Tony Levin

Anthony Frederick Levin (born June 6, 1946) is an American musician and composer, specializing in electric bass, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson and Peter Gabriel. He was also a member of Liquid Tension Experiment, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, ProjeKct One, and ProjeKct Four. He has led his own band, Stick Men. A prolific session musician since the 1970s, Levin has played on 500 albums, including those by Cher, Asia, Alice Cooper, John Lennon, Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, Dire Straits, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Joan Armatrading, Tom Waits, Buddy Rich, The Roches, Todd Rundgren, Seal, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe, Warren Zevon, Kevin Parent, Bryan Ferry, Laurie Anderson, Yes, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Gibonni, and Jean-Pierre Ferland. Additionally, he has toured with artists including Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon (with whom Levin appeared in Simon's 1980 film One-Trick Pony), Gary Burton, James Taylor, Herbie Mann, Judy Collins, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Tim Finn, Richie Sambora, Ivano Fossati, Claudio Baglioni and Lawrence Gowan. Levin helped to popularize the Chapman Stick and the NS upright bass. He also created "funk fingers", modified drumsticks attached to fingers used to hit the bass strings (which sounds similar to slap style bass). In 2011, Levin ranked second (behind John Paul Jones) in The "20 Most Underrated Bass Guitarists" in Paste magazine.