Jan 2010 / WENDY WALDMAN

It isn’t just bands that are under-appreciated; individual rock artists also slip through the cracks.  As an example, though Allmusic has considerable information on her, Wikipedia does not have so much as a stub on WENDY WALDMAN, a talented and experimental singer/songwriter who has released several well-regarded albums beginning in the 1970’sWendy Waldman is best known today as one of the songwriters behind the gorgeous Vanessa Williams hit song from 1991, “Save the Best for Last”. 
 
Wendy Waldman first gained success when Maria Muldaur (“Midnight at the Oasis”) included several of Waldman’s songs on her two 1974 albums.  Wendy Waldman later became a close friend of Linda Ronstadt and also toured with her for a period of time in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s; they collaborated on a song, “I Want a Horse” for the 1980 Sesame Street LP, In Harmony.  
 
My personal favorite among Wendy Waldman’s albums is Strange Company, a 1978 release that has Waldman performing more as a rock bandleader than a singer/songwriter; “Long Hot Summer Nights” was a regional hit that still echoes in my interior playlist from time to time more than 30 years later.  Several of the other musicians on this album – who formed a band having the unfortunate name the Cretones – also backed Linda Ronstadt on her 1980 New Wave album, Mad Love.  Sadly, none of Wendy Waldman’s albums has sold over 25,000 copies, but she has continued to tour and record ever since, both as a solo artist and as part of a band – most recently, the Refugees.
 
Along with Kenny Edwards, Andrew Gold and Karla Bonoff, Wendy Waldman was part of a band called Bryndle that formed in the late 1960’s and was active on the L.A. scene for several years without making any records.  The four members of Bryndle have all had successful careers, and each had a close association with Linda Ronstadt later in the decade.  Kenny Edwards had been a founding member with Linda Ronstadt in the band Stone Poneys (“Different Drum”) prior to the formation of Bryndle, and he later recorded and toured with Linda for about 10 years beginning in the mid-1970’sAndrew Gold was also a key member of Linda Ronstadts backup band in the same time period.  Gold had a mid-1970’s hit as a solo artist, “Lonely Boy”; and one of his songs, “Thank You for Being a Friend” was selected to be the theme song for the TV series Golden Girls.  Karla Bonoff was one of many songwriters that Linda Ronstadt introduced via the covers on her albums, notably “Someone to Lay Down Beside Me”.  Bryndle eventually reformed in the early 1990’s and ultimately released their debut album in 1995Bryndle.   
 
More recently, in 2007, Wendy Waldman formed a band called the Refugees with two other music veterans, Cindy Bullens and Deborah Holland.  When it became clear that Sting would not be returning to the fold, the two remaining members of the Police, Stewart Copeland and, briefly, Andy Summers formed a band in 1987 with Deborah Holland and virtuoso bassist Stanley Clarke that was initially called Rush Hour; after Summers exited the group, the name was changed to Animal Logic.  Holland, however, supplied nearly all of the songwriting for the band.
 
Until I created a short article a couple of months ago, Cindy Bullens would have been a natural choice as an Under-Appreciated Rock Artist of the Month, since she had also languished without any Wikipedia recognition.  Her 1978 debut album, Desire Wire is one of the great lost rock albums of the 1970’s – and that is Allmusics opinion as well as mine.  Cindy Bullens also contributed vocals on three songs to the soundtrack for the movie Grease, notably “It’s Raining on Prom Night”; and she received a Grammy nomination for her efforts.  
 
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The Honor Roll of the Under Appreciated Rock Bands and Artists follows, in date order, including a link to the original Facebook posts and the theme of the article.
 
Dec 2009BEAST; Lot to Learn
Jan 2010WENDY WALDMAN; Los Angeles Singer-Songwriters
Feb 2010 CYRUS ERIE; Cleveland
Mar 2010BANG; Record Collecting I
Apr 2010THE BREAKAWAYS; Power Pop
May 2010THE NOT QUITE; Katrina Clean-Up
Jun 2010WATERLILLIES; Electronica
Jul 2010THE EYES; Los Angeles Punk Rock
Aug 2010QUEEN ANNE’S LACE; Psychedelic Pop
Sep 2010THE STILLROVEN; Minnesota
Oct 2010THE PILTDOWN MEN; Record Collecting II
Nov 2010SLOVENLY; Slovenly Peter
Dec 2010THE POPPEES; New York Punk/New Wave
Jan 2011HACIENDA; Latinos in Rock
Feb 2011THE WANDERERS; Punk Rock (1970’s/1980’s)
Mar 2011INDEX; Psychedelic Rock (1960’s)
Apr 2011BOHEMIAN VENDETTA; Punk Rock (1960’s)
May 2011THE LONESOME DRIFTER; Rockabilly
Jun 2011THE UNKNOWNS; Disabled Musicians
Jul 2011THE RIP CHORDS; Surf Rock I
Aug 2011ANDY COLQUHOUN; Side Men
Sep 2011ULTRA; Texas
Oct 2011JIM SULLIVAN; Mystery
Nov 2011THE UGLY; Punk Rock (1970’s)
Dec 2011THE MAGICIANS; Garage Rock (1960’s)
Jan 2012RON FRANKLIN; Why Celebrate Under Appreciated?
Feb 2012JA JA JA; German New Wave
Mar 2012STRATAVARIOUS; Disco Music
Apr 2012LINDA PIERRE KING; Record Collecting III
May 2012TINA AND THE TOTAL BABES; One Hit Wonders
Jun 2012WILD BLUE; Band Names I
Jul 2012DEAD HIPPIE; Band Names II
Aug 2012PHIL AND THE FRANTICS; Wikipedia I
Sep 2012CODE BLUE; Hidden History
Oct 2012TRILLION; Wikipedia II
Nov 2012THOMAS ANDERSON; Martin Winfree’s Record Buying Guide
Dec 2012THE INVISIBLE EYES; Record Collecting IV
Jan 2013THE SKYWALKERS; Garage Rock Revival
Feb 2013LINK PROTRUDI AND THE JAYMEN; Link Wray
Mar 2013THE GILES BROTHERS; Novelty Songs
Apr 2013LES SINNERS; Universal Language
May 2013HOLLIS BROWN; Greg Shaw / Bob Dylan
Jun 2013 (I) – FUR (Part One); What Might Have Been I
Jun 2013 (II) – FUR (Part Two); What Might Have Been II
Jul 2013THE KLUBS; Record Collecting V
Aug 2013SILVERBIRD; Native Americans in Rock
Sep 2013BLAIR 1523; Wikipedia III
Oct 2013MUSIC EMPORIUM; Women in Rock I
Nov 2013CHIMERA; Women in Rock II
Dec 2013LES HELL ON HEELS; Women in Rock III
Jan 2014BOYSKOUT; (Lesbian) Women in Rock IV
Feb 2014LIQUID FAERIES; Women in Rock V
Mar 2014 (I) – THE SONS OF FRED (Part 1); Tribute to Mick Farren
Mar 2014 (II) – THE SONS OF FRED (Part 2); Tribute to Mick Farren
Apr 2014HOMER; Creating New Bands out of Old Ones
May 2014THE SOUL AGENTS; The Cream Family Tree
Jun 2014THE RICHMOND SLUTS and BIG MIDNIGHT; Band Names (Changes) III
Jul 2014MIKKI; Rock and Religion I (Early CCM Music)
Aug 2014THE HOLY GHOST RECEPTION COMMITTEE #9; Rock and Religion II (Bob Dylan)
Sep 2014NICK FREUND; Rock and Religion III (The Beatles)
Oct 2014MOTOCHRIST; Rock and Religion IV
Nov 2014WENDY BAGWELL AND THE SUNLITERS; Rock and Religion V
Dec 2014THE SILENCERS; Surf Rock II
Jan 2015 (I) – THE CRAWDADDYS (Part 1); Tribute to Kim Fowley
Jan 2015 (II) – THE CRAWDADDYS (Part 2); Tribute to Kim Fowley
Feb 2015BRIAN OLIVE; Songwriting I (Country Music)
Mar 2015PHIL GAMMAGE; Songwriting II (Woody Guthrie/Bob Dylan)
Apr 2015 (I) – BLACK RUSSIAN (Part 1); Songwriting III (Partnerships)
Apr 2015 (II) – BLACK RUSSIAN (Part 2); Songwriting III (Partnerships)
May 2015MAL RYDER and THE PRIMITIVES; Songwriting IV (Rolling Stones)
Jun 2015HAYMARKET SQUARE; Songwriting V (Beatles)
Jul 2015THE HUMAN ZOO; Songwriting VI (Psychedelic Rock)
Aug 2015CRYSTAL MANSIONMartin Winfree’s Record Cleaning Guide
Dec 2015AMANDA JONES; So Many Rock Bands
Mar 2016THE LOVEMASTERS; Fun Rock Music
Jun 2016THE GYNECOLOGISTS; Offensive Rock Music Lyrics
Sep 2016LIGHTNING STRIKE; Rap and Hip Hop
Dec 2016THE IGUANAS; Iggy and the Stooges; Proto-Punk Rock
Mar 2017THE LAZY COWGIRLS; Iggy and the Stooges; First Wave Punk Rock
Jun 2017THE LOONS; Punk Revival and Other New Bands
Sep 2017THE TELL-TALE HEARTS; Bootleg Albums
Dec 2017SS-20; The Iguana Chronicles
(Year 10 Review)
Last edited: April 8, 2021