Les Fradkin is a Producer and Composer / Midi Guitarist, Multi Instrumentalist, Vocalist and One Man Band. He creates Progressive and Pop Rock for One Man Band from the Pioneer of MIDI Guitar.
Les captured headlines as the Original Cast George Harrison in the mega-hit Broadway show “Beatlemania” in the 1970s and has played with The Ventures, enjoyed 16 #1 hits at mp3, Composed #1 hits for French Songstress Mireille Mathieu, Latin Pop icon Roberto Jordan, as well as Dutch Folk icons Saskia & Serge, and won several awards from Akademia as well as several other Indie Music Channel Awards, including 2016 Best Instrumental Recording. He is also a member of the Television Producers Music Production Hall Of Fame as a Composer and has also been named one of the Top 20 Guitar Synthesizer players of all time by Wikipedia.
He has played Mellotron, 12 and 6-string Guitar, Bass and Piano on dozens of Top 40 hit records throughout the early 1970’s , and 1980’s, scoring many US and UK chart placings throughout his career.
In 1976, Les was selected over thousands of other auditioning guitarists to appear in the original cast of the smash hit Broadway musical “Beatlemania” playing lead guitar and the part of “George Harrison” in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. Running for two and a half years from May 1977 thru October 1979, every show (including over 1000 in New York alone) was sold out and the Beatlemania musicians quickly became celebrities with magazine cover stories (“Newsweek”,”Time”, “People”, “Rolling Stone”) and many major television show appearances. With his guitar-playing in the international spotlight from the show, including appearances in the USA, Canada, The Caribbean and Europe, Fradkin developed a cult following that has avidly followed his career and made him a celebrity among guitar fans.
Les Pioneered the Midi Guitar throughout the 1980’s and as a result, was elected to the Television Producer’s Music Museum Hall Of Fame.
Les’ unique approach with the Starr Labs Ztar Midi Guitar has seen release with several albums including “Hyper Midi Guitar”, “One Link Between Them”, “Baroque Rocks”, “Ticket To A Remix Universe” and “Suite For Ztar and Orchestra”. Les has gained various iTunes and Amazon Chart hits including “Canon In D”, “Lift Off”, and “Bach Rocks” and others. He is also a member of the Television Producers Music Production Hall Of Fame as a Composer and has also been named one of the Top 20 Guitar Synthesizer players of all time by Wikipedia. Currently, in addition to working on new material and releasing new Albums such as “The Les Fradkin News”, “Mirror Image” and “The Cross In The Sky”. Fradkin’s single, “Under The Covers” is a Media Base Activator #50 Chart hit!
Where are you based?
Colorado USA
How long have you been making music?
53 years professionally
What genre would you consider your music to be?
Pop/Rock
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
Mother was a Concert Pianist, Beatles on Ed Sullivan
What are your biggest musical influences?
The Beatles, King Crimson, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, The Moody Blues
Are you signed to a label or are you an independent artist?
RRO Entertainment
What have been the biggest challenges in your music career?
Getting paid by the Major labels
How many songs or albums have you released to date?
180 songs across over 2 dozen albums
Can you tell us a few things about your latest release?
“Mirror Image” follows on the heels of Fradkin’s 2020 album The Les Fradkin News, a set of eight tracks infused with incisive and provocative social commentary that captured the chaos, corruption, fear and disillusion with “the System” that defined 2020. The songs were culled from his solo debut, the epic Reality: The Rock Opera, which he and Loretta penned back in 2003. He won a video award for “System Crash,” which has also scored nearly 50,000 streams on Spotify. Fradkin’s prescience regarding world events will surprise no one familiar with his colorful history that includes four achievements that impacted musical history. His early 70’s international hit “Song of 1,000 Voices” changed the sound of Europop. His use of classic instruments like the Mellotron changed the sound of recording sessions. He was an Original Cast Member of “Beatlemania,” which gave rise to the massive tribute band industry. Behind the scenes, Fradkin changed the sound of television music through the use of MIDI guitar programming. For his efforts, he was one of the original 25 inductees in the Television Music Producers Hall of Fame
Any plans for new music or upcoming projects we should know about?
Several releases with my band California
