Gary James' Interview With Wayne Nelson Of
Little River Band



He's the current lead singer and bassist for Little River Band. His name is Wayne Nelson and his story is about as interesting as it gets. And so we asked him about his musical journey.

Q - Wayne, I listened to this "Black Tie" CD and you can really sing.

A - Thank you sir.

Q - You've got these Little River Band songs down pat.

A - Well, much appreciated. After all these years we do have a sense of when they're being delivered properly. That just kind of comes with the time spent in the band, but after forty years I'm glad to hear that you could hear the effort. That's very rewarding.

Q - What have you been spending your time doing since there are no live concerts being performed? (2021)

A - Quite a few projects actually. Writing. Recording. Just for the sake of the fans, my wife and I started doing a little thing on the back porch, calling it The Sunday Afternoon Imperfect Session, where we sing with an acoustic guitar and maybe give away a couple of pieces of merchandise. That kind of thing. Just something to stay in touch with people. And co-writing with people here in Arizona and with people in the band. And we started a podcast called Same Storm, Different Boat, because we kept hearing we're all in the same boat here with COVID. That's not really true. Our boats are all different. We may be on the same sea, but we're doing it between... some people have row boats and some people have yachts, if you know what I'm saying. We just talk to people in different walks of life, including some well-known musicians, some educators, and a doctor. All those things take time to put together and edit, as you know. You compile things and have to edit them and make them make sense and flow. On top of everything else, a friend of mine said, "Why don't you start telling your story? You've been a musician for fifty-five years. There's a long path that got you to Little River Band for about forty years worth. Let's start telling that story before you run out of time to tell it properly." So we've been doing that with videos and podcasts, and all of the editing falls on me. So, it's amazing how busy I've been while we haven't been touring. I'm happy to say all that stuff is going well. Hopefully the COVID is starting to lift and we can get back to work.

Q - How long did you do those back porch concerts?

A - We were doing Facebook Live. We did them once every couple of weeks back when COVID started, thinking we're going to be able to get back out there soon. As it got a little cooler here in the desert, it became more of a thing we would have to do inside. Quite frankly I'm the bass player in the band, not the guitar player, so I kind of self-censored myself to say I'm not really cutting it as a guitar player. This is kind of interesting and fun, but it's not really a high quality version of the band's material. We were just having some fun and chatting and whatever. So we've cut back a little bit. We've probably done about ten of 'em I guess over the course of the year we've been off. We'll probably do a couple more before things start to gear back up again.

Q - When you were in your late teens you were playing in bands around the Chicago area. Are we talking cover bands or original bands?

A - At first, cover bands. The guy that inspired me to get going on the book was the drummer in the first band I was in, in high school. We've stayed best friends now for fifty plus years. But that band was your typical high school dances and fraternity things. When we decided to go to college and keep the band together, that lasted for about four years. When that band broke up was when I ventured into the next big influential band for me, which was a band that was doing a lot of Chicago, Blood, Sweat And Tears, horn bands, Chase, but also writing material. And so, that was my first venture into doing original music with a band. We were based out of DeKalb, Illinois, where Northern Illinois University is. That's where the high school band went to college in order to keep the band together. Then after college, when I moved back to Chicago, I was fortunate enough to meet Lee Grazians and Paulette McWilliams, who had been in Ask Rufus. Paulette was interested in her own career, so we recorded some original music for her. Then I worked with Megan McDonough, who was doing her own music, and then got into a band called Koala, which we were doing a couple of original tunes in that band. So, a little bit of original music along the way. All those bands, in order to work, we were covering songs so people could get up and dance and hear the songs they knew, but there was original music thrown into all of 'em. Then about 1978 is when I moved out to Los Angeles.

Q - Is that when you started working with Jim Messina? How did that happen?

A - Totally by accident. The luck of being in the right place at the right time. Jimmy was working on his first record. A friend of mine, also from Chicago, had gone out to L.A. for the same reason. By the way, another great player and songwriter, Jeff King. Jeff King did things by the book. He joined the L.A. musicians union and he checked the musicians union for possible work daily. I was out there on a wing and a prayer as an independent. Quite frankly, I couldn't afford to join the union first of all. Second of all, I didn't know it was going to do me any good because I didn't read music. It wasn't one of those things where I was going to run to the Union to look for work. Jeff King calls me one day and says, "I just saw a card on the wall that Jim Morrison is looking for a bass player that sings and is a professional." He said, "We should go up." I called Jim Messina and he was quite put out that I got his number from the Musicians Union because he said, "I would never have gone there to look for a musician." So, it was really one of those, "I'm really sorry I bothered you. If in fact you're still looking for a bass player, this is my phone number. I totally understand." He immediately wanted to call the Union and have that card taken off the wall. So, I'm painting this picture to you that this was really a stroke of luck because he said, "I'll call you back." And I was sure I would never hear from him again. About twenty minutes later he called back and said, "Sorry about that, but I really didn't want my situation put on the wall at the Musicians Union in Los Angeles." I said, "I totally understand, but thanks for calling me back." He said, "Come on up. Come up tomorrow. Let's talk and play." He had tried out a whole lot of people from L.A. to Santa Barbara. That's where he was living. Great players and some of whom I met later on. We hit it off and the timing was right. He was ready to start getting his band finalized so that we could go into rehearsal and record this new music that he had written and was venturing out to do. Again, I was very definitely in the right place at the right time and heard about it from another friend who was there at the right time to see that card. It was only up there for about eight hours. A crazy story, but all of it the truth. It's really serendipitous that I heard about that job and that he chose me to join the band.

Q - And Jim Messina's band was opening for Little River Band and something happened that led you to join Little River Band?

A - Well, exactly. Again, to double down on being at the right place at the right time, Little River Band's bass player had been in the band for a couple of years and decided to give up the touring musician life and he went to a Bible Study in Australia. He just changed course completely. Gave away the music music business and went in a totally different direction. So when they came to America to record their "Live" album, this was in 1979, Messina's band is opening and they were coming out to watch Jimmy play every night because Messina was a legendary figure to them for his unique guitar playing style. So, they came to watch every night and we were playing at the time a pretty adventurous mix of Pop and Latin. There was very syncopated music going on where the band is playing one syncopation and we're singing in a different syncopation with the vocals over the top of it. A very Tex-Mex kind of approach. It was really a lot of fun. Very complex and very interesting. So, there was somebody from Little River Band watching the set every night. After a couple of weeks, on the very last night of that run, we were on a shoestring budget. We were all clearing the stage ourselves, taking the instruments off and getting them out as quickly as possible so Little River Band could get up there and do their show. I headed off the stage on the last night, my bass in hand. Waiting in the stairwell for me at this venue were two of the singers and founding members of Little River Band. They said, "It's been great working with you. Great band. Great music. Our bass player that we've been touring with here doesn't sing and was a fill-in, if you will, a hired hand to take the place of our bass player who had quit. Would you be interested in possibly rehearing and touring with us, possibly recording with us, possibly becoming a band member? All of those things we would take one step at a time. We would start that up next year as we get ready to tour and do our next record." I was very much in love with the Messina band. We were gonna do our own material. Playing with Jimmy was great fun. There was a plan there in place. I basically said, "No, I'm very happy where I am. Thank-you for the offer and I appreciate it. We have our sites set on this music we're doing." So, I said no. (laughs) A couple of months later, the Messina thing had all dissipated and kind of fallen apart. I called Australia and said, "Is that offer still available?" They said, "We're not doing anything 'til April of next year. We'll call you back." And again I hung up going, "Well, that's that. They're not going to call back. It is Australia. I'm sure there's plenty of great bass players in Australia that could do the job." Sure enough, three months later they called back and said, "Here's the schedule. We'll send you an airfare and a ticket. You gotta be in Australia on this day in early April." And again, the right place at the right time. Then, they even called back after I had said no to 'em. So I really lucked out in both cases. No question.

Q - Were all the original members in Little River Band when Jim Messina's band was opening for them?

A - In Little River Band's beginnings there were two people who were replaced within a year. So when you say all of the original members, there had already started to be some changes made in the lineup, but the five of the six people that were on stage with LRB at that time; everybody except the bass player had been in the band for a few years and recorded and written the hit songs were there. So, the one position that was not one of the founding members was the bass player, and again, he didn't sing and they were looking for anyone who came into the band could add to the vocals or be there and be singing on stage. The vocals on Little River Band take on such an important role. The fact that I was singing and playing this other music with Messina was also a plus in their eyes.

Q - I believe I saw the original Little River Band lineup in August of 1978. Would that be correct?

A - That could have been one of the last times. Do you remember if there was a left-handed bass player that was actually featured and given some solo spots in the band?

Q - I really couldn't tell you.

A - Both of the players I mentioned couldn't sing. They weren't as visible, if you will, during the show as the singers and the people out front. In August of '78, I don't know exactly when George McArdale left the band, but I do know that he wasn't there in 1979. I can tell you that. You may or may not have seen the six people, but again in '76 they replaced the lead guitar and bass player. But the lineup you saw in '78 is sometimes referred to as the classic lineup. It was a very successful lineup. That was when Little River Band came to be known in America. The original guitar player and bass player never toured America. So, chances are you saw George McArdale, who was an excellent player. And again, the main thing you would have seen is he's a left-handed player. If you were looking at bass players you would have remembered him. But I can't say for sure that was the player you saw. Otherwise, you saw the songwriters that had written the bulk of the hits at that point.

Q - You then became a member of Little River Band in 1981. Is that correct?

A - Yes. I toured in '80. We recorded in early '81. First we would tour, then we would record. Then they would consider band membership and that's when all the tests had been passed sufficiently and I was made a member of the band in '81.

Q - When you were recording a CD with producer George Martin you would sit around and talk about The Beatles. He told you what happened with Pete Best and why Ringo was brought in. When I interviewed Pete Best back in 2006, he had no idea why he was kicked out of the band. So, what did George Martin say?

A - To be honest, George was willing to answer a lot of questions, but when it came down to a question like you just asked... Our drummer knew the history and he wanted to know an answer to that question too. George Martin was protective of people's reputations and he would never make a call that Ringo was a better drummer than Pete Best. So I can't really answer your question. Pete Best, if I remember correctly, never did record with The Beatles. He was in the band for awhile but when they finally started to record and become famous in that regard, I think it was Ringo that was playing at that point. Correct me if I'm wrong. I don't know that George Martin had much interaction with him (Pete Best). I'm not trying to dodge the question, but the answer you're looking for was never expressed by George. We talked about a lot of things and a lot of situations, but he withheld any kind of judgment, if you will. He would tell us facts. Some person didn't care if Yoko was in the room. Those kind of answers.

Q - I've heard that Ringo was not on "Love Me Do".

A - There's a legend, a rumor, an urban legend I guess you'd call it that Bernard Purdie was brought over for some tracking. Bernard Purdie claims that he is on quite a few of The Beatles' hits. No one can prove it one way or another. I don't know that there were any pictures or real proof that it happened. So that's a burning question to a lot of Beatles fanatics. Did Bernard Purdie actually play on some of those tracks. If I knew the answer to that one Gary, I could probably make some money on confirming that rumor. I wish I did.

Q - If the current lineup of Little River Band was not around, then the music of Little River Band would have been lost, wouldn't it?

A - It's very possible, yes, for two reasons. First of all, the members of the band left one at a time. Some were fired. Some left just because they were tired or the issues and the struggle. I'll go back to the meeting; I remember the meeting where Glenn Shorrock was told we would continue without him. I'll use that phrase. He wanted to take some time off and do a solo record. So, the members of the band that were of a mind to replace him said, "Go ahead. Do that. But we're done. We can't work with you anymore." And so, he was kind of forced out of the band. Had that not happened and we had continued to work out our differences, I think there was a lot more success for Little River Band in the early '80s. But that decision literally started the decline of the band, to lose the lead singer and a hit songwriter and choose somebody else. The following year Beeb Birtles left because he wasn't happy with what happened with the new person. So in other words, in '82 he says, "Glenn, I can't work with you anymore," and by '83 the person that he was part of choosing to join the band, which was John Farnham, he didn't like that either. So he just quit. And then the drummer, Derek quit because Beeb had quit. Like I said, the decline of the band started, in my opinion the day that Glenn Shorrock was forced out. So if you take that attitude and fast forward to 2000 when we went back into the studio and we created new music, it was the first time new music had been recorded by the band in ten years. Graeham (Gobel) had left in 1990 and Glenn Shorrock left in '96 and Derek left in '97 again and so on and so forth. So, Stephen Housden kept the band together, asked me to come bank and we did new music in 2000 and started to try and rebuild with new music and new players and continue to tour and put on a good live show and start to climb the hill again, is the way I put it. Is it possible that those guys would have gotten back together on their own? It's very unlikely. Beeb lived in America. Glenn was doing fine as a solo artist. Graeham was working on his own music. Their styles and their decisions were very different. They were going in different directions. They weren't writing the same kind of songs. They decided after "Where We Started From", that was the music we recorded in 2000, it's called "Where We Started From", and it honored the style of Little River Band with good vocals, good songs, but it was brand new. In 2001 was when suddenly Glenn and Graeham had the idea to put the band back together and tour and reclaim the name, which is what started the controversy between us and them as to the ownership of the name. I'm going the long way around, but to answer your question, could that have turned into a touring situation? I don't think so. The reason I say that is because they had a chance to tour and work together and it didn't work. As a matter of fact, while that was happening there was a quote by Glenn saying, "This is a flirtation. This is not a marriage. We are not getting remarried. We're flirting with the idea of touring." They toured Australia. It was not all that successful and it went no further than that. They blame it on the ownership of the name, but the truth of the matter is they could have kept touring under their own names, but we, and I include Steve Housden in this, we were in the trenches in America and Canada, working. We were working hard to keep the name of the band out there and again create new music, because otherwise we were playing the same songs the same way, night after night after night with no inspiration. I just don't think that could have sustained itself. It's a hypothetical as to whether, like as you asked, would concert goers still be able to see Little River Band now? I don't think so. In the 1980s the members were leaving the band because they were tired of the effort to go to tour in America, tour around the world. They were tired of each other. They weren't getting along. How can you rekindle that twenty-five years later when everybody is older and more set in their ways? Everybody thinks touring is such an easy life. It's not. And when you're away from home, 8,000, 10,000 miles, it's even worse. It's even harder. That's why everybody stopped, the travel and effort, and the effort to overcome their differences in order to get a product created. I love the band. I love the history of the band. I take great pride in the fact that we have our own catalog of songs that we've written and recorded and found music from other writers that we loved and thought was right for us to do. I'm proud of the second chapter or later chapter of the band's history and keeping it up there. I don't think concert goers, especially concert goers in America, could hear Little River Band's music performed live unless it was by other people that didn't own the trademark and would have to be called a tribute band or a cover band. I just don't think it would've happened anywhere near to this degree of quality and integrity.

Q - Are there in fact Little River Band tribute bands? I've never heard of any, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

A - There are two or three in Australia. One is called Reminiscing and one is called Cool Change. A couple of the singers, there are moments when you close your eyes and you think you're listening to Glenn because of the accent and because they grew up listening to Glenn in the two or three bands he was in. So, there are a couple of good acts in Australia that are touring down there, playing Little River Band songs and use that phrase that they are a tribute band to LRB. I know of none in America. And Little River Band music sounds easier than it is to reproduce vocally, consistently. I've always said singing the Little River Band set is an athletic endeavor. You gotta be in shape. You gotta take care of yourself. It's not like singing the Blues where you can reinterpret it every time you walk on stage. It's got to be of a certain precision and a certain level, and we're singing at the top of our range a whole lot of time during the set. It's definitely something you have to stay in shape for and keep your head in the game. You have to respect the vocals and respect the history of the band. That's what comes first. The vocals come first. The guitars come next, and the arrangements. From there I've always been thrilled to have people come that brought a new slant to things and brought a new feel to things and that keeps the band fresh and keeps the band on its toes, if you will, in live situations, the spontaneity between good players who all came up through the same ranks, if you will. Street players that all know different styles of music. It keeps us fresh. The cake is the same. The emotion of the songs are the same, but the icing is different. But sometimes the icing is different from night to night because we have our ears open to other things that happen during the show. We might hear somebody do something and we would jump on it or turn it into something we do the next night. You can hear in "Black Tie", there's an evolution of the band's music, but yet the emotion and the core of what the song is supposed to be saying and doing is there so that people's memories are intact, yet they get a little twist to the live show. And again, I was there with those people in 1980. I worked with those people onstage. It was a very different work experience than it is now. It's part of why I'm so proud of this band and this lineup, and also it's part of why I don't think if the band decided, "Oh, Glenn's gone. We're done." I don't think it would've ever come back around. But that was never the attitude. Glenn's gone. We find another singer. Beeb leaves. We find a great keyboard player that can do what Beeb did and we reshape the band's music. The drummer leaves. We find another drummer. That's just been the case for literally whole history of the band's existence. This is an evolution of the band. Not a difference, but a growth.

© Gary James. All rights reserved.

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