Willie Nile

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Willie Nile bigraphy, stories - Rock and folk musician

Willie Nile : biography

June 7, 1948 –

Willie Nile (born Robert Anthony Noonan on June 7, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1980 Nile released his self-titled debut album which according to one critic remains “one of the most thrilling post-Byrds folk-rock albums of all time”.MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Dave Okamoto, 1999, pg. 814-815. His career was interrupted several times by various problems, but he has always returned to recording and performing in the US and Europe, re-establishing himself as a singer-songwriter.

Re-emergence

Although he continued to write, Nile did not perform live or record again until a 1987 performance in Oslo, Norway, with Eric Andersen. A videotape of Nile’s performance in Norway prompted a Columbia talent scout to sign him to the label in 1988. For reasons that are unclear, production on his album didn’t start for two more years. It was another significant delay in the troubadour’s career. Issued in 1991, His Columbia Records CD Places I Have Never Been contained the songs "Everybody Needs A Hammer" and "Heaven Help The Lonely." Places I Have Never Been featured appearances by backing musicians including Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III, Roger McGuinn, and members of the Hooters and the Roches.“Richard Skelly, All Music Guide”. His 1992 EP release, Hard Times in America, became a favorite among some listeners in Europe.

Nile has recorded and performed with several musicians, including Ringo Starr, Tori Amos, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Ian Hunter, and Barenaked Ladies. A live Central Park concert album, Willie Nile-Archive Alive, was released on Archive Recordings, and Nile was one of the vocalists on the ensemble album Largo, along with Joan Osborne, Cyndi Lauper, Levon Helm, The Chieftains, Taj Mahal and Carole King. Another project found Nile writing and performing most of the songs for the soundtrack to the Kevin McLaughlin film Pinch Me!.

In the fall of 2003, Nile was invited to share the stage at three concerts with the E Street Band, including the two final Giants Stadium shows.

“Nile’s defining quality among his fans is his charismatic spirit. It’s a passion and enthusiasm that is infectious to his fans and earned Nile the admiration of fans and peers alike.” From Shea to the clubs and concert halls of Europe, "his live performances are legendary." to his fans.

Gathering together his resources over time, he put out his first self-released album, Beautiful Wreck of the World, in 1999. It was chosen as one of the Top Ten Albums of the Year by critics at Billboard Magazine, The Village Voice and Stereo Review. Lucinda Williams called "On the Road to Calvary," Nile’s song for Jeff Buckley, "One of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard." The album reached the finals of the Independent Music Awards for Best Rock Album of the Year.

In 2006, Nile released Streets of New York, which some may consider to be his best work to date, due to its production and songwriting. Former Time magazine music critic and Academy Award winning screenwriter Jay Cocks writes of Streets of New York, "The tunes he writes and plays with such blowtorch vibrancy get the myth and magic and danger and sadness and love in this town–of this town–truer, and righter, than anything I’ve heard since Dion. This record is a head-twister and heart-wrencher. It’s rock and roll at its best. It’s New York at its best. And there’s nothing better than that."

House Of A Thousand Guitars was released to positive reviews on April 14, 2009.

On November 22, 2009, Nile joined the E Street Band for the cover of Jackie Wilson’s "Higher and Higher".

“The Buffalo News” said that their hometown troubadour’s “Streets of New York”, “House of a Thousand Guitars” and “The Innocent Ones”; stand as “three of the finest recordings to ever straddle the worlds of “singer/songwriter” fare and good ol’street-tough rock ‘n’ roll”.