1. Anthony Frederick Levin was born on June 6,1946 and is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass.
43 Facts About Tony Levin
1. 2.
Tony Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson and Peter Gabriel.
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Tony Levin is a member of Liquid Tension Experiment, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities and HoBoLeMa.
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Tony Levin has led his own band, Stick Men, since 2010.
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Tony Levin has toured with artists including Paul Simon, Gary Burton, James Taylor, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Tim Finn, Richie Sambora, Ivano Fossati, Claudio Baglioni and Lawrence Gowan.
6.
Tony Levin helped to popularize the Chapman Stick and the NS electric upright bass.
7.
Tony Levin created "funk fingers", modified drumsticks that attach to the fingers of the player in order to strike the bass strings, adding a distinctive percussive "slap" sound used in funk bass playing.
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Anthony Frederick Tony Levin was born on June 6,1946, in Boston, Massachusetts.
9.
Tony Levin grew up in a Reform Jewish household in the suburb of Brookline.
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Tony Levin began playing double bass at 10 years old, primarily studying classical music.
11.
Tony Levin traded in his Ampeg electric upright "Baby Bass" for a Fender Precision Bass; in the early days his first bass amplifier was an Ampeg Portaflex B-15.
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Tony Levin's first recording was in 1968, when he and Gadd played on Diana in the Autumn Wind, Gap Mangione's first solo album.
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In 1970, Tony Levin moved to New York City, joining a band called Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast, with Don Preston of The Mothers of Invention.
14.
In 1976, Tony Levin helped create the lush textures on Andy Pratt's Resolution album, which featured numerous notable musicians including Arif Mardin, Andy Newmark, Hugh McDonald, Luther Vandross, and Tony Levin's frequent rhythm section partner Steve Gadd.
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Tony Levin had met Gabriel through producer Bob Ezrin with whom Levin had recorded Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare and Lou Reed's Berlin.
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Tony Levin has been Gabriel's bass player of choice ever since.
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On Gabriel's first solo album, Tony Levin played tuba as well, and directed and sang with a barbershop quartet on "Excuse Me".
18.
In 1978, Tony Levin moved to Woodstock, New York, to join the band L'Image, which included his old friend Steve Gadd as well as Mike Mainieri and Warren Bernhardt.
19.
The band broke up after a year, though Tony Levin decided to stay in the area: he currently resides in Kingston, New York.
20.
Tony Levin recorded four studio albums as part of King Crimson: Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair and THRAK, all critically acclaimed.
21.
In 1980, Tony Levin participated in the sessions for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album.
22.
In 1987, Tony Levin played the bass and Chapman Stick parts on the Pink Floyd album A Momentary Lapse of Reason.
23.
In 1988 Bruford asked Tony Levin to be an "unofficial fifth member" in the Yes-related supergroup Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, which consisted of all the members from the classic Yes lineup except bassist Chris Squire, though Tony Levin only performed as a session player on the group's eponymous album.
24.
In 1984 Tony Levin released Road Photos, a collection of black and white photos taken during his travels with King Crimson, Gabriel, Simon, and others.
25.
Tony Levin has written a book of career anecdotes and road stories called Beyond the Bass Clef.
26.
Tony Levin was part of King Crimson again from 1994 to 1997 as part of the "Double Trio" line-up of the band which consisted of Tony Levin, Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn, Pat Mastelotto, and Bill Bruford.
27.
Tony Levin took part in two of experimental King Crimson sub-groups: ProjeKct One and ProjeKct Four.
28.
Tony Levin played bass on "Watcher of the Skies" from Steve Hackett's Genesis Revisited album.
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Tony Levin was very busy in the late 1990s with his own groups Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, Bozzio Levin Stevens, and Liquid Tension Experiment.
30.
Tony Levin regularly played with the California Guitar Trio when their schedules permitted.
31.
In 1997, Tony Levin teamed up with Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci, members of Dream Theater, as well as future Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess, for a project called Liquid Tension Experiment.
32.
In 2006, Tony Levin released Resonator, The first album to feature Tony Levin as a lyricist and lead vocalist.
33.
In 2008, Tony Levin joined King Crimson's 40th Anniversary Tour, in a lineup including Fripp, Belew, Mastelotto, and Harrison.
34.
Tony Levin holds the record as King Crimson's longest-serving bassist overall.
35.
In 2009 Tony Levin reunited with his band from 1978, L'Image, featuring Mike Mainieri, Warren Bernhardt, David Spinozza, and Steve Gadd.
36.
In 2010 Tony Levin toured with HoBoLeMa, a group consisting of Allan Holdsworth on guitar, Terry Bozzio on drums, Tony Levin on bass, and Pat Mastelotto on drums.
37.
Tony Levin's brother, Pete Tony Levin, is a New York keyboardist and writer who is known for his work with Gil Evans.
38.
Tony Levin played on Jean-Pierre Ferland's Jaune album, which included hits "Le petit roi" and "Le chat du cafe des artistes".
39.
On September 24,2013, Tony Levin was officially announced as a member of the eighth incarnation of King Crimson, alongside band founder Robert Fripp, guitarist Jakko Jakszyk, the returning Mel Collins on saxophone, drummers Pat Mastelotto and Gavin Harrison, and new member Bill Rieflin.
40.
In September 2024, Tony Levin released the solo album Bringing It Down to the Bass, featuring guest appearances with many of his former bandmates and collaborators.
41.
Tony Levin met Andi Turco in 1995 when she was promoting Virgin Records in Atlanta.
42.
Andi Turco-Tony Levin ran for mayor of Kingston, New York, in 2011, and for Ulster County Legislature in 2019, both campaigns unsuccessful.
43.
Turco-Tony Levin is credited with backing vocals on the album Resonator and for photography on Tony Levin Minnemann Rudess.