Peter Green (musician)

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Peter Green
Birth name Peter Allen Greenbaum
Born 29 October 1946 (1946-10-29) (age 61)
in Bethnal Green, London
Genre(s) Blues-rock, Rock
Occupation(s) Guitarist
Instrument(s) Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica
Years active 1966 - present
Label(s) Reprise Records
PVK Records
Creole Records
Associated acts John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
Fleetwood Mac
Peter Green Splinter Group
Notable instrument(s)
Gibson Les Paul
Fender Stratocaster
Gibson "Howard Roberts" Fusion

Peter Green (born Peter Allen Greenbaum, 29 October 1946, in Bethnal Green, London) is a British blues-rock guitarist and founder of the band Fleetwood Mac.

A figurehead in the British blues movement, Green inspired B. B. King to say, "He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats." Green's playing was marked with a distinctive vibrato and economy of style, as well as a unique tone from his 1959 Gibson Les Paul.[1] - a result of the guitar's neck pickup magnet being reversed to produce an 'out of phase' sound. He used a Fender Stratocaster on the track Albatross, and used a National resonator guitar on Oh Well Part I.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] John Mayall's Bluesbreakers

Green played lead in Peter Bardens' band, Peter B's Looners, in 1966. After a three month stint, he had the opportunity to fill in for Eric Clapton in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers for three gigs. Upon Clapton's permanent departure not long after, he was hired full-time.

Green made his full album debut with the Bluesbreakers with A Hard Road. It featured two compositions by Green, "The Same Way" and "The Supernatural". The latter was one of Green's first extended instrumentals, which would soon become a trademark.

In 1967, Green decided to form his own blues band, and left Mayall's Bluesbreakers after appearing on just one album (just as Clapton had done).

[edit] Fleetwood Mac

The name of Green's new band was Fleetwood Mac. Originally billed as "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac"; it originated from the band's rhythm section that consisted of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. In the late 1970s the re-organised band topped the charts with mainstream pop/rock, but initially it was a straight-up blues-rock band playing blues classics and some original material. Green wrote the song "Black Magic Woman" that was eventually picked up by Santana. Green was the leader of the group throughout their initial period of success in the late 1960s, when their hits included "Oh Well", "Man of the World", "The Green Manalishi" and the British Charts #1 hit, "Albatross".

Following the release of "Albatross" and consequent rise in fame, Green struggled spiritually with the band's success and being in the spotlight. While touring Europe and after a gig in Munich, Germany, Green went on a three day LSD fuelled binge. In his own words, he "went on a trip, and never came back".

Communard Rainer Langhans mentions in his autobiography that he and Uschi Obermaier met Peter Green in Munich, where they invited him to their "High-Fish-Commune". They were not really interested in Peter Green. They just wanted to get in contact with Mick Taylor: Langhans and Obermaier wished to organize a "Bavarian Woodstock". They wanted Jimi Hendrix and "The Rolling Stones" to be the leading acts of their Bavarian open air festival. They needed the "Green God" just to get in contact with "The Rolling Stones" via Mick Taylor.

Green's personality changed drastically after the episode: he began wearing a robe, grew a beard, and wore a crucifix on his chest. His use of LSD may have been a contributing factor to his schizophrenia.[2] He quit Fleetwood Mac in 1970, performing his final show as a member on 20 May 1970. He recorded a jam session The End Of The Game and faded into obscurity, taking on a succession of menial jobs. It was during this period that Green sold his trademark 1959 Sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard to Irish guitarist Gary Moore.

Green had a brief reunion with Fleetwood Mac when Jeremy Spencer left the group (Green flew to the USA to help them complete the tour) and he was also an uncredited guest on their 1973 Penguin album on the track "Night Watch". He also appears on the track "Brown Eyes" from 1979's Tusk.

[edit] Mental illness diagnosis

Green was diagnosed with schizophrenia, a mental illness commonly characterised by hallucinations and paranoia, and he spent time in psychiatric hospitals undergoing electroconvulsive therapy in the mid-1970s. Many sources attest to his lethargic, trancelike state during this period.[3] In 1977, he was arrested for threatening his accountant, Clifford Davis, with a rifle, but the exact circumstances are the subject of much speculation, the most popular being that Green wanted Davis to stop sending money to him.[4] After this incident he was sent to a psychiatric institution in London. This was prior to his re-emergence as a recording artist with PVK Records in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He suffered a relapse in 1984 and effectively lived the life of a tramp-like recluse for six years until he was rescued by his brother Len and his wife, going to live with them in Great Yarmouth and regaining some of his former health and strength.

[edit] Resurgence

Urged by his family and friends to resume playing, he resurfaced in the late 1970s and early 1980s with a series of albums, including In the Skies, Little Dreamer and White Sky. Although of inconsistent quality, these albums nevertheless contained glimmers of Green's unique blues styling and signature sound. He was also an uncredited guest on "Brown Eyes", from the Fleetwood Mac album Tusk; contributed to "Rattlesnake Shake" and "Super Brains" on Mick Fleetwood's solo album, The Visitor. Despite some attempts by Gibson at a German trade show to start talks about producing a Peter Green signature Les Paul, Peter's instrument of choice at this time was in fact a Gibson 'Howard Roberts' Fusion, very often seen accompanying him on stage in recent years. This appears to be a great favourite of his. A 1990s comeback saw Green form the Peter Green Splinter Group, with the assistance of fellow musicians including Nigel Watson and Cozy Powell. The Splinter Group released nine albums between 1997 and 2003. It was in the latter part of this period that Peter picked up a black Gibson Les Paul again. [5] Peter signed and sold this ebony Les Paul.

A tour was cancelled and recording of a new studio album stopped in early 2004, when Green left the band and moved to Sweden. Shortly thereafter he joined The British Blues All Stars, but their tour in 2005 was also cancelled. Green has said that the medication he takes to treat his psychological problems makes it hard for him to concentrate and saps his desire to pick up a guitar; whether there will be any more public ventures remains to be seen.

[edit] Discography

See also Fleetwood Mac discography.

[edit] Albums

[edit] Solo compilations

  • Blue Guitar (1981)
  • Legend (1988)
  • Backtrackin' (1990)
  • A Rock Legend (1991)
  • Last Train to San Antone (1992)
  • Baby When the Sun Goes Down (1992)
  • Collection (1993)
  • Rock and Pop Legends (1995)
  • Green And Guitar (1996)
  • Bandit (1997)
  • Blues for Dhyana (1998)
  • Alone With The Blues (2000)
  • The Clown (2001)
  • A Fool No More (2001)
  • Promised Land (2001)

[edit] Splinter Group albums

[edit] Guest contributions

With John Mayall

With Eddie Boyd

  • Eddie Boyd and His Blues Band featuring Peter Green (1967 album)
  • 7936 South Rhodes (1968 album)

With Duster Bennett

  • Smiling Like I'm Happy (1968 album)
  • Bright Lights (1969 album)
  • 12 Dbs (1970 album)
  • Out in the Blue (1995 compilation)
  • The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions (2005)

With Gordon Smith

  • Long Overdue (1968 album)

With Otis Spann

With Brunning Sunflower Blues Band

  • Trackside Blues (1969 album)
  • I Wish You Would (1970 album)

With Clifford Davis

  • Come On Down And Follow Me/Homework (1969 single)
  • Man Of The World/Before The Beginning (1970 single)

With Jeremy Spencer

With Peter Bardens

  • The Answer (1970 album)
  • Write My Name In The Dust: The Anthology (2005 compilation)

With Gass

With Memphis Slim

  • Blue Memphis (1971 album)

With B. B. King

  • B.B. King In London (1971 album)

With Dave Kelly

  • Dave Kelly (1971 album)

With Country Joe McDonald

  • Hold On It's Coming (1971 album)

With Toe Fat

  • 2 (1971 album)

With Richard Kerr

  • From Now Until Then (1973 album)

With Fleetwood Mac

With Duffo

  • The Disappearing Boy (1980 album)

With Mick Fleetwood

With Brian Knight

  • A Dark Horse (1981 album)

With SAS Band

  • SAS Band (1997 album)

With Dick Heckstall-Smith

  • Blues And Beyond (2001 album)

With Chris Coco

  • Next Wave (2002 album)

With Peter Gabriel

  • Up (2003 album)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bacon, Tony. Electric Guitars:The Illustrated Encyclopedia. Thunder Bay Press, pg. 124. ISBN 1-59223-053-9. 
  2. ^ Schizophrenia.com
  3. ^ Celmins, Martin, "Peter Green: Founder of Fleetwood Mac", Castle, 1995.
  4. ^ Celmins, Martin, "Peter Green: Founder of Fleetwood Mac", Castle, 1995.
  5. ^ www.fmlegacy.com/ Peter is a prolific collector of guitars, having over 100 at this time. PeterGreen. htm
  • Celmins, Martin (1995). Peter Green: Founder of Fleetwood Mac. Castle Communications. ISBN 1-898141-13-4. 

[edit] External links

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Fleetwood Mac
John McVie · Mick Fleetwood · Stevie Nicks · Lindsey Buckingham
Christine McVie · Peter Green · Jeremy Spencer · Bob Brunning · Danny Kirwan · Bob Welch · Bob Weston · Dave Walker · Billy Burnette · Rick Vito · Dave Mason · Bekka Bramlett
Studio albums
Key Singles/Songs
Compilations and box sets
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