We’re going to wish a happy birthday to Michael Ward, guitarist, songwriter, and author who was born in Minneapolis, MN, on February 21, 1967. You may or may not know him by name, but I can almost guarantee you’ve heard him play. If not, give him a listen.
Michael started out in 1989 with Josh Clayton-Felt in the alt rock band School of Fish. They landed a Capitol record contract and produced two albums. The single “3 Strange Days” was a minor hit.
Ward then hooked up with John Hiatt, played on A Perfectly Good Guitar and Hiatt Comes Alive at Budokan?, and toured with the band. Yep, that's Michael with Hiatt on Austin City Limits.
In 1996, T Bone Burnett was producing Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers Bringing Down the Horse. Burnett called Ward in as a session player to add guitar parts and backing vocals. The album became a 4-times platinum seller, largely on the strength of the Grammy award winning single “One Headlight”. in addition to the little gold gramophone, Michael was asked to join the band permanently. He also got this cool gig out of it.
Michael left the Wallflowers in 2001 because he wanted to write and record his own songs, which isn’t part of the deal backing Jakob Dylan. He joined lap slide specialist Ben Harper’s band for a couple of years, then played in a Gypsy punk band, Gogol Bordello, from 2012 – 2015. During that time, he played on Sara Bareilles’ The Blessed Unrest. Since last year, Ward has been reunited with Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals.
Ward is an avid cyclist, and has written a children’s book entitled “Mike and the Bike”.
If you didn't already know Michael Ward, I hope TIMH gave you an "Aha" moment, or at least some good music for a beautiful Sunday. And, Happy Birthday to Michael Ward!
