Biographical Note
Pete Welding (1935-1995), an authority on blues and jazz music, worked as a writer and music producer, and was a life-long advocate for traditional blues and avant-garde jazz performers. He wrote regularly for Down Beat magazine, wrote liner notes for albums (including releases by Frank Sinatra, Memphis Slim, Nat King Cole, Ian & Sylvia, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band), and edited books on jazz and blues music. His research for his writings involved interviews of notable figures across music genres, including Signifyin' Mary Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Pete Robinson, Howlin' Wolf, Judy Collins, Thomas A. Dorsey, and others. He founded Testament Records in 1963 as a platform for African American folk, blues, and gospel performers, and produced records by Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Joe Williams, and Jean-Luc Ponty, to name a few. Twice nominated for a Grammy Award (1973 and 1993), he was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (1996) in the category known (at that time) as Business-Production: Media or Academic. His works continue to be widely-cited resources for music researchers.