Songwriter, percussionist and leader of the Baja Marimba Band, Wechter began his career playing vibes and percussion for the Martin Denny group in the late 1950s.

In the early 1960s, Wechter played percussion on movie soundtracks, TV shows and recordings by artists such as the Beach Boys, Sonny and Cher, the Righteous Brothers and the many other hits produced by Phil Spector.

In 1962, Wechter began a long association with Herb Alpert when he played marimba on The Lonely Bull, the first hit record by The Tijuana Brass. He continued to play on all of the Tijuana Brass recordings and wrote a song on nearly every TJB album. Wechter wrote the group’s hit single Spanish Flea, which became a standard recorded by over 60 artists.

In the mid-1960s, Wechter formed his own instrumental group, The Baja Marimba Band, which recorded over a dozen albums for A&M Records and other labels. The group’s combination of catchy music and slapstick humor made them a popular live act. Through the mid-1970s, they appeared in concerts and Las Vegas showrooms, first as an opening act for such names as Jack Benny and The Smothers Brothers, and ultimately as headliners themselves. The band made countless TV appearances, including The Ed Sullivan Show, and they had their own one-hour special. Their highest honour was a personal appearance at the White House, at the request of President Lyndon Johnson.

Wechter died of lung cancer in February 1999.