Anthony Frederick Levin was born on 6 June 1946 in Boston Massachusetts, and grew up in the suburb of Brookline. He began playing double bass at 10 years old primarily studying classical music. In high school he learned tuba, soloing with the concert band and also started a barbershop quartet. After high school he attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester New York and played in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Also at Eastman he studied with drummer Steve Gadd, He traded in his Ampeg electric upright Baby Bass for a Fender Precision Bass, in the early days his first bass amplifier was an Ampeg Portaflex B 15. Levin's first recording was in 1968 when he and Gadd played on Diana in the Autumn Wind Gap Mangione's first solo album. In 1970 Levin moved to New York City, joining a band called Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast with Don Preston of The Mothers of Invention. Soon after he began working as a session musician and through the 1970s he played bass on many albums including Buddy Rich's big band jazz album The Roar of 74, and Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years. From 1973 to 1975 Levin and Steve Gadd played in the band of veteran jazz flautist Herbie Mann, Two of Levin's early compositions were featured on the 1973 Mann album First Light. In 1976 Levin helped create the lush textures on Andy Pratt's Resolution album, that featured numerous notable musicians including Arif Mardin, Andy Newmark, Hugh McDonald, Luther Vandross and Levin's frequent rhythm section partner Steve Gadd. In 1977 Levin joined Peter Gabriel's band, He had met Gabriel through producer Bob Ezrin with whom Levin had recorded Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare and Lou Reed's Berlin. Levin has been Gabriel's bass player of choice ever since, On Peter's first solo album Levin played tuba as well, and directed and sang with a barbershop quartet on Excuse Me.
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