Throughout his professional life, Chuck E. Weiss cultivated connections among rock music’s elite figures while devoting minimal attention to advancing his personal artistic endeavors. Born in Denver, he began as a drummer and joined tours alongside bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins. By the late ’60s he had performed or recorded with Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Roger Miller, and additional artists. Still based in Denver, he formed a lasting friendship with singer/songwriter Tom Waits; the pair later co-wrote material such as “Spare Parts” before Weiss relocated to Los Angeles. There he resided at the notorious Tropicana Motel in West Hollywood alongside Waits and singer Rickie Lee Jones, an association that inspired Jones’ hit “Chuck E.’s in Love.” His recording career finally began with the 1981 appearance of The Other Side of Town, a set of demo tapes issued by Select Records. Instead of delivering a follow-up studio album, he assembled the band the G-d Damn Liars and maintained a weekly residency for the next eleven years at the Central, an L.A. nightclub that he and friend Johnny Depp later transformed into the Viper Room. Following an eighteen-year recording absence, his second album, Extremely Cool, surfaced in 1999 on Slow River, a Rykodisc subsidiary. Old Souls & Wolf Tickets arrived in 2001, and 23rd & Stout followed in 2007. Weiss continued performing throughout the Los Angeles area and on occasional tours for the subsequent six years. He returned to the studio in late 2013, producing the self-titled Red Beans & Weiss, released on Anti with executive producers actor Johnny Depp and singer/songwriter Tom Waits. Chuck E. Weiss died in Los Angeles on July 19, 2021, at the age of 76.
