56-742: Leslie Abel West (born Weinstein ; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain . West was named the 245th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023. West was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York City on October 22, 1945, to Jewish parents. He grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey , and in East Meadow , Forest Hills , and Lawrence , New York. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West. His musical career began with
112-493: A 2014 interview that he believed his past smoking also contributed to the crisis with his leg. West went into cardiac arrest on Monday, December 21, 2020, and was rushed to a hospital in nearby Palm Coast , where he never regained consciousness. After being contacted by Rolling Stone , West's brother Larry West confirmed that Leslie West had died. A report by Variety based on social media posts made by Larry West states that Leslie West died on Wednesday, December 23, 2020. He
168-560: A Craigslist ad and stated the plots were in the Jacksonville Memory Gardens Cemetery in Orange Park, Florida, adjacent to Ronnie Van Zant's tomb. Gaines is the subject of the 2001 song "Cassie's Brother" by rock band Drive-By Truckers . Less than two years after the plane crash, Cassie LaRue Gaines, mother of Cassie and Steve, was killed in an automobile accident near the cemetery where her children were buried. She
224-450: A Kramer with DiMarzio pickups. In 2005, West received a sponsorship with Carlsbro amplifiers, and could frequently be seen playing through "Carlsbro 50 Top" valve heads. His studio amplifier was a Marshall JMP. Live, he used Marshall JCM 900s. He started endorsing and using Budda Amplification in 2008. He was also associated with Sunn amplifiers, and used a Sunn Coliseum PA head, when it was shipped to him by accident. He claimed that this
280-596: A Mountain-influenced riff ). Martin Barre , guitarist for Jethro Tull has stated in interviews that Leslie West was a direct influence on his playing. Beastie Boys are also noted for their use of a brief sample of "Mississippi Queen" on the track "Lookin' Down the Barrel of a Gun" from their sample-heavy 1989 album, Paul's Boutique . Mountain continued to perform occasionally with Leslie West, Corky Laing and Rev Jones. On June 20, 2011, West had his lower right leg amputated as
336-412: A Sunn Coliseum PA that ran on 6550 tubes, rather than a traditional guitar amplifier. West frequently used two Les Paul Juniors, one "TV Yellow" and the other a sunburst. West also used a modified Gibson Flying V , with the neck pickup removed (he used the hole for an ash tray) and a P-90 pickup fitted at the bridge position. West also had a two-pickup Flying V (serial number 906965) which he used after
392-519: A book of recollections, Nantucket Sleighride and Other Mountain On-the-Road Stories , detailing their time with the band at its peak and their subsequent careers. Mountain's video game debut came in 2007 on RedOctane's Guitar Hero III , featuring "Mississippi Queen" as a playable track. The song is also featured in the Harmonix video game Rock Band , although the version featured is a cover of
448-472: A custom-designed Dean pickup called "Mountain of Tone." Based on an endorsing contract in the 1970s, West played British-made Burns guitars. West also long favored "headless" guitars , and can be seen playing them on some of the videos he appeared in. In an interview segment on Night of the Guitars – Live! West stated that he had narrowed his commonly played instruments down to two: an off-the-shelf Steinberger and
504-501: A decade, West and Laing reunited Mountain, recruiting Miller Anderson (ex- Savoy Brown & Keef Hartley ) on bass in 1981. After Anderson had travel visa troubles, he was replaced in 1984 by Mark Clarke and the group recorded Go for Your Life (March 1985). This line up played at the Knebworth Fayre on June 22, 1985 alongside Mama's Boys , Blackfoot , Meat Loaf , Scorpions , Deep Purple , and others. Go For Your Life
560-510: A follow-up album, Nantucket Sleighride , released in January 1971. This album reached No. 16 but failed to yield a hit single. The title track was used in the UK as the theme to ITV 's Sunday political program Weekend World . After these early releases the band continued to receive a certain measure of critical acclaim but never again achieved great commercial success. After Nantucket Sleighride ,
616-415: A major revelation to the band, as demonstrated on his one studio album, 1977's Street Survivors . Publicly and privately, Ronnie Van Zant marveled at the vocal and instrumental skill of Skynyrd's newest member, claiming that the band would "all be in his shadow one day". Steve's contributions included his co-lead vocal with Ronnie on the co-written " You Got That Right " (a solid hit single released after
SECTION 10
#1732852103883672-523: A member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd's female backup singers, The Honkettes . The band had been seeking a replacement for Ed King , one of three lead guitarists in its lineup, since his departure in mid-1975. Cassie recommended Steve, and after initial reluctance the band allowed him to join them onstage for a song during a show at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri on May 11, 1976, Jimmie Rodgers ' "T-For Texas, (Blue Yodel #1)". Although
728-497: A participant; the group broke up again after playing a final show at Felt Forum in New York City on December 31, 1974. On April 17, 1983 Gail Collins Pappalardi , Pappalardi's wife and songwriting partner (she had designed many of the band's album covers and wrote many of their lyrics), shot Pappalardi in the neck in their fifth-floor East Side Manhattan apartment and he died. After pursuing separate musical paths for almost
784-515: A regular basis. West teamed up with Ian Gillan of Deep Purple renown, to co-write and play guitar on the song "Hang Me Out To Dry" from the Gillan album ToolBox , released in Europe in 1991. West and Joe Bonamassa recorded Warren Haynes ' "If Heartaches Were Nickels" together. West released it on Guitarded (2005), and Bonamassa on A New Day Yesterday (2000). In May 1987, West played the band leader in
840-567: A result of complications from diabetes . Following the surgery, West performed and recorded under his own name; his concerts featured many Mountain songs. Corky Laing formed a new project, Corky Laing Plays Mountain, in 2015. This project included bassist/vocalist Joe Venti and guitarist/vocalist Phil Baker in 2015. For their 2016 United States tour, Laing and Venti were joined by Richie Scarlet, now on lead guitar, and Ken Sidotti on keyboards. They performed Mountain music in addition to songs by West, Bruce and Laing and Cream . And in 2017, Mark Mikel
896-521: A series of late night pilot shows for Howard Stern on the FOX network. He taped a total of five shows with Stern, which never aired. Stern went on to create a new show dubbed the Channel 9 show without West. West continued to make occasional appearances on radio, notably on Stern's radio show. West contributed the music and co-wrote the lyrics to the song "Immortal" on Clutch's 2001 album Pure Rock Fury , which
952-401: Is the amp that gave him his signature sound in a Gibson interview with West. The Sunn amplifiers that West used were of the late 1960s era and were not factory stock. The four-channel amplifier heads' preamps were wired as cascading preamps to channel one, out to the amp's power section. This is what produced the long compressed sustain and distorted overdrive of the great Mountain sound that he
1008-511: Is well known for. West used Blackstar amps. West also used Budda amplifiers, with a Budda backline visible on stage footage of West's appearances. West employed octaver , chorus , and delay effects. Mountain (band) Mountain was an American hard rock band formed on Long Island , New York , in 1969. Originally consisting of vocalist-guitarist Leslie West , bassist-vocalist Felix Pappalardi , keyboardist Steve Knight , and drummer N. D. Smart (soon replaced by Corky Laing ),
1064-591: The Billboard charts and No. 4 in Canada. It was followed by "Theme For an Imaginary Western", written by Cream bassist Jack Bruce . Mountain is one of the bands considered to be forerunners of heavy metal . After Pappalardi left Mountain to concentrate on production projects, West and Laing produced two studio albums and a live release with Jack Bruce under the name West, Bruce and Laing . West, along with keyboard player Al Kooper of Blood, Sweat & Tears , recorded with
1120-480: The 1995 and 2003 reissues of Who's Next and on the 1998 reissue of Odds & Sods . Mountain reformed in 1973, only to break up again in late 1974. West had acting roles in Family Honor (1973) and The Money Pit (1986). West also played guitar for the track "Bo Diddley Jam" on Bo Diddley 's 1976 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album. Also in 1976, West auditioned for Lynyrd Skynyrd after
1176-603: The Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006. In 2007, Mountain released Masters of War on Big Rack Records, an album featuring 12 Bob Dylan covers that saw Osbourne providing guest vocals on a rendition of the title track. West married his fiancée Jenni Maurer on stage after Mountain's performance at the Woodstock 40th anniversary concert in Bethel, New York (August 15, 2009). A concert crowd of over 15,000 people
SECTION 20
#17328521038831232-618: The Marshall Tucker Band ). By August 1973, West and Pappalardi had reformed Mountain with Allan Schwartzberg on drums and Bob Mann (ex- Dreams ) on keyboards and guitar; the new lineup toured Japan and produced a double live album, Twin Peaks (February 1974), from the tour. The studio work Avalanche (July 1974), for which Laing returned to play drums and David Perry became the new second guitarist (from November 1973 to September 1974), would be Mountain's final album with Pappalardi as
1288-572: The "ash tray" Flying V broke. West also used a plexiglass Electra guitar, which is a Japanese copy of the better-known Ampeg-made Dan Armstrong guitar, for slide. West also played a Westone Pantera guitar. From 1977 to 1982, he used a signature on-board effects MPC model guitar, created by the Japanese company Electra . He most recently used a signature model from Dean Guitars , the USA Soltero Leslie West Signature model, fitted with
1344-447: The 1970s. The group's musical style primarily consisted of hard rock, blues rock , and heavy metal. The beginning of the live recording of their song " Long Red " has become one of the most sampled drum breaks in hip hop, sampled in over 700 songs by artists such as EPMD , Pete Rock & CL Smooth , A Tribe Called Quest , Nas , Kanye West , the Game , among many others. Songs using
1400-538: The Eastern United States: 1966's "I Can't Make a Friend" and a cover of Otis Redding 's " 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 , which was also the title of West's debut solo album. Rolling Stone identified
1456-969: The Mountain set, including "Blowing in the Wind" from the Masters of War album, with enthusiasm. Of the Satriani set, the reviewer was also pleased with the blues influence he felt Mountain brought to the evening, and with West joining in on a Satriani-led closing " Stormy Monday " and "Going Down" blues jam. Fellow Long Island native Howard Stern has called Mountain one of his favourite bands and has occasionally played their music on his show. Other Mountain fans include Randy Rhoads , John McLaughlin , Johnny Ramone , Clutch , Karma to Burn , comedian Dennis Miller , and John Frusciante (the Red Hot Chili Peppers track " Readymade " off 2006's Stadium Arcadium features
1512-527: The Sun (when Lynyrd Skynyrd band began touring). This album is listed as his only official solo album. Steve has two other albums, which are known to be very rare CDs from Steve's widow Teresa: I Know a Little (a collection of live recordings with Crawdad as well as Manalive) and Okie Special (a collection of live recordings with Crawdad as well as Detroit). Only 100 copies of each of the two CDs have been made. In December 1975, Steve's older sister, Cassie , became
1568-752: 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 of artists, poets, and affiliates of the Beat Generation , which produced bands like the Fugs and the Velvet Underground ). The Vagrants had two minor hits in
1624-549: The Vagrants, expressed an interest in producing West's work. West, previously disgruntled and unsatisfied with the lack of success in his first project, found Cream to be a great inspiration. He began to feel disillusioned with the R&;B and blues scenes of the 1960s in which he had played. He envisioned a project that would take on a rawer and much harder style which he had begun to favor, with his newly-developed guitar style inspired by hearing Cream's Eric Clapton . Pappalardi rejected
1680-612: The Who during the March 1971 Who's Next New York sessions. Tracks from the sessions included a cover of Marvin Gaye 's "Baby Don't You Do It," and early versions of "Love Ain't For Keepin'" and the Who's signature track " Won't 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
1736-559: The band as a "louder version of Cream". With Steve Knight on keyboards and original drummer N. D. Smart , the band appeared on the second day of the Woodstock Festival on Saturday, August 16, 1969, starting an 11-song set at 9 pm. The band's original incarnation saw West and Pappalardi sharing vocal duties and playing guitar and bass, respectively. New drummer Corky Laing joined the band shortly after Woodstock. They had success with " Mississippi Queen ", which reached No. 21 on
Leslie West - Misplaced Pages Continue
1792-609: The band couldn't hear Steve's playing onstage, soundman Kevin Elson was listening through headphones and told them that Steve was outstanding. They jammed with him informally a couple of times more, then invited him into the band just in time for the recording of Skynyrd's live album One More from the Road . The first of three shows recorded for the album was Gaines' third gig with the band. Ed King and Steve Gaines were both born on September 14, 1949. Gaines' guitar-picking and songwriting skills were
1848-605: The band produced Flowers of Evil (November 1971) consisting of one side of studio material and one live side, culled from a concert at New York 's Fillmore East . Mountain disbanded in February 1972 after a tour of the UK. West has since cited a combination of drug abuse within the band and Pappalardi's road weariness and burgeoning hearing impairment as primary factors. A live album, Mountain Live: The Road Goes Ever On ,
1904-588: The concert, he pestered his father to buy him his first guitar. His band, Manalive, recorded at the famous Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee . In the 1970s, Steve played with bands ILMO Smokehouse from Quincy, Illinois, Detroit with Rusty Day (an offshoot of The Detroit Wheels ) and Crawdad (a band that Steve had started around 1974). In 1975, he recorded several songs with Crawdad at Capricorn studios in Macon, Georgia which were released by MCA in 1988 as One in
1960-470: The demos by the West-Landsberg-Janick trio, but took a suggestion that he play bass on West's solo album, Mountain . The album also featured Landsberg and former Remains drummer N.D. Smart . The album spotlighted West's raw vocals and melodic, bluesy guitar style, and Pappalardi's bass lines were prominent. According to West, when Pappalardi asked what would be next, West suggested the pair go on
2016-434: The departure of Ed King , but the vacated slot eventually went to Steve Gaines . During the mid '70s, West issued a pair of albums simply credited to himself, 1975's The Great Fatsby (which included a guest appearance by Mick Jagger on guitar) and 1976's The Leslie West Band (which featured Mick Jones on guitar, just before he formed Foreigner ). Since 1981, Mountain has continued to reform, tour, and record on
2072-433: The group disbanded in 1972, but reunited on several occasions prior to West's death in 2020. They are best-known for their 1970 smash hit song " Mississippi Queen ", which remains a staple of classic rock radio , as well as the heavily sampled song " Long Red ", and their performance at Woodstock Festival in 1969. Mountain is one of many bands commonly credited with influencing the development of heavy metal music during
2128-434: The plane crash) and the rousing guitar boogie "I Know a Little" which he had written before he joined Skynyrd. So confident was Skynyrd's leader of Steve's abilities that the album (and some concerts) featured Steve delivering his self-penned bluesy "Ain't No Good Life" – one of the few songs in the pre-crash Skynyrd catalog to feature a lead vocalist other than Van Zant. On October 20, 1977, three days after Street Survivors
2184-427: The road. Keyboardist Steve Knight (from Devil's Anvil , another of Pappalardi's productions) was added after Landsberg left to form another group, Hammer, with Janick. Naming themselves "Mountain", after West's 1969 solo album, West, Pappalardi, Smart, and Knight played shows on the west coast before getting to play their third concert as a working band at the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Bethel, New York . Mountain
2240-487: The sample include Jay-Z's " 99 Problems " and Kanye West's " The Glory ". In early 1969 Leslie West , formerly of the Long Island R&;B band The Vagrants , put together a band, Leslie West Mountain, with Norman Landsberg (keyboards, bass) and Ken Janick (drums) and began playing gigs and recording demos. Right around this time, former Cream collaborator/producer Felix Pappalardi , who had previously produced
2296-458: The studio recording. Their final album was 2007's Masters of War , featuring twelve Bob Dylan covers and a guest appearance from Ozzy Osbourne . The band headed out on the road during October and November 2008 on a North American tour opening for Joe Satriani , and with former Michael Schenker Group member Rev Jones on bass. A review of the San Diego House of Blues date covered
Leslie West - Misplaced Pages Continue
2352-406: The success of both Mountain and West, Bruce and Laing . In the mid-1980s, just as he was overcoming the drug problems, West was diagnosed with diabetes , and his weight fluctuated over the years as he struggled with the disease. In the early 2000s, he also survived a short bout with bladder cancer . In 2011, due to complications from his diabetes, West's right leg had to be amputated. West said in
2408-503: The years, including Eddie Van Halen , Randy Rhoads , Michael Schenker , Johnny Ramone , and Tim Sult , among others. West was renowned for helping popularize the Gibson Les Paul Jr. guitar, with a single P-90 pickup, along with the use of Sunn Amplifiers , to create a tone which became his trademark sound. According to former Guitar World editor-in-chief Brad Tolinski , West achieved his trademark early '70s guitar tone via
2464-507: Was 75. Many celebrities and rock musicians paid tribute to West on his death, including Howard Stern, Brian May , Geezer Butler , Peter Frampton , Joe Satriani , Neal Schon , David Coverdale , Vernon Reid , Tom Morello , Slash , Joe Bonamassa , and Dee Snider , among others. Foo Fighters also performed "Mississippi Queen" live on The Howard Stern Show in tribute to West shortly after his passing. A multitude of rock guitarists have credited West as an influence on their playing over
2520-468: Was a reworked cover of the song "Baby I'm Down" from West's first album. In 2005 he contributed to Ozzy Osbourne 's Under Cover album, performing guitar on a remake of "Mississippi Queen". In addition to fronting Mountain, West continued to record and perform on his own. His solo album, entitled Blue Me , was released in 2006 on the Blues Bureau International label. West was inducted into
2576-655: Was an American musician. He is best known as a guitarist and backing vocalist with rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1976 until his death in the October 1977 airplane crash that claimed other band members and crew. His older sister Cassie Gaines , a backup vocalist with the band, also died in the crash. Gaines was born in Miami, Oklahoma . When he was 15 years old, he saw the Beatles performing live in Kansas City. After being driven home from
2632-473: Was cremated and his ashes were buried in Orange Park, Florida in 1977, but were relocated to an undisclosed location after vandals broke into his and bandmate Ronnie Van Zant's tombs on June 29, 2000. Their mausoleums remain as memorials for fans to visit. 10 years later, the new location of their interment was accidentally revealed by a Craigslist ad. A family selling two plots they decided not to retain, ran
2688-660: Was dedicated to Pappalardi's memory. Shortly thereafter, the band performed with Triumph at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Illinois. Mountain went dormant again until 1992, when West and Laing teamed up once again and brought in Richie Scarlet (known for his solo work and collaborations with Ace Frehley ) to round out the lineup that had a live appearance in The Dennis Miller Show . Scarlet
2744-685: Was issued in April 1972. Pappalardi returned to studio work, while West and Laing formed West, Bruce and Laing with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce . Their first American performance was a Carnegie Hall concert, prompting a bidding war that Columbia Records won, and the new trio cut two studio albums and a live release over the next two years. After Bruce suddenly pulled out of the trio in 1973, West and Laing continued on briefly as Leslie West's Wild West Show, which also featured special guest Mitch Ryder plus NYC guitarist Peter Baron and bassist Tom Robb (formerly with Mylon LeFevre 's band and later with
2800-475: Was playing bass with Chris Shutters and Richie Scarlet on guitar in the lineup. Mikel continued until touring was ceased in 2020 due to COVID-19 . Leslie West died on December 22, 2020, after suffering a heart attack. He was 75. In 2021 Corky Laing's Mountain resumed touring with a lineup of Laing (drums, vocals), Joe Venti (bass, vocals) and Richie Scarlet (guitar, keyboards). Steve Gaines Steven Earl Gaines (September 14, 1949 – October 20, 1977)
2856-530: Was present, as West and Maurer were wed under a canopy of upraised electric guitars . On June 20, 2011, West had his right leg amputated as a result of complications from diabetes . West made his first public appearance after his surgery on August 13, 2011. In 2014, West was a guest performer on Eli Cook 's album, Primitive Son . His 2015 album, Soundcheck , peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. Weeks before his death West
SECTION 50
#17328521038832912-699: Was received enthusiastically by the festival audience but the band did not appear in the film of the event , nor was their performance included on volume 1 of the festival's live album . Their performances of "Blood of the Sun" (from West's album) and "Theme for an Imaginary Western" (a song they planned to record for Climbing! and written by former Cream bassist Jack Bruce) did appear on the second volume of Woodstock performances called "Woodstock II" (Neither of those "live" songs were recorded at Woodstock, however.) The 40th Anniversary Edition of Woodstock on DVD and Blu-ray features filmed performances of "Beside The Sea" and "Southbound Train". Soon after Woodstock, Smart
2968-449: Was released (and five dates into the band's most successful ticket sales tour yet), a plane carrying both musicians and crew between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to Baton Rouge, Louisiana , crashed outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi . The plane landed in a swampy area and crashed into trees, killing Gaines, Van Zant, Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary, and co-pilot William Gray. Gaines
3024-480: Was replaced by Canadian Laurence "Corky" Laing , who was the drummer on Climbing! , which was released in March 1970. It led off with what became the band's signature song, " Mississippi Queen ", which reached No. 21 in the Billboard Hot 100 , and was featured in the 1971 cult film Vanishing Point , while the album reached No. 17. Mountain began a hectic touring schedule in the middle of which they recorded
3080-540: Was replaced with Randy Coven in 1993 and in 1994 there was a Mountain lineup that included West, Laing, Noel Redding and occasional special guest guitarist Elvin Bishop . By 1995, the 1984–85 lineup of West, Laing and Mark Clarke was back, and recorded Man's World in 1996. In 1998 things went quiet in the Mountain camp again until 2001. That year, with Scarlet back in the lineup, the band toured, then recorded Mystic Fire , released in 2002. In 2003 West and Laing authored
3136-502: Was scheduled to begin recording a new studio album with a variety of guitarists. That group of musicians including Slash , Zakk Wylde , Dee Snider , and others, came together to record the album, titled Legacy: A Tribute To Leslie West, which was released on 25 March 2022. By the late 1970s, West was recovering from addiction to heroin , morphine , and cocaine . West said in various interviews that his drug problems and similar drug abuse problems of other bandmates, had interfered with
#882117