Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and businessman. He became known as the lead guitarist of the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

rock band Extreme. He has also recorded a solo album as well as having founded bands including

Mourning Widows Mourning Widows was a musical project led by former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. The band was formed in 1997, and they released two albums during their career. Despite not being widely released in the United States, both albums were succ ...

, Population 1,

DramaGods DramaGods (formerly known as Population 1) is a rock band led by Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. The band originally started when Bettencourt released the album '' Population 1'' in 2002 (late 2001 in Japan). On the album, he recorded all ...

, and The Satellite Party.

Early years

Bettencourt was born on September 20, 1966 in

Praia da Vitória Praia da Vitória (; translating as "Beach of Victory") is a municipality in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. With a population of 21,035 (in 2011), the second largest administrative authority on the island of Terceira, it covers an ar ...

Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 53,311 inhabitants in an area of approximately . It is the location ...

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, to Ezequiel Mendes Bettencourt and wife Aureolina da Cunha Gil de Ávila. When he was four years old, his family, including brothers Luís and Roberto, moved to

Hudson, Massachusetts Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, with a total population of 20,092 as of the 2020 census. Before its incorporation as a town in 1866, Hudson was a neighborhood and unincorporated village of Marlborough, Massa ...

. Initially, Bettencourt had little interest in music, wanting to become an actor and preferring to spend his time playing

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. His first instrument was the drums, and he played them exclusively until his brother Luís started teaching him the guitar. While Bettencourt was slow to adopt the instrument under his brother's tutelage, his skills quickly developed when he began teaching himself, and he has mentioned in many interviews that he would skip many school days to practice upwards of seven hours a day. In his sophomore and junior years of high school, Bettencourt dropped out of sports so he could focus on playing guitar. He eventually dropped out of high school altogether, for the same reason. As a guitarist, one of Bettencourt's earliest influences was

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...

. However, as he developed his craft as a guitarist and a songwriter, his influences expanded to embrace

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

(

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

Ronni Le Tekrø Ronni Le Tekrø (born Rolf Ågrim Tekrø, 5 October 1963) is a Norwegian guitarist best known for playing with the Norwegian hard rock band TNT and as a solo guitarist cooperating with guitarists Terje Rypdal and Mads Eriksen as "N3". LeTekrø ...

(TNT),

Pat Travers Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Soon after picking up the guitar at ag ...

Paco de Lucía Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his works in jazz fusion and world music, he began his career as a guitarist of the group Return to Forever in 1974. Between the 1970s and 1980s, albums such as ' ...

, and

Kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

Extreme

Unable to make a dent in the music world with his Boston-based

hair metal Hair is a protein filament that grows from hair follicle, follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick ter ...

act Sinful, Bettencourt rose to international prominence as a guitar player after he joined the Boston-area group Extreme in 1985. Signed to

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

shortly after Bettencourt joined the group, the band released its debut record, '' Extreme''. He then provided rhythm guitar on the single version of

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

's "

Black Cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...

," which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1990, Extreme released their most critically acclaimed album, ''

Pornograffitti ''Extreme II: Pornograffitti'' (also known as simply ''Pornograffiti'') is the second studio album by the heavy metal band Extreme, released on August 7, 1990 through A&M Records. The album title is a portmanteau of pornography and graffiti. ...

'', which included the hits "

More Than Words "More Than Words" is a song by American rock band Extreme, released as the fifth track and third single from their second album, ''Pornograffitti'' (1990), in March 1991. It is a ballad built around acoustic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt and ...

" and "Hole Hearted". ''Pornograffitti'' garnered admiration for Bettencourt from rock guitar enthusiasts. He was voted "Best New Talent" in a 1991 readers' poll by ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

'' magazine, and that magazine later named him "Most Valuable Player" of 1991.

gutarist

has called Bettencourt's solo from the song Get The Funk Out "a landmark in rock history that I think should have its own little medal struck and awarded to Nuno Bettencourt and Extreme." The band followed up with ''

III Sides to Every Story ''III Sides to Every Story'' (pronounced 3 Sides to Every Story) is the third album by the Boston funk-metal band Extreme, released in 1992. It was the follow-up to the very successful '' Pornograffitti'' album. It was the last album that fully ...

'' in 1992. Bettencourt composed and arranged the brass and string sections, and full orchestra for this album. In 1995, Extreme released the album ''

Waiting for the Punchline ''Waiting for the Punchline'' is the fourth album by American band Extreme, released in 1995. It is known by fans as a distinctively raw-sounding record with a significant influence from grunge, especially when compared to the big production of ...

'', but the band broke up in 1996 when Bettencourt decided to pursue a solo career. Shortly afterward, singer

Gary Cherone Gary Francis Caine Cherone ( ; born July 26, 1961) is an American rock singer and songwriter. Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme and Van Halen. He has also released solo recordings. In 2007, he ...

became the lead singer of

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

Hiatus from Extreme

In 1997, Bettencourt released his first solo effort, '' Schizophonic'', which he had been working on for five years. The album was well-received critically, but was not a commercial success. On December 16, 1997, Bettencourt's new band

(whose name was inspired by writing he had seen on a church wall in Portugal) released their self-titled debut album in Japan on

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. It sold 45,000 in the first month. The band featured his nephew Donovan Bettencourt on bass and New York drummer Jeff Consi. In 2000, Mourning Widow's follow-up, '' Furnished Souls for Rent'' originally released in Japan, and then in the U.S. Both Mourning Widows releases cultivated a strong following in Japan and

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. Bettencourt formed the recording entity Population 1 and released the self-titled and self-produced 2002 release, ''Population 1'', on Universal/Japan and YBM/Korea. In 2004, Population 1 released ''Sessions from Room Four''. Due to legal issues, the band was renamed to ''Near Death Experience'' in 2005. The band was then renamed

. DramaGods released its first album in December 2005 as an import; it was made available as a digital download in 2006. Bettencourt's playing has been featured at 2004 on the Universal/Japan CD and DVD release of ''Guitar Wars'' featuring solo and collective performances of Bettencourt with many others, including

Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...

(Genesis, GTR), Led Zeppelin bassist

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

and Mr. Big/ Racer X guitarist

Paul Gilbert Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American hard rock and heavy metal guitarist. He is the co-founder of the band Mr. Big, and was also a member of Racer X, with whom he released several albums. In 1996, Gilbert launched a solo career, for which h ...

. Bettencourt was the lead guitarist for

Satellite Party Satellite Party was an alternative rock band formed by Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell following the break-up of Jane's Addiction in 2004. Other members included Carl Restivo (bass) and Farrell's wife, Etty Lau Farrell (backing singer an ...

, which is a band formed by

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

frontman

Perry Farrell Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein; March 29, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as part (one of the ...

. Bettencourt played with the band at the 2005

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

festival. Bettencourt helped produce '' Ultra Payloaded'', the debut album by Satellite Party released on May 29, 2007 on Columbia Records. In late July 2007, Bettencourt departed Satellite Party due to concerns about the direction of the band's live show.

Return to Extreme

In 2007, Extreme reformed with its original lineup (with the exception of

Paul Geary Paul Geary (born July 24, 1961 in Medford, Massachusetts) is an American rock and roll drummer and Artist Manager. He is a co-founder and drummer of the Rock band Extreme. He left the group in 1994 to pursue a career in artist management. ...

) to begin work on a new album, ''

Saudades de Rock ''Saudades de Rock'' (which roughly translates from Portuguese as " Nostalgic Yearnings of Rock") is the fifth album by the American rock band Extreme. Released on August 12, 2008, it is their most recent album as of 2022. It was the band's fir ...

''. The album was released on August 12, 2008.

Other work

In 2008, Bettencourt was featured on the soundtrack for the motion picture ''

Smart People ''Smart People'' is a 2008 American comedy-drama film starring Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elliot Page, and Thomas Haden Church. The film was directed by Noam Murro, written by Mark Poirier and produced by Michael London, with Omar Aman ...

''. The soundtrack also features the Gary Cherone track, "Need I Say More", and

Baby Animals Baby Animals is an Australian hard rock band active from October 1989 to 1996 and reformed in 2007. The original line-up was Frank Celenza on drums; Suze DeMarchi on lead vocals and guitar; Dave Leslie on guitar and backing vocals; and Eddie Pa ...

selections. The following year, Bettencourt was featured in a song and video called "Best Night Ever" by Marshall Eriksen, a character on ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...

''. The video was a parody of Extreme's "More Than Words" video, in which the entire main cast of ''How I Met Your Mother'' made appearances.

Work with other artists

In 1991, Bettencourt produced

Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa; September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Dweezil dev ...

's release on

Barking Pumpkin Records Barking Pumpkin Records, is an American record label founded by Frank Zappa in 1981. Zappa named the label after his wife's smoker's cough when she tried to quit the habit. Barking Pumpkin was initially distributed by CBS Records. History Zappa ...

, '' Confessions''. On this record Bettencourt also sings lead vocals for the first time, on a semi-ballad entitled "The Kiss". Extreme members

and

Pat Badger Patrick John Badger, (born July 22, 1967, in Boston, Massachusetts) is a musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist in the band Extreme. He has also performed in groups like Daemon, In The Pink, Super Trans Atlantic, Tri ...

also contributed. In 1993, Bettencourt co-wrote and produced "Where Are You Going" for the ''

Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...

'' movie. He also joined Robert Palmer in the studio to record Palmer's album ''Honey''. According to former

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

lead singer

Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He also wrote/co ...

, Bettencourt has teamed with him to write and arrange songs. He also has written and recorded with Tantric (Bettencourt co-wrote Tantric's hit single "Hey Now"), BB Mak, and

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. ...

. Bettencourt has also collaborated with singer

Suze DeMarchi Suze DeMarchi (born 14 February 1964) is an Australian singer-songwriter, best known for fronting the band Baby Animals (1989–1996, 2007–present). Early life DeMarchi was born in Perth, Western Australia to Walter and Shirley DeMarchi and h ...

and with all of her

bandmates. On

' second release, ''

Shaved and Dangerous ''Shaved and Dangerous'' is the second studio album by Australian band the Baby Animals, released in August 1993. Track listing All tracks written by Suze DeMarchi, Dave Leslie and Eddie Parise unless otherwise noted.Telelove ''Telelove'' is the debut solo album by Suze DeMarchi, lead singer of Australian band the Baby Animals, released in March 1999. Track listing All tracks written by Suze DeMarchi, Dave Rankin and Eddie Parise unless otherwise noted.

''. In 1999, Bettencourt produced the album ''Magnolia'', for the Portuguese singer and actress

Lúcia Moniz Ana Lúcia Pereira Moniz (born 9 September 1976) is a Portuguese singer and actress. Moniz represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 and has released five music albums She has also acted in several television shows, in theat ...

. He also featured as singer and guitarist in the song "Try Again", which was included in ''Magnolia''. In 2006, Bettencourt and his band

contributed their song "S'OK" to the album project Artists for Charity—

Guitarists 4 the Kids ''Artists for Charity - Guitarists 4 the Kids'' is a compilation album which was produced and arranged by Slang Productions in 2006. Over 18 international artists contributed to the recording project to assist World Vision Canada and their philanth ...

, produced by Slang Productions to assist World Vision Canada in helping children in need. In November 2009, Bettencourt toured with singer

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

on her ''

Last Girl on Earth Tour Last Girl on Earth was the third concert tour by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. The tour visited Europe, Asia, North America and Australia to support her fourth studio album, ''Rated R'' (2009). The tour was announced through MTV News in ...

'' as lead guitarist, having appeared alongside her in several TV shows and other performances. He has since performed as Rihanna's lead guitarist on every subsequent tour, including her '' Loud'' (2010), ''

777 777 may refer to: * 777 (number), a number * AD 777, a year of the Julian calendar * 777 BC, a year in the 8th century BC * Boeing 777, a commercial jet airliner :* Boeing 777X, the newer generation of the Boeing 777. Art and entertainment Alb ...

'' (2012) and '' Diamonds World'' (2013) tours. In July 2011,

Steel Panther Steel Panther is an American comedic glam metal band from Los Angeles, California. They are known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated onstage pastiche of the stereotypical glam metal lifestyle. History Metal Sh ...

reported to ''Loud'' magazine that Nuno would be "coming in to do something" on their then-upcoming release '' Balls Out''. The collaboration resulted in the track "It Won't Suck Itself", which also featured

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta. It is composed of guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan Peake, bassist Mike Kroeger, and drummer Daniel Adai ...

frontman

Chad Kroeger Chad Robert Kroeger ( Turton; born November 15, 1974) is a Canadian musician who is the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Nickelback. In addition to his work with Nickelback, Kroeger has been involved with a variety of collaboratio ...

. In April 2022, Bettencourt joined

Julian Lennon Julian Charles John Lennon (born John Charles Julian Lennon; 8 April 1963) is an English musician. He is the son of Beatles member John Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, and he is named after his paternal grandmother, Julia Lennon. Julian i ...

on an acoustic cover of Julian's father

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's hit "

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

" to benefit Global Citizen's Stand Up For

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Atlantis Entertainment

In 2016, Bettencourt founded media production company Atlantis Entertainment (of which he is CEO) with Rene Rigal and Steven Schuurman.

Personal life

Bettencourt married

in 1994. They have two children together,

Bebe Bettencourt Bebe Bettencourt (stylised as BeBe) (born 2 February 1996) is an Australian actress, known for playing Hedwig in the streaming service Stan's Australian TV series '' Eden'' (2021) and Eleanor "Ellie" Deacon in the film '' The Dry'' (2020). ...

born in 1996 and Lorenzo Aureolino Bettencourt in 2002. The couple divorced in 2013.

Discography

References

External links

Official site
* *

Nuno Bettencourt Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist, singer-songwriter, record producer, and businessman. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. He has also recorded ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Nuno Bettencourt
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bettencourt, Nuno 1966 births American heavy metal guitarists American music arrangers American people of Azorean descent American tenors American rock singers American male singer-songwriters Extreme (band) members Lead guitarists Living people People from Hudson, Massachusetts People from Praia da Vitória Portuguese emigrants to the United States Portuguese expatriates in the United States Portuguese heavy metal guitarists Portuguese record producers Portuguese male singer-songwriters Warner Records artists Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts American male guitarists American rock songwriters Portuguese singer-songwriters Guitarists from Massachusetts Record producers from Massachusetts 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Generation Axe members Satellite Party members American people of Portuguese descent