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Chanteur et
guitariste Rock 'n' Roll US, né John Webb McMurray, le 19 Mai 1954 à Hattiesburg
(Mississippi).
"Work
hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
With this fearless credo, Webb Wilder has been playing his own brand of
country-accented, retro-styled rock & roll since the '80s, and created a
tongue-in-cheek but larger-than-life persona to go along with it. One could
reasonably say Webb Wilder was playing roots rock before anyone started calling
it that, with a twang that came from somewhere in between country and rockabilly,
some potent growl in the guitars, a hint of blues in the melodies, a tough
backbeat that was just a little bit new wave, and Wilder's vocals that could
project wit while also getting the party effectively started. Wilder's persona
and music were at their strongest on early albums like 1986's It Came from
Nashville and 1989's Hybrid Vigor, through 2006's More Like Me and
2015's Mississippi Moderne showed he was still in fine shape if hitting just a
bit less hard and turning up the country side of his tunes.
Webb Wilder was born John McMurry in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on May 19, 1954.
His aunt, Lillian McMurry, was a co-founder of Trumpet Records, a short-lived
but influential label that released seminal sides by Elmore James, Little
Milton, and Sonny Boy Williamson II. John inherited her taste for classic blues,
R&B, and country sounds as well as soaking up the influences of the British
Invasion bands that were dominating the airwaves as he came of age.
In his early teens, McMurry formed a band with his close friend R.S. Field, and
in 1976 the two moved to Austin, Texas in hopes of making a dent in the city's
music scene. That didn't happen, but their luck changed when they returned to
Hattiesburg and formed the Drapes, a rootsy rock band that developed a loyal fan
following. By the mid-'80s, the Drapes had run their course, and McMurry moved
to Nashville as he pondered his next move. McMurry fell in with a group of
student filmmakers who were working on a short comedy about a private eye who
played rock & roll, and he landed the lead role, playing a character called Webb
Wilder. McMurry connected with the character so strongly that he began playing
shows in character, a bespectacled, Fedora-topped rocker who declared himself "the
last of the full-grown men."
Webb Wilder and his band the Beatnecks became cult favorites in Music City, and
in 1986 they dropped their debut album, It Came from Nashville. Fans and critics
gave the album an enthusiastic reception, and Webb Wilder jumped to the major
labels when Island Records signed him up, releasing his second long-player, Hybrid
Vigor, in 1989. While the album wasn't a major success, the cult of Webb Wilder continued
to grow, and the Nashville indie label Praxis issued Doo Dad in 1991. Wilder appeared
in another film, Paradise Park, in 1991, and the following year he released Corn
Flicks, a video collection including three short films featuring Webb Wilder. In
1993 Wilder appeared in the Peter Bogdanovich film The Thing Called Love, a
story set against the backdrop of the Nashville music scene that starred River
Phoenix, Sandra Bullock, and Samantha Mathis. Wilder jumped to the Texas-based
roots music label Watermelon Records for the 1995 album Town & Country, with Acres
of Suede following in 1996.
Wilder took a break from recording for the next nine years, though he continued
to perform live and dabbled in film, co-starring in the independent feature
Pueblo Sin Suerte (2002) and writing and producing a short film called
Scattergun (2007). In 2005 Wilder returned to recording with the album About
Time, and in 2006 he released a DVD documenting his live show, Tough It Out!
(Live in Concert). An album drawn from the same show, It's Live Time!, was
released by Landslide Records in 2007, and the blues-oriented Blind Pig label
reissued it as Born to be Wilder in 2008. The same year Tough It Out! arrived, Wilder staged his first WebbFest, an annual concert and meet-up for Webb
Wilder fans from across the United States. Arriving in 2009, More
Like Me was Wilder's
second release for Blind Pig, and he returned to Landslide for 2012's Mississippi
Moderne. Powerful
Stuff, a collection of rediscovered unreleased tracks recorded between 1985
and 1992, was released in 2018; it included Wilder's
unheard original version of the title tune, which was a hit for the
Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1989. 2020's Night
Without Love was a collection of covers and originals that offered Webb
Wilder's perspective on the ups and downs of romance.
Talents : Vocals, Guitar
Style musical : Roots Rock, Blues-Rock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXXwUOxNKnA
Years in activity :
| 1910 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 2000 | 10 | 20 |
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles & EP
| 1989 | CD ISLAND PR-2835-3 (US) (promo) |
 |
COLD FRONT - Cold Front / Webb Wilder Speaks... : Webb intros / Rock & Roll Is #1 / The Webb Wilder Credo / Who Is Webb Wilder? "Intro To Cold Front" |
| 1989 | SP ISLAND IS-458 (EUR) |
 |
Cold Front / What's Gone Wrong With You |
| 1989 | SP ISLAND 112 965 (GER) |
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Hittin' Where It Hurts / Louisiana Hannah |
| 1989 | CD ISLAND PR 3023-2 (US) (promo) |
 |
Human Cannonball (Gun Powder mix) / Human Cannonball (LP version) / Webb Speaks Again : Rock, Rock, Rock / Burning God Of Love / The Story Of The Human Cannonball |
| 1989 | SP ISLAND IS-454 (UK) |
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Human Cannonball (edit) / Wild Honey |
| 1990 | CD ISLAND CID 458 875 613-2 (UK) |
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Cold Front / What'S Gone Wrong With You ? / Human Cannonball (7" DJ version) |
| 1991 | CD Zoo ZP17025-2 |
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Tough It Out |
Albums
| 1986 | CD WATERMELON 1018 (US) |
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IT CAME FROM NASHVILLE - How Long Can She Last (GoingThat Fast) / Horror Hayride / I'm Burning / Is This All There Is? / The Devil's Right Hand / Move On Down The Line / One Taste Of The Bait / I'm Wise To You / It Gets In Your Blood / Poolside / Ruff Rider (Dedicated To Broderick Crawford 1911-86) / Keep It On Your Mind / Rock & Roll Ruby / Samson And Delilah's Beauty Shop / Cactus Planet / Dance For Daddy | ||
| 1989 | CD ISLAND 422-842372-2 (US) |
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HYBRID VIGOR - Hittin' Where It Hurts / Human Cannonball / Do You Know Something (I Don't Know) / Cold Front / Safe Side / Wild Honey / What's Got Wrong With You? / Ain't That A Lot Of Love? / Skeleton Crew / Louisiana Hannah | ||
| 07/1991 | CD VOLCANO 31010 (US) |
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DOO DAD - Hoodoo Witch / Tough It Out / Meet Your New Landlord / Sittin' Pretty / Big Time / Sputnik / Run With It / King Of The Hill / Everyday (I Kicked Myself) / The Rest (Will Take Care Of Itself) / Baby Please Don't Go / I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) | ||
| 02/1995 | CD WATERMELON 1032 (US) |
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TOWN & COUNTRY - Webb WILDER and The NASHVEGANS - Stay Out Of Automobiles / Nashville Bum / Slow Death / I'm A Lover Not A Fighter / To The Loving Public / Honky Tonk Hell / My Mind's Eye / Too Many Rivers / Goldfinger / Hissy-Fit / Talk Talk / Streets Of Laredo (The Cowboy's Lament) / Short On Love / I Ain't Living Long Like This / Original Mixed-Up Kid / Rockin' Little Angel | ||
| 05/1996 | CD WATERMELON 1033 (US) |
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ACRES OF SUEDE - Olde Elephant Man / No Great Shakes / Loud Music / Fall In Place / Flat Out Get It / Soul Mate / Scattered, Smothered And Covered / Tell Me Why Charlie / Why Do You Call? / Carryin' The News To Mary / Lost In The Shuffle / Rocket To Nowhere | ||
| 03/2005 | CD LANDSLIDE LDCD1030 (US) |
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ABOUT TIME - Down On The Farm / I Just Had To Laugh / You Might Be Lonely For A Reason / Miss Missy From Ol' Hong Kong / If Your Looking For A Fool / Tell The World / Jimmy Reed Is The King Of Rock And Roll / Scattergun / Battle Of The Bands / Old Copper Penny / Mary Lou / Move It / The Only One / Little Boy Sad / Scattergun (instr.) |
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| 05/2005 | CD VARESE SARABANDE 066649 (US) |
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SCATTERED, SMOTHERED AND COVERED - A WEBB WILDER OVERVIEW - How Long Can She Last (Going Fast) / Horror Hayride / Poolside / One Taste Of The Bait / Ruff Rider / Is This All There Is? / Scattered, Smothered And Covered / Flat Out Get It / Stay Out Of Automobiles / Slow Death / Fall In Place / Loud Music / The Webb Wilder Credo / Honky Tonk Hell / My Minds Eye / Rocket To Nowhere / I Ain't Living Long Like This / Carryin' The News To Mary / No Great Shakes | ||
| 08/2005 | CD + DVD LANDSLIDE 9001 (US) |
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TOUGH IT OUT :
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| 03/2007 | CD DIXIEFROG 8621 (F) |
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IT'S LIVE TIME! - Tough It Out / Stay Out Of Automobiles / Baby Please Don’t Go / You Might Be Lonely For A Reason / One Taste Of The Bait / Human Cannonball / If You’re Looking For A Fool / Sputnik / Big Time / No Great Shakes / Miss Missy From Ol’ Hong Kong / Poolside / How Long Can She Last / Louisiana Hannah / I Just Had To Laugh | ||
| 01/2008 | CD BLIND PIG 485120 (US) |
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BORN TO BE WILDER - Tough It Out / Stay Out Of Automobiles / Baby Please Don't Go / You Might Be Lonely For A Reason / One Taste Of The Bait / Human Cannonball / If You're Looking For A Fool / Sputnik / Big Time / No Great Shakes / Miss Missy From Ol' Hong Kong / Poolside / How Long Can She Last / Louisiana Hannah / I Just Had To Laugh | ||
| 04/2009 | CD BLIND PIG 485129 (US) |
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MORE LIKE ME - Ju Ju Man / Too Cool For Love / Don't Slander Me / She's Not Romantic / Honky Tonkin' (In Mississippi) / Pretty Is As Pretty Does / Sudden Stop / She Said Yeah / Come Around / Still Water Runs Deep / More Like Me / Changing Colors | ||
| 05/2010 | 2 CD FLOATING WORLD 6047 (US) |
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TOWN & COUNTRY / ACRES OF SUEDE :
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| 09/2015 | CD LANDSLIDE CDLD1043 (US) |
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Mississippi Moderne - Stones In My Pathway (intro) / Rough And Tumble Guy / If It Ain't Broke (Don't Fix It) / Only A Fool / I Gotta Move / Too Much Sugar For A Nickel / Lonely Blue Boy / Yard Dog / I'm Not Just Anybody's Fool / It Takes Time / Lucy Mae Blues / Who Will The Next Fool Be? / I'm Gonna Get My Baby / Stones In My Pathway |
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| 04/2018 | CD LANDSLIDE LDCD 1044 (US) |
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Powerful Stuff - Webb Wilder & the Beatnecks - Make That Move / New Day / No Great Shakes / Lost In The Shuffle / Powerful Stuff / Ain't That A Lot Of Love / Wild About You Baby / Animal Lover / Nutbush City Limits / High Rollin' / Catbird Seat / Animal Lover / Hey Mae / Revenooer Man / Is This All There Is? / Lucille |
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| 04/2020 | CD LANDSLIDE LDCD 1047 (US) |
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Night Without Love - Tell Me What's Wrong / Night Without Love / Hit The Nail On The Head / Holdin' On To Myself / Be Still / Illusion Of You / Buried Our Love / Sweetheart Deal / Ache And Flake / The Big Deal / Hi Heel Sneakers |
© Rocky Productions 31/05/2020
