In London in the mid-‘60s, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers were THE blues act to see. When guitar god Eric Clapton left, Mayall turned to another young guitar player who had previously filled in for E.C. when he was on vacation, Peter Green.
After a while Green pushed for drummer Mick Fleetwood to replace Aynsley Dunbar. John Mayall agreed and The Bluesbreakers became Green, Fleetwood, John McVie and Mayall.
Mayall was a mentor by nature and gave Green studio-time for his birthday gift. Green, delighted, recorded four songs with Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. Tracks included a Green vocal on “ First Train Home” and a prophetic instrumental, “ Fleetwood Mac,” so named after the band’s rhythm section.
Things were hunky dory for a while, but when Mayall fired Fleetwood for being drunk it was the beginning of the end for Green and the Bluesbreakers. On June 15, 1967 Green quit to start a new band. Green and his agent called on slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer, Fleetwood, and he worked on getting McVie. But McVie opted to stay with Mayall, so Green used Bob Bruning instead. The new band made their live debut at the Windsor National Jazz and Blues Festival in August 1967 as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac featuring Jeremy Spencer.
With Mayall starting to move away from blues to jazz, McVie decided to join Green after all. When The band’s moody instrumental, “Albatross,” hit #1 in the U.K., Fleetwood Mac headed to America, quickly becoming one of the coolest blues bands on the rock scene, with Green in particular winning acclaim and plaudits from critics and peers.
Carlos Santana called Green’s playing “a holy grail of tone,” while B.B. King said his playing gave “cold sweats”.
In July 1969 Fleetwood Mac headlined the Schaefer Music Festival in New York City’s Central Park, along with The Byrds, Chuck Berry, Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin, B. B. King, The Beach Boys, Frank Zappa and Patti LaBelle. Easily the biggest band in Europe in 1969, the end was not far away.
Green had become disillusioned with life in the fast lane and began to retreat from the fame game. At some point in 1969 he began to tell the band they should give away all their money. Nobody concurred, but Green personally began to divulge himself of cash and possessions, eventually leaving the band in 1970 and retiring from the music business.
Soundgarden ‘80 Percent’ Done with New Album. :: Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron said he and his pals in Soundgarden are nearly done recording their new album. The percussionist spoke with radio station WAAF, saying that the album is about 80 percent finished. “We’re going to record a couple of more songs in August when we get back from tour and then hopefully we can mix it up and put it out,” he said, according to UltimateClassicRock.com .
The Challenge of Guitarist Jobs. :: Being guitarist is challenging. One of the most frustrating things for the guitarists is when they cannot play to a steady tempo. It needs effort to improve their timing and to quit their tendency to speed the tempo or to slow it down. Even though bad timing usually can go unnoticed when it is played [...]
Stream The New Short Film From Arcade Fire And Director Spike Jonze. :: Arcade Fire, Photo: Wikipedia By: Staff Arcade Fire’s songs have always had a cinematic quality to them, but now the Montreal indie rockers are actually venturing into film-making. Scenes From The Suburbs , their new short film, is now streaming for free.
Metallica-themed Monopoly Game Hits Shelves June 17th. :: Metallica Monopoly box By: Staff Metallica are truly a mainstay in American culture.
