Dick Wagner

Dick Wagner co-wrote “Only Women Bleed,” “I Never Cry” and “You and Me” with Alice Cooper, and shared guitar duties with Steve Hunter on Lou Reed’s Rock ’n’ Roll Animal. He also played on records by Aerosmith and Kiss. There is a long discography behind those names, but his own account of getting started is a good place to begin.

Learning in Michigan

Wagner was born in Iowa and grew up in Michigan. In a 2012 interview, he remembered starting at sixteen or sixteen and a half, with a Harmony acoustic. A Harmony electric followed about six months later, then a Gibson ES-345 that he kept for decades.

His memoir, Not Only Women Bleed, fills in how he learned. His Uncle John’s guitar had caught his attention as a child. Once he had his own, he practiced around the house until his father sent him to the bedroom or basement. He learned Duane Eddy’s “Forty Miles of Bad Road” and “Cannon Ball” by ear. Elvis’s records, including Scotty Moore’s guitar playing, were another early influence.

His first band, the Invictas, began with four teenage guitar players. They added bass and drums later. Then came the Bossmen and the Frost, moving from high-school gigs to places like Detroit’s Grande Ballroom. Wagner was writing songs as well as playing them. Try the Frost’s “Mystery Man” if you want to hear him before the Reed and Cooper records.

Steve Hunter and the bigger records

Wagner and Steve Hunter knew of each other through the Detroit scene. Wagner said they first met in Fort Lauderdale, where he invited Hunter to sit in with Ursa Major. The pairing worked immediately.

On Rock ’n’ Roll Animal, Hunter brought in the introduction that became “Intro/Sweet Jane.” Hunter played its melody and Wagner the harmony. They divided the lead work deliberately, with both handling rhythm too. In their Vintage Guitar interview, Wagner called playing with Hunter a career highlight.

They also played on Aerosmith’s “Train Kept A-Rollin’.” Hunter’s account identifies his lead work in the opening half and Wagner’s in the second.

With Cooper, Wagner became a guitarist, musical director and regular writing partner. Welcome to My Nightmare brought the Hunter/Wagner pairing into Cooper’s solo band. The music for “Only Women Bleed” went back to Wagner’s Frost days; Cooper and Wagner later gave it new lyrics. His official biography covers the subsequent albums and songwriting work. Wagner died in July 2014, aged 71.

The gear he remembered

For Reed, Wagner recalled a Gibson Les Paul TV Special, a 100-watt Marshall half-stack worked on by Red Rhodes, an Echoplex and an MXR phaser. With Cooper, he used a B.C. Rich Eagle through late-sixties Marshall heads, and occasionally a Seagull. He said DiMarzio wound hot pickups specially for him and Hunter. Those details come from the same Vintage Guitar interview; he did not specify his phaser model.

His session advice was practical: learn the song, then build the solo from its melody and character. He approached the guitar part as part of the writing.

For a few starting points, play the Frost’s “Mystery Man,” Reed’s “Intro/Sweet Jane,” Aerosmith’s “Train Kept A-Rollin’” and Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed.” Wagner’s official site has the longer biography and discography, including the solo work and sessions we have only touched on here.