Stanley Sheldon (born September 19, 1950) is an American bass guitar player best known for his work with Peter Frampton.[1][2] He is notable as an early adopter of the fretless bass for rock music.
Sheldon was born in 1950 in Ottawa, Kansas where he joined his first band, The Lost Souls.[3] His first recorded work with Frampton was the wildly successful live album Frampton Comes Alive! in 1976. He played on subsequent Frampton albums, I'm in You (1977) and Where I Should Be (1979). In 2007, he contributed as co-writer and bass player on Frampton's 2007 Grammy winning instrumental album Fingerprints and toured as a member of Frampton's band until 2017.[4]
Sheldon also recorded with his late friend Tommy Bolin on Teaser and performs on various Bolin archival releases. Other recorded works include Lou Gramm Ready or Not, and Ronin (1980), a co-assembled group of session musicians featuring Sheldon, Waddy Wachtel, Rick Marotta, and Dan Dugmore.[5] Sheldon toured with Warren Zevon on Zevon's 1978 Excitable Boy tour and did recording work for the Christian music songwriter David Ruis. He co-produced and played on the Mayhew Family album Songs from the Third Floor (2004) and EP Watch Out (2009). In 2008, he toured as the bassist for the Delbert McClinton band. Sheldon has also performed on Hollywood movie soundtracks, most notably the Cheech and Chong comedy Up in Smoke.
Sheldon dedicó la mayor parte de los años 90 a los estudios latinoamericanos en la Universidad de Kansas , donde obtuvo una maestría. Durante este período, viajó extensamente por América Latina con sus estudios centrados en la sociedad esclavista del siglo XIX en los países latinoamericanos y cómo su influencia en la música del pasado continúa afectando la transformación e hibridación de la música mundial actual. Durante este tiempo, Sheldon tocó con varias versiones de una banda que tocaba "son" y "salsa", a menudo ante grandes multitudes de baile.
Sheldon tiene pasión por la enseñanza y, cuando no está de gira, ha ofrecido lecciones de bajo para estudiantes de todas las edades en el Blues to Bach Music Center en Shawnee, Kansas.
En 2019, se reunió con los miembros originales de Ronin para una gira por Japón.