Editing Rick Wakeman (section)

===1969–1971: Session work, the Strawbs, and joining Yes===
[[File:David-Bowie Chicago 2002-08-08 photoby Adam-Bielawski-cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|Among Wakeman's first sessions were for [[David Bowie]]]]
Wakeman became a full-time session musician, performing and arranging music for other musicians, films, and television and radio jingles as often as eighteen times in a week. He estimated to have participated in around 2,000 sessions in his career.<ref name=contemporarykeyboard1976/><ref name=1991tourbook/><ref name=MS2019/> His ability to produce what was needed in a short time led to his nickname, One Take Wakeman.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=112}} Among his first sessions were playing on ''Battersea Power Station'' by [[Junior's Eyes]] and, in June 1969, the [[Mellotron]] on "[[Space Oddity]]" by [[David Bowie]] for a £9 fee after Dudgeon needed a player, as neither knew much about the instrument.{{sfn|Wooding|1979|p=34, 37}} Wakeman went on to play on several tracks on Bowie's second album, ''[[David Bowie (1969 album)|David Bowie]]'', and organ and piano on American singer [[Tucker Zimmerman]]'s only single, "Red Wind".<ref>{{cite web|last=Marchese |first=Joe |url=http://theseconddisc.com/2015/11/10/rpm-reissues-lost-album-by-david-bowie-favorite-tucker-zimmerman-collects-australian-dream-babes/ |title=RPM Reissues Lost Album By David Bowie Favorite Tucker Zimmerman, Collects Australian "Dream Babes" |publisher=The Second Disc |date=10 November 2015 |access-date=21 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tuckerzimmerman.org/discography/ |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20131021182828/http://www.tuckerzimmerman.org/discography |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 October 2013 |title=Discography |publisher=Tucker Zimmerman |access-date=21 November 2015 }}</ref> 

In one session, Visconti had Wakeman play a single bass note on the piano at the end of "[[I Walk on Guilded Splinters|Walk on Guilded Splinters]]" by [[Marsha Hunt (actress, born 1946)|Marsha Hunt]], so he could be paid the session fee.<ref name=holmes/> In 1970, Wakeman performed on ''Seasons'' by [[Magna Carta (band)|Magna Carta]],<ref name=contemporarykeyboard1976/> and records by [[Brotherhood of Man]], Paper Bubble, [[Shawn Phillips]], and [[White Plains (band)|White Plains]]. He took part in a one-off recording with Visconti and [[Marc Bolan]] that was released as a single under the pseudonym Dib Cochran and the Earwigs.<ref name=LoudersoundBB2012/> After a short return stint in the Ronnie Smith group, Wakeman spotted an advertisement in the ''Melody Maker'' for an organist in the Spinning Wheel, a pub band at The Greyhound in [[Chadwell Heath]], for seven nights a week. He got the job and moved there with his first wife.<ref name=1991tourbook/><ref name=MM70>{{cite web|url=http://forgotten-yesterdays.com/_graphics/memorabilia/_rick_pop_find_of_1970_rick_wakeman_interview_mark_plummer_melody_maker_1970_02_25_33510.jpg|title=Rick–pop find of 1970?|first=Mark|last=Plummer|work=Melody Maker|page=29|date=25 July 1970|access-date=28 September 2022}}</ref> Around this time Simper invited Wakeman to join his new band, [[Warhorse (British band)|Warhorse]], but he lacked commitment and had difficulty adapting to their [[hard rock]] sound. He left before their first demo was recorded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dmme.net/interviews/simper|title=Interview with Nick Simper|date=February 2008|publisher=Let it Rock|first=Dmitry|last=Epstein|access-date=30 December 2024}}</ref>

Wakeman's prominence rose during his tenure with the [[folk rock]] group [[Strawbs|the Strawbs]]. He had played the piano as a session musician on ''[[Dragonfly (Strawbs album)|Dragonfly]]'' (1970), which was the first album released with Wakeman's name on its credits.{{sfn|Wooding|1979|p=52}} During his stint in the Spinning Wheel, Strawbs frontman [[Dave Cousins]] invited him to join the band in March 1970.{{sfn|Wooding|1979|p=46}} The group went to [[Paris]] to perform at a rock circus with various bands backing the circus acts. During one show, and unbeknownst to Wakeman, he pushed [[Salvador Dalí]] off the stage as he made a special guest appearance during his piano solo: "I didn't know who he was. I thought, 'Silly old sod, coming on the stage waving his stick'."{{sfn|Wooding|1979|pp=54–55}}{{sfn|Wakeman|1995|p=94}} The Strawbs' first major concert, on 11 July 1970 at London's [[Queen Elizabeth Hall]], was recorded and released as ''[[Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios]]'', both of which brought Wakeman's virtuosity into the national spotlight. "Where is This Dream of Your Youth" features an extended organ solo and "Temperament of Mind", a solo piano piece that developed from improvisations when the band would lose power, received a standing ovation.{{sfn|Wooding|1979|pp=56–57}} Wakeman was featured on the front page of ''[[Melody Maker]]'' for the first time, calling him "tomorrow's superstar" and "pop find of 1970".{{sfn|Wooding|1979|p=58}}<ref name=MM70/> Also in July 1970, Wakeman launched a folk music night at the White Hart pub in Acton called the Booze Droop. It failed to make an impact and Wakeman owed the landlord money, so Bowie agreed to perform an acoustic set for £5 to help raise funds. The gig had around 12 attendees, as people thought the advertisements for the gig were a joke.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aroundealing.com/history/bowie/|title=Bowie: A Starman in Acton|publisher=Around Ealing|first=Steven|last=Mandich|date=2 January 2021|access-date=23 May 2022}}</ref>

The income that Wakeman earned in sessions and the Strawbs allowed him to buy a home in [[West Harrow]].{{sfn|Wakeman|1995|p=103}} Despite being paid well, Wakeman soon became disillusioned with session work because he was not involved in the songwriting.<ref name=contemporarykeyboard1976/> He bought a [[Minimoog]] synthesiser at half price from actor [[Jack Wild]], who thought that it was defective because it only played [[Monophony|one note at a time]].<ref name="interview_2009">{{cite web|last=Wright |first=Jeb |title=Henry at the Hampton: An Exclusive Interview with Rick Wakeman |publisher=Classic Rock Revisited |year=2009 |url=http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/interviewrickwakeman.htm |access-date=26 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091116190637/http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/interviewrickwakeman.htm |archive-date=16 November 2009 }}</ref> Wakeman was involved in several notable sessions in 1971. He arranged and played the piano on "[[Morning Has Broken]]" by [[Cat Stevens]], but was omitted from the credits and for many years was not paid. Stevens later apologised and had the record company pay Wakeman for the error, which was donated to one of Stevens' schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vintagerock.com/the-rick-wakeman-interview-2020-word-for-word/|title=The Rick Wakeman Interview (2020): Word for Word|first=Shawn|last=Perry|year=2020|access-date=31 August 2024}}</ref> Wakeman played the Hammond organ on ''[[Madman Across the Water]]'' by [[Elton John]], and was a feature artist on ''[[Orange (Al Stewart album)|Orange]]'' by [[Al Stewart]]. Bowie invited Wakeman to his home and played the outline of some songs for him on a guitar to learn, which Wakeman later called "the finest selection of songs I have ever heard in one sitting in my entire life".{{sfn|Wakeman|1995|p=105}} The result was "[[Changes (David Bowie song)|Changes]]", "[[Oh! You Pretty Things]]", and "[[Life on Mars?]]" for Bowie's album ''[[Hunky Dory]]'', which feature Wakeman on piano. He later reflected: "David was incredibly influential to me. I learned more about how to work in a studio from David than anybody. He was tremendous in that respect."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/rick-wakeman-david-bowie-piano-man-yes-animal-rescue-interview-564924|title=Rick Wakeman's Piano Journey Into Yes, Bowie|website=Newsweek|first=Jeff|last=Perlah|date=8 March 2017|access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref> Wakeman played a series of piano [[glissando]]s on "[[Get It On (T. Rex song)|Get It On]]" for [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]], after frontman [[Marc Bolan]] offered him the session as he was desperate to pay his rent for the week.<ref name="LoudersoundBB2012">{{cite web|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/rick-wakeman-sessions-bowie-bolan-interview-2012|title="David Bowie was an absolute genius. I learned more from him than from anybody I've ever worked with." Rick Wakeman's epic tales of sessions with Bowie, Bolan, Lou Reed and more|work=Louder|first=Dom|last=Lawson|date=16 June 2024|access-date=11 October 2024}}</ref> In late 1971, an album of covers with Wakeman on the piano, the [[John Schroeder (musician)|John Schroeder orchestra]], and an unknown female vocalist was released as ''[[Piano Vibrations]]''. His name is omitted from the cover and liner notes, and was paid £36 for the four sessions it took to record it.{{sfn|Wooding|1979|pp=107–108}}

The Strawbs' album ''[[From the Witchwood]]'' (1971) marked the growing differences between Wakeman and the rest of the band as he prioritised session work and contributed little to the music.{{sfn|Wakeman|1995|p=104}} He struggled to cover his mortgage and bills with money earned from the group, and started to consider other career options. In July 1971, Bowie invited Wakeman to join his new backing band, [[the Spiders from Mars]], on the same day that bassist [[Chris Squire]] of the [[progressive rock]] group [[Yes (band)|Yes]] offered him the chance to join the band, after [[Tony Kaye (musician)|Tony Kaye]] had been asked to leave following his resistance to learn instruments other than the piano and organ.{{sfn|Welch|2008|p=113}}<ref name="Valentine">{{cite news |title= Just Another Yes Man... |first=Penny |last=Valentine |author-link=Penny Valentine |newspaper=[[Sounds (magazine)|Sounds]] |publisher= Spotlight Publications |date= 28 August 1971|page= 7}}</ref> Wakeman agreed to meet Yes as they rehearsed for their fourth album, ''[[Fragile (Yes album)|Fragile]]'' (1971), and during his first session with the band, "[[Heart of the Sunrise]]" and "[[Roundabout (Yes song)|Roundabout]]", two of the band's iconic songs, were put together.{{sfn|Morse|1996|p=27}} Wakeman decided that Yes presented more favourable opportunities and declined Bowie's offer; his arrival into the band in August 1971 made the front page news in ''Melody Maker'', his second cover feature in a year.{{sfn|Wakeman|1995|pp=108–109}} With Yes his earnings rose from £18 to £50 to a week.<ref name=telegraph2014/>