John Cipollina

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John Cipollina (August 24, 1943 – May 29, 1989) was a lead guitarist best known for his work with the San Francisco rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. He pronounced his surname with the Italian "C" (Chipollina).

Born in Berkeley, California, he attended Tamalpais High School, in Mill Valley, California (as did his brother, Mario Cipollina). He showed great promise as a classical pianist in his youth, but soon switched to the guitar as his primary instrument. Cipollina had a unique guitar sound, mixing solid state and valve amplifiers as early as 1965. He is considered one of the fathers of the San Francisco psychedelic sound. He played with finger picks, thumb picks, and used a whammy bar extensively which, he explained to Jerry Garcia, was to make up for his weak left (tremolo) hand. Even more unusually, he attached six wurlitzer horns to the top of his distinctive amplifier stack. His style was highly melodic and expressive. Cipollina's classical past no doubt influenced his guitar style, which was miles beyond the usual blues-scale, pentatonic work of many of the other psychedelic-era guitarists. His work on fellow dueling guitarist Gary Duncan's electric arrangement/adaption of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five", retitled "Gold and Silver," which appears on the eponymous first album of Quicksilver, is an excellent example of how Cipollina took rock to places it usually didn't dare to venture.

Cipollina died at the age of 45 from emphysema.

Contents

[edit] Discography

[edit] Quicksilver Messenger Service

[edit] Copperhead

  • Copperhead

[edit] Dinosaurs

[edit] Raven

  • Raven

[edit] Man

(Guest artist)

  • Maximum Darkness

[edit] Merrell Fankhauser

  • Dr. Fankhauser

[edit] Freelight

  • Freelight

[edit] Nick Gravenites

  • Live At Rodon

[edit] External links

Quicksilver Messenger Service
John Cipollina - Gary Duncan - David Freiberg - Greg Elmore - Nicky Hopkins - Dino Valenti
Discography
Original Band: Quicksilver Messenger Service - Happy Trails - Shady Grove
Hawaiian Albums: Just For Love - What About Me
Under Dino Valente: Quicksilver - Comin' Thru
Reunion: Solid Silver
Gary Duncan's Revival: Peace by Piece - Shapeshifter - Live at Fieldstone
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