Biography
Few instrumentalists matched the singular gifts of David Lindley during his prime. He earned his greatest recognition as an in-demand session player, applying his touch to an array of stringed instruments for Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Graham Nash, and scores of other prominent acts. Mastery of guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, saz, bouzouki, autoharp, and numerous additional global string instruments allowed him to deliver solos marked by rare emotional weight and theatrical impact. His falsetto also graced Browne’s hit cover of “Stay” on the 1977 album Running on Empty.
A parallel solo path produced several albums with the group El Rayo-X, whose gritty blend of rock, reggae, and international styles powered releases such as the self-titled 1981 effort and 1988’s Very Greasy. Beginning in the 1990s, he pursued an array of world-music collaborations with Henry Kaiser on 1992’s A World Out of Time: Henry Kaiser & David Lindley in Madagascar, Hani Naser on 1994’s Official Bootleg #1: Live in Tokyo Playing Real Good, and Wally Ingram on 2000’s Twango Bango Deluxe, even while session duties remained central to his schedule.
Born in San Marino, California, on March 21, 1944, Lindley grew up in a household where his father’s broad record collection introduced him to Spanish guitarists, Indian sitar players, and Korean folk traditions. At age three he began violin lessons and soon started exploring the strings inside the family piano. During adolescence he added baritone ukulele and banjo, ultimately claiming five victories at the Topanga Banjo-Fiddle Contest. He performed with the Dry City Scat Band, a group that merged bluegrass and old-time string-band sounds, and contributed banjo to two tracks on the 1965 Elektra anthology The String Band Project before the ensemble disbanded. After high school he became a regular at Southern California folk and blues venues, particularly the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, where exposure to international folk and ethnic music left a deep impression. Around this time he also formed a lasting friendship with guitarist Ry Cooder, another devotee of uncommon sounds.
In 1966 Lindley and former Dry City Scat Band member Chris Darrow launched Kaleidoscope, a psychedelic rock outfit that wove diverse folk and global influences into its sound. The band’s exploratory style suited Lindley, resulting in four albums before the group dissolved in 1970. After several years in England, where he played in Terry Reid’s band and appeared on the 1973 album River, Lindley returned to California and joined Jackson Browne’s ensemble in time for the 1973 release For Everyman. His slide guitar and fiddle became defining elements of Browne’s music, and he soon extended his contributions to Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, James Taylor, and David Crosby & Graham Nash, both live and in the studio. Throughout the 1970s he appeared on dozens of albums; his falsetto lead on “Stay” from Running on Empty reached the pop charts as a hit single. Kaleidoscope reunited for the 1976 album When Scopes Collide, on which Lindley participated without credit under the pseudonym De Paris Letante.
Ry Cooder invited him to play on the 1978 album Jazz, initiating a long association with Cooder’s projects and film scores. After contributing to Browne’s 1980 album Hold Out and its ensuing tour—including benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden later documented on No Nukes—Lindley stepped away from Browne’s band to focus on his own career. The debut solo album El Rayo-X arrived in 1981, an easygoing yet groove-driven fusion of reggae, folk, blues, rock, and Cajun elements highlighted by incisive guitar work and understated wit. Onstage he became known for an extensive wardrobe of loud polyester shirts that deliberately clashed with his trousers. A touring band also called El Rayo-X supported the record; a second studio album, Win This Record, followed in 1982, while El Rayo Live captured club performances and surfaced in Europe and the United Kingdom in 1983. Mr. Dave appeared in 1985, issued first in Europe, Japan, and the U.K. as a solo project. Lindley rejoined Browne for 1986’s Lives in the Balance and increasingly returned to session work as solo momentum waned; Very Greasy, produced by Linda Ronstadt, marked the final El Rayo-X release in 1988.
A 1991 expedition to Madagascar with experimental guitarist Henry Kaiser yielded sessions with local musicians that filled multiple albums, beginning with 1992’s A World Out of Time: Henry Kaiser & David Lindley in Madagascar on Shanachie. A second volume appeared in 1993. Subsequent travels to Norway produced 1994’s The Sweet Sunny North: Henry Kaiser and David Lindley in Norway and its 1996 sequel. Percussionist Hani Naser organized joint concerts that led to the self-released 1994 live album Official Bootleg #1: Live in Tokyo Playing Real Good, followed by Official Bootleg #2: Live All Over the Place Playing Even Better in 1995. Work with drummer Wally Ingram generated a series of live recordings beginning with Twango Bango Deluxe in 2000 and continuing through Twango Bango II (2001), Twango Bango III (2003), and Live in Europe (2004).
The 2007 self-released Big Twang collected varied material drawn largely from Lindley’s earlier repertoire. In 2010 he and Jackson Browne issued the primarily acoustic live album Love is Strange: En Vivo Con Tino, captured during a March 2006 Spanish tour and nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category. Lindley reunited with Kaiser to compose the score for Werner Herzog’s 2013 documentary Encounters at the Edge of the World, released as a soundtrack on Fractal Music. From 2015 onward he reduced studio activity in favor of live performances across California and European tours alongside Ry Cooder. Diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020, Lindley faced worsening complications from kidney disease, pneumonia, and influenza, and he died on March 3, 2023, at the age of 78.
A parallel solo path produced several albums with the group El Rayo-X, whose gritty blend of rock, reggae, and international styles powered releases such as the self-titled 1981 effort and 1988’s Very Greasy. Beginning in the 1990s, he pursued an array of world-music collaborations with Henry Kaiser on 1992’s A World Out of Time: Henry Kaiser & David Lindley in Madagascar, Hani Naser on 1994’s Official Bootleg #1: Live in Tokyo Playing Real Good, and Wally Ingram on 2000’s Twango Bango Deluxe, even while session duties remained central to his schedule.
Born in San Marino, California, on March 21, 1944, Lindley grew up in a household where his father’s broad record collection introduced him to Spanish guitarists, Indian sitar players, and Korean folk traditions. At age three he began violin lessons and soon started exploring the strings inside the family piano. During adolescence he added baritone ukulele and banjo, ultimately claiming five victories at the Topanga Banjo-Fiddle Contest. He performed with the Dry City Scat Band, a group that merged bluegrass and old-time string-band sounds, and contributed banjo to two tracks on the 1965 Elektra anthology The String Band Project before the ensemble disbanded. After high school he became a regular at Southern California folk and blues venues, particularly the Ash Grove in Los Angeles, where exposure to international folk and ethnic music left a deep impression. Around this time he also formed a lasting friendship with guitarist Ry Cooder, another devotee of uncommon sounds.
In 1966 Lindley and former Dry City Scat Band member Chris Darrow launched Kaleidoscope, a psychedelic rock outfit that wove diverse folk and global influences into its sound. The band’s exploratory style suited Lindley, resulting in four albums before the group dissolved in 1970. After several years in England, where he played in Terry Reid’s band and appeared on the 1973 album River, Lindley returned to California and joined Jackson Browne’s ensemble in time for the 1973 release For Everyman. His slide guitar and fiddle became defining elements of Browne’s music, and he soon extended his contributions to Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, James Taylor, and David Crosby & Graham Nash, both live and in the studio. Throughout the 1970s he appeared on dozens of albums; his falsetto lead on “Stay” from Running on Empty reached the pop charts as a hit single. Kaleidoscope reunited for the 1976 album When Scopes Collide, on which Lindley participated without credit under the pseudonym De Paris Letante.
Ry Cooder invited him to play on the 1978 album Jazz, initiating a long association with Cooder’s projects and film scores. After contributing to Browne’s 1980 album Hold Out and its ensuing tour—including benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden later documented on No Nukes—Lindley stepped away from Browne’s band to focus on his own career. The debut solo album El Rayo-X arrived in 1981, an easygoing yet groove-driven fusion of reggae, folk, blues, rock, and Cajun elements highlighted by incisive guitar work and understated wit. Onstage he became known for an extensive wardrobe of loud polyester shirts that deliberately clashed with his trousers. A touring band also called El Rayo-X supported the record; a second studio album, Win This Record, followed in 1982, while El Rayo Live captured club performances and surfaced in Europe and the United Kingdom in 1983. Mr. Dave appeared in 1985, issued first in Europe, Japan, and the U.K. as a solo project. Lindley rejoined Browne for 1986’s Lives in the Balance and increasingly returned to session work as solo momentum waned; Very Greasy, produced by Linda Ronstadt, marked the final El Rayo-X release in 1988.
A 1991 expedition to Madagascar with experimental guitarist Henry Kaiser yielded sessions with local musicians that filled multiple albums, beginning with 1992’s A World Out of Time: Henry Kaiser & David Lindley in Madagascar on Shanachie. A second volume appeared in 1993. Subsequent travels to Norway produced 1994’s The Sweet Sunny North: Henry Kaiser and David Lindley in Norway and its 1996 sequel. Percussionist Hani Naser organized joint concerts that led to the self-released 1994 live album Official Bootleg #1: Live in Tokyo Playing Real Good, followed by Official Bootleg #2: Live All Over the Place Playing Even Better in 1995. Work with drummer Wally Ingram generated a series of live recordings beginning with Twango Bango Deluxe in 2000 and continuing through Twango Bango II (2001), Twango Bango III (2003), and Live in Europe (2004).
The 2007 self-released Big Twang collected varied material drawn largely from Lindley’s earlier repertoire. In 2010 he and Jackson Browne issued the primarily acoustic live album Love is Strange: En Vivo Con Tino, captured during a March 2006 Spanish tour and nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category. Lindley reunited with Kaiser to compose the score for Werner Herzog’s 2013 documentary Encounters at the Edge of the World, released as a soundtrack on Fractal Music. From 2015 onward he reduced studio activity in favor of live performances across California and European tours alongside Ry Cooder. Diagnosed with COVID-19 in 2020, Lindley faced worsening complications from kidney disease, pneumonia, and influenza, and he died on March 3, 2023, at the age of 78.
Albums
