User:Marisa828/Wayne tex gabriel

The Early Years
Wayne "Tex" Gabriel (born Wayne Victor Waddle on December 24, 1950 in Houston, Texas - died May 1, 2010 in Newburgh, New York) was an American guitarist. His mother was Marion Scott of Missouri and his father Victor Waddle of Texas. Most well-known for his work with the band "Elephant's Memory" who performed with John Lennon and Yoko Ono during the years 1971 - 1972. Born in Houston, Texas in 1950, he moved to Detroit, Michigan with his mother, when his parents separated, in 1953. He inherited his mother's southern drawl, and earned the nickname "Tex" due to his birthplace and accent.

After a high school football injury ended his hopes for an athletic career, he focused on pursuing his love of music by learning to play the guitar, and found he had a natural talent and affinity for music. He first played professionally in the Detroit music scene with Mitch Ryder in Detroit before moving to New York City in 1970. Within a year of moving to New York, he joined Elephant’s Memory, a Greenwich Village band active in New York’s music and political communities.

Professional Work
Gabriel is probably best known for his work as lead guitarist for Elephant’s Memory, the band that recorded with John Lennon after Lennon left the Beatles. Along with John and Yoko, Elephant's Memory formed the Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory (POEM) band. In August 1972, the band performed with Lennon and Ono at the “One to One” concert at Madison Square Garden, the last full-length concert Lennon would perform. The benefit concert also featuring Stevie Wonder and Roberta Flack, was inspired by Geraldo Rivera’s exposé of patient abuse at Willowbrook Hospital. A world-wide benefits tour was planned, but due to Lennon and Ono's legal difficulties with immigration, the tour had to be abandoned.

Gabriel's work appears on numerous albums, including ‘Chuck Berry Gold’, ‘The Chess Box’ with Chuck Berry (he remains the only other guitarist besides Berry himself to perform a solo on a Berry album); ‘Anthology’, ‘Imagine’, ‘Some Time in New York City’ ‘Shaved Fish’ with John Lennon; ‘Approximately Infinite Universe’ with Yoko Ono; ‘Elephant’s Memory’; and ‘All the Real Rockers Come From Detroit’, with Mitch Ryder.

The Later Years
After Elephant's Memory disbanded, Gabriel remained in New York City and worked on music projects with various artists, including a short-lived band Limozine featuring singer-songwriter Lotti Golden. He appeared in several bit movie parts and as an extra [cites needed], and continued to work on songwriting and collaborating. During 2007 and 2008 he had the opportunity to work with singer-songwriter-producer Rena Sinakin, along with both veteran musicians and new artists on music projects she was producing. His latest published work to date appears on the CD "Trilogy" released by Jetsunma Ahkon Lamo, an American woman recognized as a Buddhist "tulku" (intentional reincarnation).

During 2009 Gabriel began to explore possible professional music opportunities in Nashville, Tennessee, where he began networking and performing and recording with local musicians. Tragically, in early 2010, he became ill and died May 1, 2010 at the age of 59 from a rare neurological disease called "Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease", a disease that to date has no treatment or cure, and is invariably fatal.

He is survived by his wife, Marisa LaTorre; his daughter, Ataia Gabriel and his son, Savion Gabriel, from his first marriage.