Owsley (musician)
| Will Owsley | |
|---|---|
Owsley recording in 2004.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Reese Owsley III |
| Also known as | Owsley |
| Born |
March 6, 1966 Anniston, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | April 30, 2010 (aged 44) Franklin, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Power pop, rock, bluegrass |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, recording engineer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass, piano, mandolin, pedal steel, Mellotron |
| Years active | 1985–2010 |
| Labels | Not Lame Recordings, Giant Records, Lakeview Entertainment, UMe Digital |
| Associated acts | The Semantics, Amy Grant, Judson Spence, Michael W. Smith, Shania Twain |
| Website | owsleymusic |
| Notable instruments | |
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Guitars: Gibson ES-335, Les Paul, J-45, B-25 Gretsch 6120 Fender Telecaster McPherson Guitars Amplifiers: Vox AC30 Matchless Marshall 1959 Plexi Watkins Dominator Fender Tweed Deluxe Fender Bandmaster Dumble Overdrive Special Goodsell Amplifiers |
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William Reese "Will" Owsley III (March 6, 1966 – April 30, 2010), known professionally as Owsley, was an American singer and songwriter. His two solo albums have won critical acclaim, and his debut album was nominated for a Grammy Award, as was the song "Threaten Me With Heaven" (posthumously). Owsley was also a record producer, a recording engineer, and the guitarist in Amy Grant's touring band.
Owsley was born and raised in Anniston, Alabama in a musical household. His father was the drum major of the Million Dollar Band, the marching band of the University of Alabama; his mother was a singer and stage actress; his sister was a classically trained pianist, and his brother was a rock guitarist, with whom Owsley played in the band Stormfront. Owsley graduated from The Rectory School and attended the Blue Ridge School.
He was a guitarist and singer in the Southeastern rock club band Baghdad in the mid-80's that played both covers and original work, before moving to Nashville, Tennessee in 1987.
Owsley started playing guitar at age nine. He was a fan of Kiss and of Todd Rundgren, but mostly practiced Eddie Van Halen and Steve Morse licks note-for-note. With his father's mentorship, he played snare drum in the Anniston High School marching band, whilst continuing his passion for guitar, playing in his high school jazz band and in top-40 cover bands at local venues. Later, when he began writing his own songs, they were more similar to the style of The Beatles. As a guitarist, he also cited influences such as Chet Atkins, Jimi Hendrix and Robert Johnson.
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