Born May 13, 1948, Wolinski grew up in
Chicago, and in the late 1960s, was the keyboard player and lead singer of the band the Males, and a member of
The Shadows of Knight and
Bangor Flying Circus. When the latter band broke up he helped form
Madura, which was produced by fellow Chicagoan
James William Guercio. Guercio used Madura in his 1973 film
Electra Glide in Blue. In the 1960s, Wolinski formed a short-lived band in Chicago called the Electric Band. They played regularly at a club called The Cellar. In the late 1970s, Wolinski joined Rufus as a keyboardist and songwriter. He co-wrote or solely wrote their songs "Hollywood", "Street Player" (later recorded by co-writer
Danny Seraphine's band
Chicago), "Everlasting Love" (not to be confused with the
Robert Knight hit of the same title), "Do You Love What You Feel", and the 1983 hit single "
Ain't Nobody", which reached No. 1 on the US
Billboard R&B chart. He started a production company, named Street Sense Productions, in partnership with Danny Seraphine. They used Seraphine's home studio to record the demos. A deal was signed with
Epic Records. Wolinski has worked with numerous other artists as musician, songwriter or producer, including the
Bee Gees,
Glenn Frey,
Michael Jackson, Danny Seraphine,
Beverley Knight,
Jeffrey Osborne,
Millions Like Us,
Stephanie Mills and
Minnie Riperton. He is known for composing individual songs for film soundtracks, including
Cobra,
Wildcats and
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. He has also had small acting roles in the films
Electra Glide in Blue and
Men at Work, the 1990 comedy film with
Emilio Estevez and
Charlie Sheen. ==References==