Walter Rossi

Rossignuoli (Walter) Rossi (May 29, 1947 – April 29, 2022) was an Italian-Canadian musician who was active from the 1960s to 2000s. As a guitarist, he played for Wilson Pickett and the Buddy Miles Express in the 1960s. With his own bands, Rossi played with Influence and Luke & The Apostles from the 1960s to 1970s. After his tenure with the band Charlee, he worked as a session musician throughout the 1970s with Boule Noire, Michel Pagliaro, and Nanette Workman. As a musician, Rossi debuted with his self-titled album in 1976. Following Walter Rossi, he released Six Strings, Nine Lives in 1978, and Diamonds For the Kid in 1980.

During this time period, Rossi was a nominee for the Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year category at the Juno Awards of 1978. He later won this category at the Juno Awards of 1980. In between the Juno Awards, Rossi was nominated for Rock Album of the Year with Six Strings, Nine Lives at the 1979 Félix Awards. After two additional Felix Award nominations in the 1980s, he released One Foot In Heaven, One Foot In Hell in 1984. He then worked as a music producer in North America before publishing Secret Sins in 2005.

Early life Rossi was born in 1947 in Naples, Italy. During his childhood, he briefly lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, before leaving for Montreal, Quebec with his family. Rossi began to play guitar when he was a teenager. While playing albums by Albert King and B.B. King, he was inspired by Howard Roberts and The Ventures before starting his music career.

Career For his music career, Rossi briefly played in a masked music group known as Les Cagoulards during the early 1960s.

During his musical career, Rossi started the band Influence in the late 1960s before playing with the Buddy Miles Express. While with Charlee, he was asked in 1973 to play lead guitar for David Bowie and take over Mick Ronson's spot. Due to his father's illness, Rossi declined the request to play with Bowie during the Ziggy Stardust Tour.

Following the release of Six Strings, Nine Lives, Rossi decided to end his session career and focus on his own music. In 1979, he briefly played for The Bombers. After One Foot In Heaven, Rossi was a music producer in North America before he returned to his music career with Secret Sins in 2005. He later won the same category at the Juno Awards of 1980. At the 1979 Félix Awards, he was nominated for the Rock Album of the Year category with Six Strings, Nine Lives. Additional Félix Awards nominations for Rossi were Producer of the Year in 1983 and Arranger of the Year in 1984. Rossi died from lung cancer on April 29, 2022.