Music
Steve Hunter
born 1948 · guitarist
Guitarist who drove eight hours to audition for Mitch Ryder's band Detroit, a move that launched his career with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper and producer Bob Ezrin.
- Born
Decatur, Illinois
age 78- Birth name
- Stephen John Hunter
- Also known as
- The Deacon
- Detroit years
- about 1970–1972
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Hunter grew up in Illinois, but his career began in Detroit. Around 1970 a friend called to say Mitch Ryder was auditioning guitarists for a new band; Hunter packed his guitar, drove eight hours to Detroit and won the job. The group, simply called Detroit, released one album on Paramount in 1971, and its gritty take on the Velvet Underground's “Rock & Roll” brought him to producer Bob Ezrin's attention. That led to decades of work with Ezrin: the twin-guitar intro to “Sweet Jane” on Lou Reed's Rock 'n' Roll Animal, the first solo on Aerosmith's “Train Kept A-Rollin',” the acoustic opening of Peter Gabriel's “Solsbury Hill” and long service in Alice Cooper's band. He kept ties to Michigan: in 2009 he shared an Emmy for a Detroit Free Press multimedia project, and in 2015 he entered the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.
Highlights
- Guitarist in Mitch Ryder's band Detroit (1971 album)
- Wrote the “Sweet Jane” intro on Lou Reed's Rock 'n' Roll Animal (1974)
- Longtime Alice Cooper guitarist
- Emmy Award for a Detroit Free Press multimedia project (2009)
- Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame (2015)