Les Dudek

Les Dudek (born August 2, 1952) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter.

In addition to his solo material, Dudek has played guitar with Steve Miller Band, The Dudek-Finnigan-Krueger Band, Stevie Nicks, Cher, Boz Scaggs, The Allman Brothers Band, Maria Muldaur, Bobby Whitlock, Mike Finnigan, Jim Krueger and Dave Mason.

Early years Dudek was born at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, United States. His father, Harold, came from Campbell, Nebraska, and served in the United States Navy in World War II. His mother, Alma, of Brooklyn, was a former Radio City Music Hall Rockette. Les has one older sister, Sandy. The family is of Czech, German, Italian, and Russian descent. Six years after Les was born, his father retired from the Navy and the family moved to Auburndale, Florida, where he grew up.

Musical career In 1962, at the age of ten, Les asked his parents for a guitar for Christmas. They bought him an acoustic guitar from Sears & Roebuck. The Beatles caught Dudek's ear at an early age. He built quite a reputation around the Florida area as a proficient guitar player, having started playing in local bands "The United Sounds", "Blue Truth", and "Power", as a teenager. By 1973, thhat reputation would place him in the studio with the Allman Brothers Band for the recording of the Brothers & Sisters album. In Alan Paul's book, One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band, Dudek claimed to have written the part in "Jessica" from when it modulated into G then eventually back to A.

His next stops were as a guitarist for Boz Scaggs and The Steve Miller Band. however, he had received an offer to record for Columbia Records as a solo artist and took that path instead. He recorded four solo albums for Columbia Records, Les Dudek, Say No More, Ghost Town Parade and Gypsy Ride. Dudek wrote and performed some of the music for the 1984 movie Mask starring Cher, Sam Elliott, Eric Stoltz, and Laura Dern. Dudek also appeared in the TV movie, Streets of Justice (1985). He has worked for NBC, ABC, ESPN, Fox Sports, and E! Entertainment Television. He can be heard on many television series including Friends.

In 1985, Dudek played guitar with Stevie Nicks on her album Rock a Little, and undertook her subsequent tour.

In 1989, he did a brief stint with Canadian rock group John Kay & Steppenwolf as their guitarist. But problems developed between Dudek and Kay which led to him leaving the band after a month of touring.

Two more solo albums later, Deeper Shades of Blues (1994) and Freestyle! (2003),

Discography Les Dudek Les Dudek (1976) Say No More (1977) Ghost Town Parade (1978) Gypsy Ride (1981) Deeper Shades of Blues (1994) Freestyle! (2003) Delta Breeze (2013)

The Dudek, Finnigan, Krueger Band The Dudek, Finnigan, Krueger Band (1980)

Steve Miller Band Fly Like an Eagle (1976) Book of Dreams (1977) Living in the 20th Century (1986) Wide River (1993)

Stevie Nicks Rock a Little (1985)

Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees (1976)

Maria Muldaur Southern Winds (1978)

Richard T. Bear Red Hot & Blue (1978) Mike Finnigan Black & White (1978)

The Allman Brothers Band Brothers & Sisters (1973)

Bobby Whitlock Rock Your Sox Off (1976)