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World-class singer makes home in South Fayette
Always coming back again: World-class singer makes home in South Fayette
Pete Hewlett tells tales of working with musical legends, but always returning to Pittsburgh area
By Harry Funk
Ask musicians of a certain age about their origin stories, and chances are they came by way of a TV program on Feb. 9, 1964.
That Sunday night, an estimated 73 million people watched “The Ed Sullivan Show” for glimpses of a quartet from Liverpool, England—providing Americans with their first taste of Beatlemania.
Taking it all in was then-teenager Pete Hewlett, who promptly decided he wanted to take up music, too.
And that he did.
Forty-four years later, he found himself sharing a stage with none other than Paul McCartney, who joined headliner Billy Joel during the final concert at New York City’s Shea Stadium, the venue the Beatles had sold out the same year as their Sullivan debut.
A South Fayette resident since 2008—along with wife, Beth, and their pup, Ellie—Hewlett can look back on working with musical legends and crossing paths with many others.
Despite his ability to name names that would make an aficionado’s jaw drop, he tends to talk about his experiences in an unassuming manner that fits right in with his genial personality.
These days, Hewlett—a world-class singer renowned for his vocal range—sings and plays guitar either solo or with musical friends.
Under the group name Hewlett Anderson, he frequently partners with keyboard player Scott Anderson in the duo they’ve had since the late ’90s—or they perform as a trio with drummer Joey Waslousky, as they do each year during South Fayette Community Day at Fairview Park.
Catch one of Hewlett's shows and you effectively will be a step removed from the likes of Eric Carmen, Carly Simon, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Joe Jackson and Woodstock-era Santana drummer Michael Shrieve, all of whom took on Hewlett for a variety of projects. Hewlett also worked with John Lennon’s son Julian, forging yet another Beatles connection.
Peter’s Pipers
When John, Paul, George and Ringo wrapped up their Sullivan set in ’64, Hewlett’s course was set for six decades and counting.
“Two older guys I knew were talking about putting a band together, and they heard I had a ukulele. So I said, ‘Yeah, maybe that would be interesting,’” he recalled. “And after seeing the Beatles, it was like, yeah, this is what I want to do.”
The group borrowed guitars and amplifiers, listened to records and hashed out chords, practicing every day after school.
For a band name, the members came up with Peter’s Pipers, “which I hated,” Pete acknowledged. “But they said, 'You sing all the songs and everything.' So that’s what we went with.”
As seems to be typical for the myriad teen groups that sprang up in the wake of the British Invasion, Peter’s Pipers entertained at school, fairs and, of course, the obligatory battle of the bands.
One year at West View Park’s Danceland they earned first prize and subsequently placed sixth out of 40-plus acts in a national battle of the bands, leading to a contract with Philips/Mercury Records. Peter’s Pipers released three singles for the label in 1968, and Hewlett co-wrote the first, “Airplane.”
Meanwhile, the band scored a residency in California: “We drove straight through and took turns driving. So by the time we got to San Francisco, we were like astronauts getting out of a space capsule kind of thing,” Hewlett said. “It was one of the greatest experiences I ever had.”
Cleveland, Carmen, Carly and Combo
The Peter’s Pipers experience eventually fizzled. But after a few years, Hewlett was back with a major label, recording for RCA with Pittsburgh-based band Sweet Lightnin’, which released an album and single in 1972.
Then it was off to Cleveland for a year to form a group with Jim Bonfanti, the original drummer of the Raspberries, remembered primarily for the million-selling “Go All the Way” with Eric Carmen singing lead.
“Before the year lapsed, Eric Carmen asked me if I wanted to join his band," Hewlett said. "He was going to England to do an album.”
Hewlett was excited to work with producer Gus Dudgeon, who had overseen several of Elton John’s most successful albums. Hewlett primarily played bass in the early sessions of what eventually became Carmen’s 1977 LP “Boats Against the Current.”
“And then Eric kind of fired everyone, all the way to Gus Dudgeon. Fired him, too,” Hewlett said. “When that was over, I came back home. I was ready to just quit playing.”
Salvation of sorts came by way of a call from Pittsburgh native Sid McGinnis, who went on to become house guitarist for “Late Night with David Letterman.”
“He said, ‘Hey, I’m doing a thing with Carly Simon. She’s looking for a guitar player-singer. Why don’t you send her a tape?’” Hewlett explained. “So I got a tape to her, auditioned and got the gig.”
Playing on her “Come Upstairs” album (1980), he worked with luminaries like drummer Steve Gadd, bass player Tony Levin and Simon’s then-husband, James Taylor. Hewlett accompanied Simon on a short tour that ended abruptly.
“Once again, I was like, I’m going back home,” he said.
Michael Shrieve and Friends
Soon enough, Hewlett accepted another vocalist-guitarist opportunity with Shrieve's Novo Combo, which wound up releasing two LPs on Polydor and opening some shows for The Who on that band’s ostensible farewell tour in 1982.
Unfortunately, after the second album, the band found out the record company might not sign them: “We were on the road, no money.”
Membership in Novo Combo had major perks, though. Hewlett and guitarist Jack Griffin stayed with Shrieve in New York, where they encountered an awe-inspiring array of guests.
“I’d come home from a session, open the door, Steve Winwood is sitting at the table,” Hewlett recalled. “That’s what it was like.”
At the studio, he met the likes of Mick Jagger and Bill Wyman from the Rolling Stones, as Shrieve contributed percussion to the Stones’ 1980 album “Emotional Rescue.”
Hewlett mentioned another visitor of note while he was singing harmony in the studio: “Somebody grabbed my face and gave me a kiss and went, ‘[Expletive] great, man!’ I backed up, and it was Pete Townshend.”
Billy Joel and Sir Paul
Among the many connections Hewlett made at the time was saxophone player Mark Rivera, who extended yet another musical invitation:
“Hey, Billy Joel just did an album with a lot of vocals on it. He’s looking for singers. Would you be interested?”
So Hewlett toured in support of “An Innocent Man,” Joel’s 1983 homage to the doo-wop and soul stylings of his youth, containing hits such as “Uptown Girl,” “Tell Her About It” and “The Longest Time.”
A highlight of their association came in the summer of 1987 with Joel’s performances in the Soviet Union, then a major rarity for a rock-oriented act. A show in Leningrad, with Hewlett appearing in the credits, is documented on the “Kohuept” album.
But …
“When we came back, things kind of dissolved,” Hewlett said. “Once again, I came back home to Pittsburgh.”
Since then, Hewlett has kept plenty busy, including with his Emmy Awardwinning work on WQED’s “Live from Studio A.”
Then there was the reunion with Joel for the pair of Last Play at Shea concerts in 2008, with guests including Tony Bennett, Garth Brooks, Roger Daltrey, John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Steven Tyler and, oh, that guy who played bass on “The Ed Sullivan Show” back in 1964.
“When he showed up, it was just like, wow, OK,” Hewlett said about Sir Paul. “That was probably the pinnacle of my career, that whole thing.”
On Dec. 20, Hewlett will perform at Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland for the 10th Holiday Jam, featuring "Live from Studio A" musicians. Vocalist Audrey Logan, a 2021 South Fayette High School graduate, also will appear. Details: studioamusic.com or 412-320-4610.
