A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. ^[1] The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo or a group. ^[2]

Sidemen and sidewomen are often well-versed in multiple styles of music, and can be hired at any level of the music industry, from playing in a cover band to backing up established artists on major tours. ^[3]

While many artists can work as sidemen or session musicians , others will only fill one role. The generally accepted difference is that a sideman performs live while a session musician is hired to perform in a recording studio. ^[4]

Career progression [ edit ]

Aspiring musicians often start out as sidemen, playing rhythm guitar, comping on keyboards, playing drums in the rhythm section , or singing backing vocals for a well-known bandleader or singer. ^[5] Once sidemen have become experienced with live performance and recording with established artists, some move on to develop their own sound, a recognized name, and fans of their own, or go on to form their own groups, at which point they become bandleaders and recruit their own sidemen and sidewomen. ^[6] Some examples of this are:

• James Burton and Glen Hardin , playing guitar and keyboards respectively, who performed in Elvis Presley 's TCB Band , also backed Gram Parsons before joining newcomer Rodney Crowell and veteran Albert Lee in Emmylou Harris ' "Hot Band". ^[7]
• Don Henley and Glenn Frey were in the initial backup band for Linda Ronstadt , which toured in support of her eponymous debut album . Afterwards, with the addition of Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner , they formed the Eagles . ^[8]

Some sidemen become famous for their musical specialties, and become highly sought-after by pop , rock, blues , jazz and country music bands. Examples of some of these include multi-instrumentalists. David Lindley is a multi-instrumentalist who has worked with such diverse musicians as Curtis Mayfield , Dolly Parton , Jackson Browne , and Hani Naser . ^[9]

Waddy Wachtel 's guitar licks and experience have placed him as a bandleader while on tour with Stevie Nicks , and Chuck Leavell , who has toured with The Allman Brothers Band , but more often, is onstage with The Rolling Stones on keyboards. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Often sidemen go on to form their own groups and/or solo careers; for instance, John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison , and Pete Best acted as sidemen to Tony Sheridan before becoming famous as The Beatles , with the addition of Ringo Starr . ^[13] Jimmy Page left his first attempts working in bands to hone his skills as a session player, where he met John Paul Jones ; he later recruited Robert Plant and John Bonham to form Led Zeppelin . ^[14] Bob Dylan 's first recorded song was as a harmonica sideman on Harry Belafonte 's cover of " Midnight Special ". ^{[15] [16]}

Other musicians may take time from their own bands to tour or record as a sideman for other artists, such as punk bassist Mike Watt with J Mascis and the Fog or Iggy and the Stooges . ^[17]

See also [ edit ]

• Session musician

References [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list, which also inducts sidemen