Willie Nile
Encyclopedia
Willie Nile is an American singer-songwriter
. In 1980 Nile released his self-titled debut album which according to one critic remains “one of the most thrilling post-Byrds folk-rock albums of all time”. His career was interrupted several times by various problems, but he has always returned to recording and performing in the US and Europe, re-establishing himself as a singer-songwriter.
and Eddie Cantor; his uncles played boogie-woogie. His listened to the music of Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly
, and Fats Domino, brought home by his older brothers. Nile himself began playing piano at age eight and took classical music lessons until he was a teenager, when he taught himself his first rock & roll song. He soon began to compose short songs and continued the habit into his college years, when during the summers he made trips into New York City to frequent hootenanny clubs like Folk City and the Gaslight.
Nile studied philosophy at the University at Buffalo where he received a BA in 1971, before heading for Greenwich Village. After graduation, Nile took an apartment in the Village; however, during his first winter in New York, he contracted pneumonia, which put him out of commission for about a year. He continued writing songs while recuperating, determined to make a name for himself as a latter-day troubadour. He pursued that throughout the ’70s, becoming a regular in the Village folk and rock scenes and getting tabbed by some as the next big thing to come out of that long-thriving artistic community.
He began hanging out at clubs like CBGB's, where he would see bands like Patti Smith
, Television, the Ramones
and Talking Heads.
, Nile began drawing crowds, which in turn led to his first record deal. In a review in The New York Times, rock critic Robert Palmer wrote of Nile; "Every once in awhile the times seems to produce an artist who is at once an iconoclast and near-perfect expression of contemporary currents. He is one of the best singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in a long time."
Following a measure of critical acclaim, he had conversations with representatives from several record companies; he was signed by Arista Records
, and went into the studio with a band that included Jay Dee Daugherty
from the Patti Smith Group.
The measure of excitement surrounding his self-titled debut album, Willie Nile
, allegedly prompted Pete Townsend to request Willie's presence on the Who 's
summer tour. Nile and his band were soon on the road with The Who, only a few months after Willie's first experience playing with a band.
After two albums, the self-titled 1980 debut and 1981's Golden Down, Nile was involved with protracted legal problems which, among other things, managed to derail his career for a number of years.
. A videotape of Nile’s performance in Norway prompted a Columbia
talent scout to sign him to the label in 1988. For reasons that are unclear, production on his album didn't start for two more years. It was another significant delay in the self proclaimed troubadour's career. Issued in 1991, His Columbia Records
CD Places I Have Never Been
contained the songs "Everybody Needs A Hammer" and "Heaven Help The Lonely." Places I Have Never Been featured appearances by backing musicians including Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III
, Roger McGuinn
, and members of the Hooters
and the Roches
.
His 1992 EP release, Hard Times in America, became a favorite among some listeners in Europe.
Nile has recorded and performed with several musicians, including Ringo Starr
, Tori Amos
, Elvis Costello
, Lucinda Williams
, Ian Hunter
, and Barenaked Ladies
. A live Central Park
concert album, Willie Nile-Archive Alive, was released on Archive Recordings, and Nile was one of the vocalists on the ensemble album Largo
, along with Joan Osborne
, Cyndi Lauper
, Levon Helm
, The Chieftains
, Taj Mahal
and Carole King
. Another project found Nile writing and performing most of the songs for the soundtrack
to the Kevin McLaughlin film Pinch Me!.
In the fall of 2003, Nile was invited to share the stage at three concerts with the E Street Band, including the two final Giants Stadium shows.
“Nile’s defining quality among his fans is his charismatic spirit. It’s a passion and enthusiasm that is infectious to his fans and earned Nile the admiration of fans and peers alike.” From Shea to the clubs and concert halls of Europe, "his live performances are legendary." to his fans.
Gathering together his resources over time, he put out his first self-released album, Beautiful Wreck of the World, in 1999. It was chosen as one of the Top Ten Albums of the Year by critics at Billboard Magazine, The Village Voice and Stereo Review. Lucinda Williams called "On the Road to Calvary," Nile's song for Jeff Buckley
, "One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard." The album reached the finals of the Independent Music Awards for Best Rock Album of the Year.
In 2006, Nile released Streets of New York
, which some may consider to be his best work to date, due to its production and songwriting. Former Time magazine music critic and Academy Award winning screenwriter Jay Cocks
writes of Streets of New York, "The tunes he writes and plays with such blowtorch vibrancy get the myth and magic and danger and sadness and love in this town--of this town--truer, and righter, than anything I've heard since Dion. This record is a head-twister and heart-wrencher. It's rock and roll at its best. It's New York at its best. And there's nothing better than that."
House Of A Thousand Guitars
was released to mixed reviews on April 14, 2009.
On November 22, 2009, Nile joined the E Street Band for the cover of Jackie Wilson
's "Higher and Higher".
“The Buffalo News
” said that their hometown troubadour's “Streets of New York”, “House of a Thousand Guitars” and “The Innocent Ones”; stand as “three of the finest recordings to ever straddle the worlds of “singer/songwriter” fare and good ol’street-tough rock ‘n’ roll”.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. In 1980 Nile released his self-titled debut album which according to one critic remains “one of the most thrilling post-Byrds folk-rock albums of all time”. His career was interrupted several times by various problems, but he has always returned to recording and performing in the US and Europe, re-establishing himself as a singer-songwriter.
Early life
Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Nile came from a musical family—his grandfather was a vaudeville pianist who played with Bill "Bojangles" RobinsonBill Robinson
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson was an American tap dancer and actor of stage and film. Audiences enjoyed his understated style, which eschewed the frenetic manner of the jitterbug in favor of cool and reserve; rarely did he use his upper body, relying instead on busy, inventive feet, and an expressive...
and Eddie Cantor; his uncles played boogie-woogie. His listened to the music of Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
, and Fats Domino, brought home by his older brothers. Nile himself began playing piano at age eight and took classical music lessons until he was a teenager, when he taught himself his first rock & roll song. He soon began to compose short songs and continued the habit into his college years, when during the summers he made trips into New York City to frequent hootenanny clubs like Folk City and the Gaslight.
Nile studied philosophy at the University at Buffalo where he received a BA in 1971, before heading for Greenwich Village. After graduation, Nile took an apartment in the Village; however, during his first winter in New York, he contracted pneumonia, which put him out of commission for about a year. He continued writing songs while recuperating, determined to make a name for himself as a latter-day troubadour. He pursued that throughout the ’70s, becoming a regular in the Village folk and rock scenes and getting tabbed by some as the next big thing to come out of that long-thriving artistic community.
He began hanging out at clubs like CBGB's, where he would see bands like Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, Television, the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
and Talking Heads.
Early career
Establishing residency at the Village club Kenny's Castaways on Bleecker St.Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street is a street in New York City's Manhattan borough. It is perhaps most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street is a spine that connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was once a major center for American bohemia.Bleecker...
, Nile began drawing crowds, which in turn led to his first record deal. In a review in The New York Times, rock critic Robert Palmer wrote of Nile; "Every once in awhile the times seems to produce an artist who is at once an iconoclast and near-perfect expression of contemporary currents. He is one of the best singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in a long time."
Following a measure of critical acclaim, he had conversations with representatives from several record companies; he was signed by Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
, and went into the studio with a band that included Jay Dee Daugherty
Jay Dee Daugherty
Jay Dee Daugherty is an American drummer and songwriter most known for his work with Patti Smith. As a member of the Patti Smith Group, he has been nominated twice to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.- Biography :...
from the Patti Smith Group.
The measure of excitement surrounding his self-titled debut album, Willie Nile
Willie Nile (album)
Willie Nile is the self-titled debut album by the New York singer/songwriter of the same name. Released by Arista in early 1980 to much critical praise...
, allegedly prompted Pete Townsend to request Willie's presence on the Who 's
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
summer tour. Nile and his band were soon on the road with The Who, only a few months after Willie's first experience playing with a band.
After two albums, the self-titled 1980 debut and 1981's Golden Down, Nile was involved with protracted legal problems which, among other things, managed to derail his career for a number of years.
Re-emergence
Although he continued to write, Nile did not perform live or record again until a 1987 performance in Oslo, Norway, with Eric AndersenEric Andersen
Eric Andersen is an American singer-songwriter.-Biography:In the early 1960s, Eric Andersen was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene in New York...
. A videotape of Nile’s performance in Norway prompted a Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
talent scout to sign him to the label in 1988. For reasons that are unclear, production on his album didn't start for two more years. It was another significant delay in the self proclaimed troubadour's career. Issued in 1991, His Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
CD Places I Have Never Been
Places I Have Never Been
Places I Have Never Been is the third studio album, and first in ten years, by singer/songwriter Willie Nile.- Track listing :All tracks were written by Willie Nile except where noted.# Places I Have Never Been Places I Have Never Been is the third studio album, and first in ten years, by...
contained the songs "Everybody Needs A Hammer" and "Heaven Help The Lonely." Places I Have Never Been featured appearances by backing musicians including Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
, Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
, and members of the Hooters
The Hooters
The Hooters is an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By combining a mix of rock and roll, reggae, ska and folk music, The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid 1980s due to heavy radio and MTV airplay of several songs including "All You...
and the Roches
The Roches
The Roches are a female vocal group of three songwriting Irish-American sisters from Park Ridge, New Jersey, known for their "unusual" and "rich" harmonies, quirky lyrics, and casually comedic stage performances.The Roches have been active as performers and recording artists since the mid-1970s,...
.
His 1992 EP release, Hard Times in America, became a favorite among some listeners in Europe.
Nile has recorded and performed with several musicians, including Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
, Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (singer)
Ian Hunter Patterson is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer of the English rock band Mott the Hoople from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and he again fronted them at the time of their 2009 reunion. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before Mott The Hoople, and...
, and Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
. A live Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
concert album, Willie Nile-Archive Alive, was released on Archive Recordings, and Nile was one of the vocalists on the ensemble album Largo
Largo
-Music:* Largo, a very slow tempo, or a musical piece or movement in such a tempo* Handel's Largo or "Ombra mai fù", an aria from the opera Serse* Hugo Largo, American band from the 1980s* Strong and stately...
, along with Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us". She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.-Biography:Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb...
, Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, Levon Helm
Levon Helm
Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
, The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
, Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
and Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
. Another project found Nile writing and performing most of the songs for the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the Kevin McLaughlin film Pinch Me!.
In the fall of 2003, Nile was invited to share the stage at three concerts with the E Street Band, including the two final Giants Stadium shows.
“Nile’s defining quality among his fans is his charismatic spirit. It’s a passion and enthusiasm that is infectious to his fans and earned Nile the admiration of fans and peers alike.” From Shea to the clubs and concert halls of Europe, "his live performances are legendary." to his fans.
Gathering together his resources over time, he put out his first self-released album, Beautiful Wreck of the World, in 1999. It was chosen as one of the Top Ten Albums of the Year by critics at Billboard Magazine, The Village Voice and Stereo Review. Lucinda Williams called "On the Road to Calvary," Nile's song for Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
, "One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard." The album reached the finals of the Independent Music Awards for Best Rock Album of the Year.
In 2006, Nile released Streets of New York
Streets of New York (album)
Streets of New York is the fifth studio album by New York City based singer/songwriter Willie Nile. This is Nile’s tribute to the city that gave him international exposure to the music world through the critical eyes and ears of the New York Times...
, which some may consider to be his best work to date, due to its production and songwriting. Former Time magazine music critic and Academy Award winning screenwriter Jay Cocks
Jay Cocks
Jay Cocks is a film critic and motion picture screenwriter.He is a graduate of Kenyon College. He was a critic for Time, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone, among other magazines, before moving into film writing....
writes of Streets of New York, "The tunes he writes and plays with such blowtorch vibrancy get the myth and magic and danger and sadness and love in this town--of this town--truer, and righter, than anything I've heard since Dion. This record is a head-twister and heart-wrencher. It's rock and roll at its best. It's New York at its best. And there's nothing better than that."
House Of A Thousand Guitars
House of a Thousand Guitars
House Of A Thousand Guitars is the sixth studio album by singer/songwriter Willie Nile. Here Nile demonstrates the diversity of his song writing and performing abilities with an equal mix of classic guitar rock and an equal part of his deep and sensitive piano ballads...
was released to mixed reviews on April 14, 2009.
On November 22, 2009, Nile joined the E Street Band for the cover of Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
's "Higher and Higher".
“The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News is the primary newspaper of the Buffalo – Niagara Falls metropolitan area, and the area's only daily newspaper. It is the only newspaper owned by Berkshire Hathaway.-History:...
” said that their hometown troubadour's “Streets of New York”, “House of a Thousand Guitars” and “The Innocent Ones”; stand as “three of the finest recordings to ever straddle the worlds of “singer/songwriter” fare and good ol’street-tough rock ‘n’ roll”.
Studio albums
- 1980 - Willie NileWillie Nile (album)Willie Nile is the self-titled debut album by the New York singer/songwriter of the same name. Released by Arista in early 1980 to much critical praise...
- 1981 - Golden Down
- 1991 - Places I Have Never BeenPlaces I Have Never BeenPlaces I Have Never Been is the third studio album, and first in ten years, by singer/songwriter Willie Nile.- Track listing :All tracks were written by Willie Nile except where noted.# Places I Have Never Been Places I Have Never Been is the third studio album, and first in ten years, by...
- 1999 - Beautiful Wreck of the World
- 2006 - Streets of New YorkStreets of New York (album)Streets of New York is the fifth studio album by New York City based singer/songwriter Willie Nile. This is Nile’s tribute to the city that gave him international exposure to the music world through the critical eyes and ears of the New York Times...
- 2009 - House Of A Thousand GuitarsHouse of a Thousand GuitarsHouse Of A Thousand Guitars is the sixth studio album by singer/songwriter Willie Nile. Here Nile demonstrates the diversity of his song writing and performing abilities with an equal mix of classic guitar rock and an equal part of his deep and sensitive piano ballads...
- 2010 - The Innocent Ones
Live albums
- 1997 - Live in Central Park - Archive Alive!
- 2007 - Live at Turning Point
- 2008 - Live From the Streets of New York
- 2011 - Live Hard Times in the UK
Other appearances
- 1990 – Acoustic Christmas – We Wish You a Merry Christmas
- 1991 – Stages: The Lost AlbumStages: The Lost AlbumStages is an album by Folk rock musician Eric Andersen. The album was recorded in late 1972 and into early 1973, as the intended followup to Andersen's successful Blue River album, but before it could be released, the master tapes were somehow lost in the Columbia vaults. It wasn't until 1990 that...
– Electric Guitar, various songs - 1995 – Troubadours of Folk, Vol. 5 -- Behind the Cathedral
- 1998 – Largo – Medallion
- 2007 - The Sandinista! Project - Police on My Back
- 2007 - The Dream Jam Band