W. G. Snuffy Walden

William Garrett Walden, known as W. G. Snuffy Walden (born February 13, 1950) is an American musician and composer of film and television soundtracks. Walden is an Emmy Award winner for the theme music to The West Wing (NBC),^[1] has been nominated for numerous Emmys throughout his career, and has received 26 BMI Awards.^[2][3]

Early life

Walden was born in Louisiana on February 13, 1950, and raised in Houston, Texas.^[4] He graduated from Lamar High School in Houston in 1967. In college he studied science and math, and he put himself through school working on a late-night radio show at KRBE in Houston and playing guitar in a strip club.^[5]

Walden's middle name was his mother's maiden name, and this was the origin of his nickname. Members of his mother's family had sometimes been called Snuffy after the Southern snuff manufacturer Levi Garrett. His family and schoolmates addressed him as Garrett, but Snuffy began to stick when he was away at summer camp and the name was preferred by fellow musicians as his career began.^[6]

Early music career

In the late 1960s, Walden dropped out of school, quit his job, and devoted his energies to the guitar full-time. In 1972, he formed the group Stray Dog, a blues-based rock trio, and together they moved to England. There, they were signed to Emerson, Lake & Palmer's label Manticore records, and Greg Lake produced three songs from their first album Stray Dog. Following the breakup of the band, Walden supplanted the ailing Paul Kossoff by providing guitar tracks for Free's final album Heartbreaker, which was released in 1973 (Walden plays on 'Common Mortal Man', 'Easy on My Soul' and 'Seven Angels'). He also played electric guitar in 1973, on the debut solo album Still by King Crimson lyricist, Peter Sinfield. In 1975, he joined The Eric Burdon Band and performed with them for a year.^[2][5]

In 1975, Walden moved to Los Angeles and spent the rest of the decade performing as a solo artist and supporting artists such as Stevie Wonder, Donna Summer, Chaka Khan, and Eric Burdon. Notably, in 1975-6 he again depped for Paul Kossoff as a session musician on Back Street Crawler's Second Street album. By the mid-1980s, television agents and producers became aware of Walden through his local performances in Santa Monica. When approached to score a new television show, Walden had mixed feelings but accepted the offer. "I could see the handwriting on the wall for touring," he would later remember, "and it wasn't pretty. I kept envisioning Holiday Inn at age 60." The television show he was hired for was thirtysomething, which turned out to be a major hit television series and dramatically altered Walden's music career.^[2][5]

Professional success

Following his successful debut as a television composer for thirtysomething, Walden was contacted by the producer on another new television show, The Wonder Years, which had the fortune of premiering right after Super Bowl XXII. Walden scored the pilot episode, and then went on to score the series, which also became a hit. For the end credits, he recorded a version of The Beatles' song "With a Little Help from My Friends".

Throughout the 1990s, Walden scored numerous television series, including Roseanne, Ellen, My So-Called Life, Felicity, Early Edition, Sports Night, The West Wing, George Lopez, I'll Fly Away, The Stand, Huff, Once and Again, Friday Night Lights and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

In the summer of 2001, Walden released a solo album of mainly acoustic guitar pieces titled Music by... W. G. Snuffy Walden. The album included expanded or full versions of many of Walden's themes, such as "Once and Again", "Eugene's Ragtop", "Thirtysomething (Revisited)", and "West Wing Suite".^[3]

In 2002, Tom Guerra conducted a comprehensive interview of Walden for Vintage Guitar Magazine.^[5] Walden announced that he would team up with a 60-piece orchestra to compose the film adaptation of The Umbrella Academy. This will be the first time he has scored a movie since Leaving Normal.

Walden is now working with YouTube artists, including Jake Coco, to help them to produce covers and original songs. Walden serves as an artistic advisor to the BMI Foundation.

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

• 2007 Emmy Nomination for Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – Kidnapped^[7]
• 2005 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music – Huff^[8]
• 2003 Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music – Miracles^[9]
• 2001 Emmy Nomination for Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – The West Wing^[10]
• 2000 Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music – The West Wing^[1]
• 2000 Emmy Nomination for Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – Felicity^[11]
• 1997 Emmy Nomination for Main Title Theme Music – Early Edition^[12]
• 1997 Emmy Nomination for Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) – Early Edition^[12]
• 1995 Emmy Nomination for Main Title Theme Music – My So-Called Life^[13]
• 1994 Emmy Nomination for Best Original Score – Stephen King's The Stand^[14]
• 1992 Emmy Nomination for Main Title Theme Music – I'll Fly Away^[15]
• 1988 Emmy Nomination for Main Title Theme Music – thirtysomething^[16][17]

BMI Awards

• Richard Kirk Ward BMI Award for Outstanding Career Achievement (2001)^[18]
• Men of a Certain Age (2010)
• The West Wing (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
• The Norm Show (1999)
• Providence (1999, 2000,^[19] 2002, 2003)
• The Drew Carey Show (1997,^[20] 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)
• Ellen (1994, 1995)
• Roseanne (1994, 1995, 1996)
• The Jackie Thomas Show (1993)
• The Wonder Years (1988, 1989, 1990^[21])

Discography

Solo albums

• Music by... W. G. Snuffy Walden (2001, Windham Hill Records)

Stray Dog albums

• While You're Down There (1974)
• Fasten Your Seat Belts (1973)
• Stray Dog (1973)

Compilation albums

• Friday Night Lights Vol. 2 (2010)
• Windham Hill Chill 2 (2003, Windham Hill Records)
• Windham Hill Chill: Ambient Acoustic (2003, Windham Hill Records)
• A Windham Hill Christmas (2002, Windham Hill Records)
• A Winter's Solstice, Vol. 1: Silver Anniversary Edition (2001, Windham Hill Records)
• Touch – Windham Hill 25 Years of Guitar (2001, Windham Hill Records)
• Celtic Christmas IV (1998, Windham Hill Records)
• Sounds Of Wood & Steel (1998, Windham Hill Records)
• Summer Solstice 2 (1998, Windham Hill Records)
• The Carols Of Christmas II (1997, Windham Hill Records)
• Celtic Christmas III (1997, Windham Hill Records)
• A Winter's Solstice VI (1997, Windham Hill Records)
• My-So Called Life Soundtrack (1995, Atlantic Records)
• The Stand (1994, ABC Circle Music)
• Babylon Minstrels (1992, Hollywood Records)
• thirtysomething Soundtrack (1991, Geffen Records)
• 1973 : Still from Peter Sinfield. Snuffy Walden plays electric guitar, on this album by King Crimson lyricist Peter Sinfield, along with Greg Lake, Boz Burrell, John Wetton, Keith Tippett, Mel Collins and Ian Wallace among others.

Filmography

References

External links

• W. G. Snuffy Walden Official Website
• W. G. Snuffy Walden at the Internet Movie Database
• W.G. Snuffy Walden interview video at the Archive of American Television
• Los Angeles Times: He Scores TV's Home Runs
• Taylor Made Studios