David Lindley (musician)

Early life and career[edit]

David Perry Lindley was born in San Marino, California, to Margaret (née Wells) and John Royal Young Lindley (brother of actress Loretta Young) on March 21, 1944.^[8][3] When Lindley was growing up in Los Angeles, his father had an extensive collection of 78 rpm records that included Korean folk and Indian sitar music, as well as Spanish classical guitarists Andrés Segovia and Carlos Montoya.^[9][10] Lindley took up the violin at age three, and kept at it despite breaking the fragile bridge. He then moved on to the baritone ukulele in his early teens.^[9] Next he learned the banjo. By his late teens, he had won the Topanga Banjo•Fiddle Contest five times.^[8][11] He played banjo with the Dry City Scat Band which included multi-instrumentalist Chris Darrow, and Richard Greene on fiddle.^[12] Lindley and his bandmates aspired to emulate multi-talented folk singer Mike Seeger.^[13]


Lindley began to frequent the Los Angeles–area folk music scene of the 1960s, primarily going to the Ash Grove club, but also attending the Troubador in West Hollywood, encountering an eclectic assortment of music including flamenco, Russian folk music, and Indian sitar music.^[9] At Ash Grove, Lindley shared ideas with local musicians such as Ry Cooder and Chris Hillman.^[14] Lindley formed an especially close relationship with Cooder; the two shared a love of "exotic music", and they both turned away from corporate mainstream music to focus on less popular idioms such as folk and world music.^[15][16] At Ash Grove, Lindley learned from traveling blues and folk musicians the "right" way to play certain styles, and he learned violin methods from local star Don "Sugarcane" Harris.^[10][17]


From 1966 to 1970, Lindley was a founding member of the psychedelic band Kaleidoscope which released four albums on Epic Records during that period.^[13] After Kaleidoscope broke up, Lindley went to England and played in Terry Reid's band for a couple of years. In 1972, he teamed with Jackson Browne, playing in his band through 1980 and occasionally afterward. During the 1970s he also toured as a member of the bands of Crosby-Nash, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor.


In 1981, Lindley formed his own band, El Rayo-X. Jackson Browne produced their first album. The band's final show was December 31, 1989. After that, Lindley toured as a solo artist, first with Hani Naser accompanying on hand drums, then with reggae percussionist Wally Ingram. He also played on a multitude of studio sessions. Between his work in the studio as a session musician or on tour as a sideman or bandleader, Lindley learned new instruments. He was famous for having written the only song glorifying a brand of condoms, "Ram-a-Lamb-a-Man," from his album Win This Record!^[18][19] The media often commented on his colorful polyester clothing,^[20] with jarring contrasts between pants and shirt, earning him the nickname Prince of Polyester.^[2]