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Richard Allen "Dick" Wagner (December 14, 1942 – July 30, 2014) was an American rock music guitarist, songwriter and author best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Kiss. He also fronted his own Michigan-based bands, the Frost and the Bossmen. ==Performing career== Born in Oelwein, Iowa, Wagner grew up in the Saginaw, Michigan, area and graduated from Waterford Township high school in 1961. His first band, called the Bossmen, was a favourite in the Detroit area and scored radio play with the Wagner-penned composition "Baby Boy", "You're The Girl For Me" and others. Wagner formed his next band, the Frost, with Donny Hartman, Bobby Rigg and Gordy Garris, in the late 1960s and built up a substantial following in the Michigan area. The band featured Wagner and Hartman on guitars. The band released three albums during their tenure together on Vanguard Records: 1969's ''Frost Music'' and ''Rock and Roll Music'', plus 1970's ''Through the Eyes of Love''. Wagner was the principal songwriter, arranger and lead singer of The Frost. Their live appearances brought out large crowds of young fans throughout the region. In 1972, Wagner moved to New York and formed the short-lived group "Ursa Major". The original line-up included Billy Joel on keyboards and Rick Mangone on drums. As Billy Joel had to leave the band for personal reasons, Wagner replaced him with former Amboy Dukes bassist Greg Arama. They released one seminal, acclaimed self-titled album as a power trio. The band toured nationally with Jeff Beck and then with Alice Cooper. In 1973, Wagner was recruited by producer Bob Ezrin for Lou Reed's band along with Steve Hunter. Wagner and Hunter were featured guitarists on Lou Reed's dark and controversial 1973 studio album, ''Berlin''. Soon after, Wagner and Hunter were joined by Prakash John, Pentti "Whitey" Glan and Ray Colcord for Lou Reed's Rock 'n' Roll Animal Tour. As band leader and arranger, Wagner took the early Lou Reed songs that had been recorded by the Velvet Underground and rearranged them for the concert stage. The new arrangements left behind the laid back feeling that had been established by the prior Reed band and won Reed his first gold album. The band toured internationally with Reed, culminating in the ''Rock 'n' Roll Animal'' album, recorded live at the New York Academy of Music in December 1973. It was during Wagner's days with the Frost that he first met Alice Cooper. Producer Bob Ezrin brought both Wagner and Steve Hunter into the studio to play guitar on the early Alice Cooper albums. Wagner had already featured on the band's ''School's Out'' album, notably for playing the memorable guitar solo on the track "My Stars". Wagner continued to play lead guitar (sometimes uncredited) on every Alice Cooper Group album that followed, through the break up of the original group. When the members of the original Alice Cooper group parted ways in 1974, Wagner officially teamed up with Alice Cooper and became his principal co-writer, lead guitarist and band director. Together they wrote their first concept album, ''Welcome to My Nightmare''. Produced by Bob Ezrin, the album was released in 1975. The Nightmare Tour became the largest and longest touring rock show of the time. The live show also featured the duelling lead guitars of Wagner and Hunter in a guitar battle captured on the film of the same name. The film became a TV special and was released on home video in 1976. The world tour covered more than 120 cities over an eighteen-month period. Wagner continued to co-write songs and play lead guitar on additional Cooper albums, including: ''Goes To Hell'', ''The Alice Cooper Show'', ''Lace and Whiskey'', ''From the Inside'' (written by the team of Alice Cooper, Dick Wagner and Bernie Taupin), ''Zipper Catches Skin'', ''DaDa'' and ''Hey Stoopid'' among others. In 1978, Wagner released a solo LP called ''Richard Wagner'', produced by Bob Ezrin, and released on Atlantic Records. The album title confused both record stores and disc jockeys, who relegated the record to the classical music bin, assuming it was a classical music record composed by the 19th-century classical composer with the same name. As one of renowned producer Bob Ezrin`s hired guns throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s, Wagner lent his playing (and in some cases, songwriting) talents to albums including Kiss's ''Destroyer'', ''Revenge'', Peter Gabriel's self-titled solo debut (1977), Air Supply, Aerosmith's ''Get Your Wings'', Hall & Oates' ''Along the Red Ledge'', Burton Cummings' ''Dream of a Child''. Wagner produced and co-wrote albums for Mark Farner's solo début and a pair of albums for the star of ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'', Tim Curry and more. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dick Wagner」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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