Program Book 2018 FINAL

Snuffy Walden
W.G. “Snuffy” Walden is an American musician and
composer of film and television soundtracks.
Snuffy has been nominated for 12 primetime
Emmy awards, winning for Outstanding Main Title
Theme for The West Wing, and has won
more than 50 BMI awards for his music, and BMI’s
prestigious Richard Kirk Award for
Outstanding Career Achievement. Snuffy’s
ability to combine intricate emotions and musical
simplicity has earned him a special place among
the ranks of composers, as his work continues to
ring with genuine warmth and truth.
Snuffy recorded his first record by the age of 15. He put himself through college working at radio station
KRBE Houston and playing guitar in a strip club. Snuffy founded blues-based rock trio Stray Dog, was
discovered by Greg Lake of Emerson Lake & Palmer (ELP) and signed to Manticore Records. Stray Dog
released four albums and toured extensively before disbanding in 1975.
Snuffy moved to Los Angeles and spent the next decade touring with artists such as Steve Wonder,
Donna Summer, Chaka Khan and Eric Burdon of the Animals. When not on tour, Snuffy performed
solo shows at a Santa Monica nightclub. It was there that television agents and producers became
aware of his musical gifts.
Snuffy’s big break can be attributed as much to his unique nickname as to his musical talent. In
1987, the producers of a new show titled thirtysomething were about to sign with another
composer but had heard about Walden, were intrigued by his name, and wanted to meet this
person named Snuffy. “After meeting, I never heard a word, so I assumed they hated it... but when
they popped my tape in, they loved the music and the way it worked with the show.” Snuffy had
his first hit TV series, writing the theme and scoring the pilot and 42 episodes of thirtysomething.
Snuffy was then asked to score “a little show” premiering on ABC after Super Bowl XXII—a show
that became the mega-hit The Wonder Years. Snuffy scored the pilot and the entire series. For the
end credits, he revamped a Beatles song in his traditional bluesy style, creating an iconic theme
associated as much with him as with the show.
Snuffy has since worked on close to a hundred television programs, including hits The West Wing, Friday
Night Lights, Nashville, Under the Dome, Aquarius, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Drew Carey Show,
Felicity, Providence, Sports Night, Norm, Ellen, Rosanne, My So-Called Life, I’ll Fly Away, The Stand, and
others, as well as seven feature films and documentaries.
www.uptosnuffmovie.com
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