Chuck Leah

Chuck Leah is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. His seven studio albums[1] span genres that include folk-rock, folk, Americana,[2] and depression-era blues.[3] His main instruments include electric, acoustic, and bass guitar,[4] mandolin, organ, and keyboard.[5]

Chuck Leah
Background information
Born	October 18, 1972 Weslaco, Texas, US
Genres	Folk-rock · Folk · Americana  · Blues
Occupation(s)	Musician · Singer · Songwriter · Record producer
Instrument(s)	Bass guitar · Vocals · Guitar  · Mandolin
Labels	Dos Pistolas Records · Blue Hour Music
Website	chuckleah.com

Leah was born in the small town of Weslaco, Texas[6] on October 18, 1972. He began playing music by the time he was three or four years old. Leah recorded for the first time around the age of 10,[3] getting his start playing bass for various Texas bands.

Beginning in the 1980s, Leah toured with and played bass for a number of bands and artists.[2] In the 1990s, Leah played in the American country-rock band Tumbleweed. Later in the 2000s, Leah began to work with the Minnesotan group Traveled Ground as producer and musician.[6] Leah has lived and worked in Italy, Los Angeles, Nashville, Austin, Puerto Rico, Minneapolis, and Houston.[3][7]

Leah recorded his album, High Stakes, in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2015. High Stakes was produced by Leah, musician and composer Jeff Victor, and sound engineer Evan Bakke,[2][8] whose credits include Prince, Hippo Campus, Daru Jones, and Sam Nitsch.[9]  

In 2019, Leah composed and performed an original, live score for the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s presentation of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu.[10]

In 2020, Leah recorded and released his seventh album, Band of Ghosts, at the Power Station New England in Waterford, Connecticut.[2] The album's name is, in part, a reference to its recording process: due to COVID-19, recording sessions were socially distanced, with each musician recording alone in the studio.[3][7] Leah's ensemble for Band of Ghosts included Jeff Victor, Soul Asylum’s Jeremy Tappero, singer Jenn Bostic, Sam Nitsch and bassist Michael Visceglia.[4] The album was also produced by Chuck Leah and Evan Bakke, through their record label Dos Pistolas.[4][7]

Through the Blue Hour Music/Dos Pistolas record labels, Leah and Bakke co-produced Wangden Sherpa's 2022 debut album, Tangled in You. Leah also arranged, co-wrote, and played acoustic, 12-string, and bass guitar for the album.