HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LESLIE WEST! Born Leslie Weinstein on October 22nd 1945 in New York City. He is a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member of the hard rock group Mountain. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West. His musical career began with The Vagrants, an R&B/Blue-eyed soul-rock band influenced by the likes of The Rascals that was one of the few teenage garage rock acts to come out of the New York metropolitan area itself (as opposed to the Bohemian Greenwich Village scene which produced bands like The Fugs and The Velvet Underground). The Vagrants had two minor hits in the Eastern US: 1966s I Cant Make a Friend and a cover of Otis Reddings Respect the following year. Some of the Vagrants recordings were produced by Felix Pappalardi, who was also working with Cream on their album Disraeli Gears. In 1969, West and Pappalardi formed the pioneering hard rock act Mountain. Rolling Stone identified the band as a louder version of Cream. The band appeared on the second day of the Woodstock Festival on Saturday, August 16, 1969 starting an 11-song set at 9PM. The bands original incarnation saw West and Pappalardi sharing vocal duties and playing guitar and bass, respectively. They had success with Mississippi Queen, which reached No. 21 on the Billboard charts and No. 4 in Canada. It was followed by the Jack Bruce-penned Theme For an Imaginary Western. Mountain is one of the bands considered to be forerunners of heavy metal music. After Pappalardi left, West and Laing produced two studio albums and a live release with Cream bassist Jack Bruce under the name West, Bruce and Laing. Mountain reformed in 1973 only to break up again in late 1974. But since 1981 it has continued to reform, tour and record on a regular basis. West, along with keyboard player Al Kooper of Blood, Sweat & Tears, recorded with The Who during the March 1971 Whos Next New York sessions including The Whos signature track Wont Get Fooled Again. Though the tracks were not originally included on the album (recording restarted in England a few months later without West or Kooper), they appear as bonus tracks on the 1995 and 2003 reissues of Whos Next and on the 1998 reissue of Odds & Sods. West also played guitar for the track Bo Diddley Jam on Bo Diddleys 1976 20th Anniversary of Rock n Roll all-star album. Leslie West and Joe Bonamassa recorded Warren Haynes If Heartaches Were Nickels together. West released it on Guitarded, and Bonamassa on A New Day Yesterday. In 2005 he contributed to Ozzy Osbournes Under Cover album, performing guitar on a remake of Mississippi Queen. In 2007 Mountain released Masters of War on Big Rack Records, an album featuring 12 Bob Dylan covers that sees Ozzy Osbourne providing guest vocals on a rendition of the title track. West was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006. Johnny Ramone, a fan of West, has called him, one of the top five guitar players of his genre. West was also nicknamed The Fattest Fingers in Rock N Roll, due to his large build. On June 20, 2011 West had his lower right leg amputated as a result of complications from diabetes. Leslie made his first public appearance after his surgery on August 13, 2011. Leslie after his surgery playing a red hot version of Mississippi Queen with Peter Frampton in 2013.....Enjoy!
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 15:01:15 +0000
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