Del Casher, the acclaimed guitarist who performed with Elvis Presley and Frank Zappa and invented the wah-wah pedal, has died at 88.
Casher, who also worked as a film and television composer, died on October 1, according to TMZ.
No further information about the exact cause or location of his death has been made public.
A GoFundMe campaign has since been launched to support Casher’s widow, Eiko.
‘Eiko is now facing overwhelming financial and personal challenges at a time when she should be surrounded by peace, care, and stability,’ organizer Al Burg wrote.
‘Tour donations will help Eiko pay down huge credit card debt and move into assisted living, where she can have safe housing and the increasing care she needs.’
Del Casher, the acclaimed guitarist who performed with Elvis Presley and Frank Zappa and invented the wah-wah pedal, has died at 88. Above, Casher in 1998
The musician, who also composed for film and television, died on October 1. Above, Casher in 2014
Casher was regarded as an influential musician and an inventive force in the development of guitar technology.
His best-known creation was the wah-wah pedal, a foot-operated tone control that transformed the guitar’s sound by sweeping a filter across different frequencies as the player moved the pedal up and down.
The distinctive device was created by chance in 1966 while Casher was working as a consultant for Thomas Organ, Vox’s US partner.
He also developed the Ecco-Fonic and the Fender Electronic Echo Chamber.
Casher maintained close ties to Hollywood and became a sought-after studio guitarist.
Paramount Pictures hired him to appear alongside Presley in the singer’s 1964 film Roustabout.
Impressed by Casher’s playing, Presley personally invited him to join him for future performances. Casher ultimately declined the offer.
Casher later signed a contract to become a regular guitarist on Gene Autry’s Melody Ranch, a popular family and children’s television program.
Paramount Pictures hired Casher to appear as a guitarist alongside Presley in the 1964 film Roustabout
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Impressed by Casher’s playing, Presley personally invited him to perform on future gigs, but Casher declined. Above, Presley in a scene from Roustabout with Joan Freeman
Casher appeared in The Patsy (1964) with Jerry Lewis in an uncredited role as the studio guitarist
He later worked with Frank Zappa’s rock band, the Mothers of Invention. Above, Casher, center wearing a cap, performing with Zappa’s band at The Whiskey a Go Go in 1966
His career also included work with Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, The Monkees, and Sonny & Cher.
Casher appeared with Jerry Lewis in The Patsy (1964), where he was credited in an uncredited role as the studio guitarist.
The prolific artist also appeared in three Universal Pictures films while using his wah-wah prototype: The Ghost and Mr Chicken (1966) and The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), both starring Don Knotts, as well as Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady (1968), featuring Phyllis Diller and Bob Denver.
He showcased the wah-wah effect as a session musician on the soundtrack for the MGM film Don’t Make Waves (1967), which starred Tony Curtis.
Casher’s guitar work was also heard in the theme for NBC Nightly News. He performed on John Williams’ theme, The Mission, which was introduced in 1985 and remains in use, making it the longest-running television news theme in history.
In later years, Casher served as music director for the children’s television program The New Zoo Revue.
Around 2000, he composed Americana Suite for Orchestra.
‘There’s a story to the suite, it’s not just a composition,’ Casher told The Los Angeles Times in 2006. ‘My father came to America from Austria when he was 13, and by 21 years old, he was an accomplished musician and he became a teacher and orchestra arranger and conductor.
Casher’s guitar work featured in the NBC Nightly News theme beginning in 1985, which remains in use today. Above, Casher in 1998
‘Americana Suite is an inspiration of the American dream,’ he said. ‘And because I compose my music on the guitar, I translate it then to the orchestra sound, and the first movement is called The Pursuit.’
He continued: ‘It is a fast and lively song with vivid anticipation of the American dream.’
Casher also produced the English-dubbed adaptations of several Japanese anime television series, including Love Hina (2000), Sakura Wars (2000), and Tenchi Muyo! GXP (2002).
Born Delton Kacher in 1937 in Hammond, Indiana, he moved to California after college.
