Artist description Rhythm & blues singer songwriter backed by an all-star lineup of musicians. Hoboken’s Andy Burton lays down the funkiest organ and piano. Ken Rich, bass, has recorded with Lou Reed, David Byrne, Laurie Anderson and many others. Guitarist Drew Zingg plays on Strecker’s album. Zingg has also performed with Steely Dan, David Sanborn and others, and just got off the road with Gladys Knight. Frank Vilardi, drums, has performed with Celine Dion, Jewel and Suzanne Vega to name a few. And finally, Chris Emenizer, doubling on alto, tenor and baritone sax, has performed with artists such as Paul Simon and Janet Jackson.

Music Style Rhythm & Blues

Musical Influences Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Robert Johnson

Similar Artists Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder

Artist History Originally from Long Island, New York, William Hart Strecker has been writing songs and performing for most of his life. A very funny guy, with a zest for life and an almost insane love for music, he has just released a debut CD containing original songs he has composed over the years. Strecker began his music career at age 5 as a trombonist. "I was the worst trombone player in the world, so I changed to vocals and studied classical voice in my school years." While studying voice, he picked up guitar at age 10, and in High School, formed his first band. By age 19, he became disillusioned with the classical world, gave up his classical vocal training and went on to play country, blues, r&b and other styles in several bands. Always a step away from stardom, his group New Hope released a single which lead to touring the US. The group eventually disbanded, but Strecker kept going. In Tennessee, he shared the stage with many artists who went on to fame, and was managed by Albert Grossman, manager of Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin and president of Bearsville Records (Todd Rundgren's label). At one point in his travels, he ended up in Florida, and formed the Bill Strecker band, a blues and jazz group. It was also in Florida that he met his wife Peggy. Together, the two decided to head to London, and to do some recording on their own. After about a year in the UK, however, Strecker decided to call it quits. He and Peggy returned to the U.S., Strecker studied Landscape Design and started his own company from the ground up. After years of success with his landscape design business, Strecker experienced a life changing event. An auto accident nearly took his life and he was injured so badly, he had to re-learn how to walk, talk and eat. It was during this time that he realized that as much as he loved the career he had built for himself, something was missing from his life. "You don't wanna play bars for the rest of your life. But the spirit, the magic [of music] - I just wanted to see if it was still there," said Strecker. After his recovery, he returned to running his business. It wasn't until his son Aaron gave him a gift certificate from a local music store that he finally decided it was time to get back into music. He purchased a drum kit, "and now I'm a drummer!" From that point on, his home studio began to expand. People donated stuff: an old Hammond organ, a 4-track, and other items. At this point, he decided to release his first CD, "Keep on Lovin'". He has since picked up trombone again and also trumpet

Group Members William Hart Strecker - vocals, guitar Andy Burton - keys Ken Rich - bass Drew Zingg - guitar Frank Vilardi - drums Chris Emenizer - sax

Instruments Electric guitar, accoustic guitar, bass, sax, drums, keyboards

Albums Hard to Hide

Location Cranbury, NJ - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).