Tributes to Leslie West -

Tributes to Leslie West

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I’ve been playing guitar since 1973 and Leslie West was my lifelong guitar hero. The first time I heard “Mississippi Queen” I knew at that moment I had to learn to play guitar. And my obsession with guitars has been with me my whole life. I’ve followed Leslie’s career non stop. From Mountain, to West Bruce and Lang and every incarnation along the way including every solo album. His sound is unmistakable. When you hear it you KNOW it’s Leslie. Many people credit him with being the “FATHER OF HEAVY METAL”. A lot of guitarists cite him as a huge influence on their playing. Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker, Zakk Wylde, Peter Frampton, and Joe Satriani to name just a few. When he lost his leg to diabetes I thought his career would be over but nope. He continued to record and perform from a wheelchair. He never let it stop him. The man was hardcore rock and roll through and through. RIP to the greatest guitarist that ever lived. He may be gone but his music will live forever.

My Leslie West Signature Guitars Collection

HOWARD STERN

JOE BONAMASSA

Rest In Peace my friend. Today is a very sad day for me and my family. Leslie was not only a hero of mine but a friend. He believed in me from the very beginning and always lent his support. He was the funniest guy you would ever meet but a consummate gentleman and one of the greatest rock guitarist ever. The first thing he ever said to me was Joey, all you got to do to be my favorite guitar player is fucking divide by two.. I never forgot that advice and cherish it to this day. He is a rock and roll hall of fame member with or without a statue nor ceremony. He just was and always will be. I will not get into that now. He is known best by the song “Mississippi Queen” but if you have a chance to put on Theme From An Imaginary Western “ today the sheer brilliance of that solo and composition is staggering. He made it look easy. It was not. A true one of a kind musician and man. I will miss him greatly.

DAVE DAVIES
I loved Leslie West and his guitar playing. Loved Mountain. Mississippi Queen. So American so cool. Mountain were the beginning of American heavy metal I thought.

WARREN HAYNES
RIP Leslie West I remember hearing Mountain, as a kid, for the first time. My first experience was either Mississippi Queen or Nantucket Sleighride—not sure which-—I was 10 or 11 years old. Mississippi Queen was on the radio a lot during that time period and my oldest brother had the Nantucket Sleighride album. It completely floored me. It was heavy. It was Melodic.It was soulful—but most of all, it was unique. Leslie’s voice, huge and powerful, juxtaposed against Felix’s voice which was soft and smooth and although Leslie was clearly the better singer, this variance from song to song kept your attention and painted a much wider picture than either one of those sides of their music would have done without the other. The songs matched the voice. Felix’s songs were sophisticated and melodically clever, where Leslie’s were just straight from the gut—barrelhouse blues re-imagined.

Leslie’s style as a guitar player was not only powerful but unique as well. He had warm, rich tone and a beautiful, wide vibrato that sounded like a human voice. That combined with his note selection and spacious phrasing really gave him that vocal-like quality that I’ve always personally been drawn to (as I’ve mentioned many times). His ability to choose the right notes and not overplay was in an odd way like a rock version of BB King. As I’ve also mentioned many times it was important to me, as a singer and a guitar player, to not only try to find my own voice as a guitarist but to have that voice match my singing voice. BB King was someone I often cited as an example and Leslie was a great example of that as well. He was quoted as saying (and I paraphrase) “I’m a big guy—I need a big sound.” And man did he ever have a big sound. I always knew what he meant by that statement. In addition to being a big guy, his voice was so massive that it would totally be strange (and possibly wrong) to have a normal, clean, polite guitar sound—hence that creamy tone that we all fell in love with.

Leslie and I met in the mid-nineties, shortly after the first Gov’t Mule record came out. As a new three-piece band that was making its mission to bring back the concept of the “power trio” we had made it no secret that we were influenced by Mountain. I was a fan of Leslie’s playing and singing, Matt was a fan of Corky’s drumming, and Woody was a big fan of Felix’s bass playing (and his beautiful distorted tone). But Woody, who was quite the guitar player himself, was also a huge fan of Leslie. One day in early 2000, out of the blue, I got a call from Leslie saying he loved what we were doing and that we should do something together. I informed him of our upcoming gig at Irving Plaza in New York City and invited him to come to rehearsal and join us for the gig. Upon walking into the rehearsal room it was obvious that he was one of those larger than life characters. We joked around a bit, told a few stories to break the ice, and then we launched into Mississippi Queen. Goddam!—That voice! I’m a loud singer by most standards, but when Leslie sang into my microphone it hurt my fucking ears. It was so fucking powerful and as captivating as the first time I had heard it 25 years before. That rehearsal led to a friendship. Leslie joined us for that show and several other times through the years including at the One For Woody concert after Allen Woody passed away. I joined Mountain on stage several times and made a guest appearance on their Masters Of War album. It was always an honor and a pleasure and we swapped a lot of stories through the years. One of the things he told me was that before he made his first solo album (called Mountain—with Felix Pappalardi as producer) he used to play a lot of notes—too many by his own account—and that Felix told him “I don’t want to hear you play anything you couldn’t sing.” He took it to heart and said it was the best advice anyone ever gave him and that it was the beginning of forging his legendary style. It’s nice to have friends like that, as Allen Woody would say, “in the trenches together.” I know there are some young guitar players out there playing a million notes that may not have listened to Leslie West. Do yourself a favor and check it out. You’ll be glad you did.

ROBBIE ROBERTSON
Leslie West playing that Les Paul Jr with that tone and tenacity really moved me. Blessing to his friends, fans and family. #LeslieWest

GEEZER BUTLER
Sad to hear of Leslie West’s passing. Such a lovely bloke. He was fantastic to us when Sabbath supported Mountain on our first US tour. He came to see us at Mohegan Sun, even though he was wheelchair bound. Mississippi Queen one of, if not the, greatest riff of all time. RIP pic.twitter.com/DZ3FLWeGpQ

NEAL SCHON
Wow. I’m very saddened to hear this terrible news. He was a major influence on my playing. God Bless you Brother..you are Soaring with Angels.

DAVID COVERDALE
R.I.P Leslie West…Yet another sad loss…I’ve never tired of listening to Mountain.

BRUCE KULICK
I am very saddened by the loss of one of my biggest guitar heroes, Leslie West. His music and guitar tone was always a huge influence on me. I saw him live many times, and Grand Funk played shows with Leslie on the same bill. That was so exciting for me. He will always be remembered as a HUGE rock guitar legend. Another tragic day in 2020.”

TOM MORELLO
Rest In Peace #LeslieWest. His guitar tone on “Mississippi Queen” is hands down the BADDEST guitar tone on record.

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PAUL STANLEY
Leslie’s tone could stop a rhino in a full charge. Mountain sound was massive. Leslie was a warm and lovely guy.”

ACE FREHLEY
I lost a dear friend yesterday, he was Leslie West the lead guitarist from “Mountain”…Probably best known for their hit “Mississippi Queen”…He was an amazing guitarist, and I was awaiting a call from him, since I did a remake of one of his songs on “Origins Vol. 2”…but now I’ll never get a chance to hear what he thought of the cover…It’s so sad, we’ve lost so many great guitar ??players this year…my prayers are with his family & friends during this holiday season! He was one of the great guitarists and a good friend over the years!!! He will be missed in the Rock & Roll Community! I’m sure he’s up in R&R Heaven w/all the other musicians we’ve lost!

PAT TRAVERS

Hey there. It’s been a few days since my friend, mentor, and source of much musical inspiration Leslie West passed on. I had a special connection with Leslie. We first met at Prairie Sun Recording Studios in Cotati CA, which I mentioned coincidentaly in my last post. I was recording an album there in 1993 and so was Leslie. How cool! My drummer at the time, Kevin Neal, played drums on Leslie’s sessions. Kevin didn’t know until last minute that he would be recording with Leslie due to the scheduled drummer having to cancel. He did a fantastic job. Leslie and I formed a bond over the week or so we were there at the studio that lasted over the decades. Giving Leslie a call was on my mind the last week or so and I regret not checking in on him. He could appear to be a gruff and grouchy guy to a lot of people but I figured out fairly quickly that was it just a front to try and disguise a very funny and sweet man. Leslie didn’t doll out compliments about other players very often but when he did, and it was you he was giving a nod to, it was like a blessing from the Pope. I’m going to miss Leslie West. He had enormous natural talent, feel, and a humongous helping of soul. Leslie West R.I.P.

PETER FRAMPTON
Leslie West was the very first US guitar player I met when Humble Pie opened for Mountain here. Leslie’s playing and sound had me glued watching everything he did. He was a sweetheart and an extremely funny man. I love you Leslie and will miss you dear friend. RIP

LITA FORD
One of the baddest, true hard-core rock and roll guitar warriors that ever lived! Never In My Life did I find a legend like you.
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Great musicians will never die. Rest in Peace Leslie West.

JOE SATRIANI
R.I.P. Leslie West. We had some great times together onstage and some legendary laughs everyday on tour. Thank you for all the great music. My deepest condolences to the West family.

NILS LOGREN
Rest In Peace, friend. Grin opened for Mountain and West, Bruce and Lang through early ‘70’s. Sweet, bad ass blues man. Got to play together first Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp. I’ll always remember his smile as he looked me in the eye, inspired and shared his gifts.

GLEN HUGHES
So very sad to hear that my dear friend Leslie West has passed away .
Leslie’s work with Mountain will be remembered by millions of Music Listeners.
A pioneer, both singing and guitar playing, was absolutely beyond.
Brothers for 5 decades .
Gab and I love and miss you .
May I suggest the album
Nantucket Sleigh Ride

MICHAEL AMOTT
Rest in Power #LeslieWest! I love his playing, singing and writing. A big influence on so many musicians, including myself. Leslie had THE SOUND in his hands. Was so cool to hang out with him at a NAMM dinner in ‘09, what a great friendly guy and phenomenal musician. R.I.P.

DEE SNIDER
His influence on HIP HOP (You heard me!) is undeniable. His song Long Red has been sampled on over 750 hip hop tracks including Jay-Z 99 Problems. What an incredible force he was! Love and prayers for you my friend.

Tributes to Leslie West