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UNDER-APPRECIATED ROCK ARTIST OF THE MONTH FOR JANUARY 2010: WENDY WALDMAN
It isn’t just bands that are under-appreciated; individual rock artists also slip through the cracks. As an example, though Allmusic has considerable information on her, Wikipedia does not have so much as a stub on WENDY WALDMAN, a talented and experimental singer/songwriter who has released several well-regarded albums beginning in the 1970’s. Wendy Waldman is best known today as one of the songwriters behind the gorgeous Vanessa Williams hit song from 1991, “Save the Best for Last”.
Wendy Waldman first gained success when Maria Muldaur (“Midnight at the Oasis”) included several of Waldman’s songs on her two 1974 albums. Wendy Waldman later became a close friend of Linda Ronstadt and also toured with her for a period of time in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s; they collaborated on a song, “I Want a Horse” for the 1980 Sesame Street LP, In Harmony.
My personal favorite among Wendy Waldman’s albums is Strange Company, a 1978 release that has Waldman performing more as a rock bandleader than a singer/songwriter; “Long Hot Summer Nights” was a regional hit that still echoes in my interior playlist from time to time more than 30 years later. Several of the other musicians on this album – who formed a band having the unfortunate name the Cretones – also backed Linda Ronstadt on her 1980 New Wave album, Mad Love. Sadly, none of Wendy Waldman’s albums has sold over 25,000 copies, but she has continued to tour and record ever since, both as a solo artist and as part of a band – most recently, the Refugees.
Along with Kenny Edwards, Andrew Gold, and Karla Bonoff, Wendy Waldman was part of a band called Bryndle that formed in the late 1960’s and was active on the L.A. scene for several years without making any records. The four members of Bryndle have all had successful careers, and each had a close association with Linda Ronstadt later in the decade. Kenny Edwards had been a founding member with Linda Ronstadt in the band Stone Poneys (“Different Drum”) prior to the formation of Bryndle, and he later recorded and toured with Linda for about 10 years beginning in the mid-1970’s. Andrew Gold was also a key member of Linda Ronstadt’s backup band in the same time period. Gold had a mid-1970’s hit as a solo artist, “Lonely Boy”; and one of his songs, “Thank You for Being a Friend” was selected to be the theme song for the TV series Golden Girls. Karla Bonoff was one of many songwriters that Linda Ronstadt introduced via the covers on her albums, notably “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me”. Bryndle eventually reformed in the early 1990’s and ultimately released their debut album in 1995, Bryndle.
More recently, in 2007, Wendy Waldman formed a band called the Refugees with two other music veterans, Cindy Bullens and Deborah Holland. When it became clear that Sting would not be returning to the fold, the two remaining members of the Police, Stewart Copeland and, briefly, Andy Summers formed a band in 1987 with Deborah Holland and virtuoso bassist Stanley Clarke that was initially called Rush Hour; after Summers exited the group, the name was changed to Animal Logic. Holland, however, supplied nearly all of the songwriting for the band.
Until I created a short article a couple of months ago, Cindy Bullens would have been a natural choice as an Under-Appreciated Rock Artist of the Month, since she had also languished without any Wikipedia recognition. Her 1978 debut album, Desire Wire is one of the great lost rock albums of the 1970’s – and that is Allmusic’s opinion as well as mine. Cindy Bullens also contributed vocals on three songs to the soundtrack for the movie Grease, notably “It’s Raining on Prom Night”; and she received a Grammy nomination for her efforts.
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The Honor Roll of the Under Appreciated Rock Bands and Artists follows, in date order, including a link to the original Facebook posts and the theme of the article.
Dec 2009 – BEAST; Lot to Learn
Jan 2010 – WENDY WALDMAN; Los Angeles Singer-Songwriters
Feb 2010 – CYRUS ERIE; Cleveland
Mar 2010 – BANG; Record Collecting I
Apr 2010 – THE BREAKAWAYS; Power Pop
May 2010 – THE NOT QUITE; Katrina Clean-Up
Jun 2010 – WATERLILLIES; Electronica
Jul 2010 – THE EYES; Los Angeles Punk Rock
Aug 2010 – QUEEN ANNE’S LACE; Psychedelic Pop
Sep 2010 – THE STILLROVEN; Minnesota
Oct 2010 – THE PILTDOWN MEN; Record Collecting II
Nov 2010 – SLOVENLY; Slovenly Peter
Dec 2010 – THE POPPEES; New York Punk/New Wave
Jan 2011 – HACIENDA; Latinos in Rock
Feb 2011 – THE WANDERERS; Punk Rock (1970’s/1980’s)
Mar 2011 – INDEX; Psychedelic Rock (1960’s)
Apr 2011 – BOHEMIAN VENDETTA; Punk Rock (1960’s)
May 2011 – THE LONESOME DRIFTER; Rockabilly
Jun 2011 – THE UNKNOWNS; Disabled Musicians
Jul 2011 – THE RIP CHORDS; Surf Rock I
Aug 2011 – ANDY COLQUHOUN; Side Men
Sep 2011 – ULTRA; Texas
Oct 2011 – JIM SULLIVAN; Mystery
Nov 2011 – THE UGLY; Punk Rock (1970’s)
Dec 2011 – THE MAGICIANS; Garage Rock (1960’s)
Jan 2012 – RON FRANKLIN; Why Celebrate Under Appreciated?
Feb 2012 – JA JA JA; German New Wave
Mar 2012 – STRATAVARIOUS; Disco Music
Apr 2012 – LINDA PIERRE KING; Record Collecting III
May 2012 – TINA AND THE TOTAL BABES; One Hit Wonders
Jun 2012 – WILD BLUE; Band Names I
Jul 2012 – DEAD HIPPIE; Band Names II
Aug 2012 – PHIL AND THE FRANTICS; Wikipedia I
Sep 2012 – CODE BLUE; Hidden History
Oct 2012 – TRILLION; Wikipedia II
Nov 2012 – THOMAS ANDERSON; Martin Winfree’s Record Buying Guide
Dec 2012 – THE INVISIBLE EYES; Record Collecting IV
Jan 2013 – THE SKYWALKERS; Garage Rock Revival
Feb 2013 – LINK PROTRUDI AND THE JAYMEN; Link Wray
Mar 2013 – THE GILES BROTHERS; Novelty Songs
Apr 2013 – LES SINNERS; Universal Language
May 2013 – HOLLIS BROWN; Greg Shaw / Bob Dylan
Jun 2013 (I) – FUR (Part 1); What Might Have Been I
Jun 2013 (II) – FUR (Part 2); What Might Have Been II
Jul 2013 – THE KLUBS; Record Collecting V
Aug 2013 – SILVERBIRD; Native Americans in Rock
Sep 2013 – BLAIR 1523; Wikipedia III
Oct 2013 – MUSIC EMPORIUM; Women in Rock I
Nov 2013 – CHIMERA; Women in Rock II
Dec 2013 – LES HELL ON HEELS; Women in Rock III
Jan 2014 – BOYSKOUT; (Lesbian) Women in Rock IV
Feb 2014 – LIQUID FAERIES; Women in Rock V
Mar 2014 (I) – THE SONS OF FRED (Part 1); Tribute to Mick Farren
Mar 2014 (II) – THE SONS OF FRED (Part 2); Tribute to Mick Farren
Apr 2014 – HOMER; Creating New Bands out of Old Ones
May 2014 – THE SOUL AGENTS; The Cream Family Tree
Jun 2014 – THE RICHMOND SLUTS and BIG MIDNIGHT; Band Names (Changes) III
Jul 2014 – MIKKI; Rock and Religion I (Early CCM Music)
Aug 2014 – THE HOLY GHOST RECEPTION COMMITTEE #9; Rock and Religion II (Bob Dylan)
Sep 2014 – NICK FREUND; Rock and Religion III (The Beatles)
Oct 2014 – MOTOCHRIST; Rock and Religion IV
Nov 2014 – WENDY BAGWELL AND THE SUNLITERS; Rock and Religion V
Dec 2014 – THE SILENCERS; Surf Rock II
Jan 2015 (I) – THE CRAWDADDYS (Part 1); Tribute to Kim Fowley
Jan 2015 (II) – THE CRAWDADDYS (Part 2); Tribute to Kim Fowley
Feb 2015 – BRIAN OLIVE; Songwriting I (Country Music)
Mar 2015 – PHIL GAMMAGE; Songwriting II (Woody Guthrie / Bob Dylan)
Apr 2015 (I) – BLACK RUSSIAN (Part 1); Songwriting III (Partnerships)
Apr 2015 (II) – BLACK RUSSIAN (Part 2); Songwriting III (Partnerships)
May 2015 – MAL RYDER and THE PRIMITIVES; Songwriting IV (The Rolling Stones)
Jun 2015 – HAYMARKET SQUARE; Songwriting V (The Beatles)
Jul 2015 – THE HUMAN ZOO; Songwriting VI (Psychedelic Rock)
Aug 2015 – CRYSTAL MANSION; Martin Winfree’s Record Cleaning Guide
Dec 2015 – AMANDA JONES; So Many Rock Bands
Mar 2016 – THE LOVEMASTERS; Fun Rock Music
Jun 2016 – THE GYNECOLOGISTS; Offensive Rock Music Lyrics
Sep 2016 – LIGHTNING STRIKE; Rap and Hip Hop
Dec 2016 – THE IGUANAS; Iggy and the Stooges; Proto-Punk Rock
Mar 2017 – THE LAZY COWGIRLS; Iggy and the Stooges; First Wave Punk Rock
Jun 2017 – THE LOONS; Punk Revival and Other New Bands
Sep 2017 – THE TELL-TALE HEARTS; Bootleg Albums
Dec 2017 – SS-20; The Iguana Chronicles
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