , performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Ra ...

. Les has one older sister, Sandy, who was born in Brooklyn. The family is of Czech,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, Italian, and Russian descent. Six years after Les was born, his father retired from the Navy and the family moved to Florida where he grew up.

Musical career

The Beatles caught Dudek's ear at an early age. In 1962, at the age of ten, Les asked his parents for a guitar for Christmas. They bought him an acoustic guitar from Sears & Roebuck. His musical influences, along with The Beatles, were Cream,

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, and The Ventures. He had built quite a reputation around the Florida area as a proficient guitar player, having started playing in local bands as a teenager. Those bands were "The United Sounds", "Blue Truth" and "Power". That reputation would place him in the studio with the Allman Brothers Band for the recording of the '' Brothers & Sisters'' album. He played guitar harmonies with Dickey Betts on the well-known song " Ramblin' Man" and acoustic guitar on " Jessica". In

Alan Paul Alan Paul Wichinsky (born November 23, 1949, Newark, New Jersey) is a Grammy Award-winning singer and composer, best known as one of the founding members of the current incarnation of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Education Raised in ...

's book, ''One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band'', Dudek claimed to have written the part in "Jessica" from when it modulated into G then eventually back to A. His next stops were as a guitarist for

and The Steve Miller Band. Dudek was invited to play with Journey, however, he had received an offer to record for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

as a solo artist and took that path instead. He recorded four solo albums for Columbia Records, ''

Les Dudek Les Dudek (born August 2, 1952, at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, United States) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. In addition to his solo material, Dudek has played guitar with Steve Miller Band, The Dudek-Finnig ...

'', ''Say No More'', '' Ghost Town Parade'' and ''Gypsy Ride''. He had two minor hits with "City Magic" and "Old Judge Jones" which were played frequently on local radio stations in the Los Angeles, California area, where he lived at the time, having moved to West Hollywood in the mid-1970s. He later collaborated with

, and with two other Columbia artists, Mike Finnigan and Jim Krueger, with whom he formed The Dudek Finnigan Krueger Band in 1978. A DFKB album was released by Columbia Records a year later. Between the years 1979 and 1982, Les and Cher had a personal as well as professional relationship. Dudek wrote and performed some of the music for the 1984 movie '' Mask'' starring

, Sam Elliott,

Eric Stoltz Eric Cameron Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is an American actor, director and producer. He played the role of Rocky Dennis in the biographical drama film ''Mask'', which earned him the nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Support ...

, and Laura Dern. He had a small part in the film as "Bone", a biker. Dudek also appeared in the TV movie, ''Streets of Justice'' (1985). He has worked for NBC,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, ESPN, Fox Sports, and E! Entertainment Television. He can be heard on many television series including ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

''. In 1985, Dudek played guitar with

on her album ''

Rock a Little ''Rock a Little'' is the third solo studio album by the American singer and songwriter Stevie Nicks. Released in late 1985 while Fleetwood Mac were still on a lengthy hiatus following their album ''Mirage'' (1982), ''Rock a Little'' hit the top ...

'', and undertook her subsequent tour. In 1989, he did a brief stint with Canadian rock group John Kay & Steppenwolf as their guitarist. But problems developed between Dudek and Kay which led to him leaving the band after a month of touring. Two more solo albums later, ''Deeper Shades Of Blues'' (1994) and ''Freestyle'', Dudek hit the road again with his own band, and has been performing songs from all his records, plus a few hits he has recorded with other artists. In 2013, he released another solo album, ''Delta Breeze''.

Discography

;Les Dudek * ''

'' (1976) * ''Say No More'' (1977) * '' Ghost Town Parade'' (1978) * ''Gypsy Ride'' (1981) * ''Deeper Shades of Blues'' (1994) * ''Freestyle!'' (2003) * ''Delta Breeze'' (2013) ;The Dudek, Finnigan, Krueger Band * ''The Dudek, Finnigan, Krueger Band'' (1980) ; Steve Miller Band * ''

Fly Like an Eagle ''Fly Like an Eagle'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band Steve Miller Band, released in May 1976 by Capitol Records in the United States, Canada and Japan and Mercury Records in Europe. The album was a success, spawning three single ...

'' (1976) * ''

Book of Dreams ''Book of Dreams'' is the tenth studio album by Steve Miller Band. The album was released in May 1977 on Capitol Records in the United States, Canada and Japan and by Mercury Records in Europe. Three singles were released from the album in 1977 w ...

'' (1977) * ''

Living in the 20th Century ''Living in the 20th Century'' is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Steve Miller Band. The album was released in November 1986, by Capitol Records. The song " I Want to Make the World Turn Around" spent six consecutive weeks a ...

'' (1986) * ''

Wide River ''Wide River'' is the fifteenth album by American rock band the Steve Miller Band, released in 1993. The title track was their last ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single, peaking at No. 64. It would be Steve Miller Band's last studio album until '' Bing ...

'' (1993) ;

* ''

'' (1985) ;

* ''

Black Rose Black Rose or Black Roses may refer to: Books * Black Rose (.hack), a fictional character from the .hack media franchise * Black Rose (magazine), ''Black Rose'' (magazine), an anarchist magazine published in Boston during the 1970s and 1980s * Bla ...

'' (1980) ;

* '' Silk Degrees'' (1976) ;

* ''Southern Winds'' (1978) ;Richard T. Bear * ''Red Hot & Blue '' (1978) ; Mike Finnigan * ''Black & White'' (1978) ; The Allman Brothers Band * '' Brothers & Sisters'' (1973) ; Bobby Whitlock * ''Rock Your Sox Off'' (1976)

References

https://www.mercurynews.com/2009/08/20/a-real-guitar-hero/

External links

Les Dudek website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudek, Les 1952 births American rock guitarists American male guitarists American people of Czech descent American people of German descent American people of Italian descent American people of Russian descent Living people Guitarists from Florida Steppenwolf (band) members American rock singers Songwriters from Rhode Island Lead guitarists Slide guitarists American male singers American session musicians 20th-century American guitarists Singer-songwriters from Florida