When Giants' Pass

 Peter Green

 

When Giants’ Pass

 

            

I guess every blues lover was deeply saddened and shocked by the death of the truly great guitarist, Peter Green, on July 25, aged just 73. Green, a founder-member of legendary band, Fleetwood Mac – when they truly were a blues band extraordinaire – set the bar for tasteful, soulful, inspired picking for almost everyone that came behind him. Green was a genuine global blues icon and the expression, ‘we won’t see his type again’ has a startling resonance and truth about it.

When the sad news hit the wires, here at BluesAmericana there was a shocked silence followed by the thought that maybe the man who gave Green his first real breakthrough as a professional musician will have something to say. So, I asked another hugely influential, legendary UK bluesman with a global following and appeal for his initial thoughts. John Mayall was the first man to recognise the talent that Peter Green was, drawing him in to join the Bluesbreakers back in 1965/66 following the departure of Eric Clapton from the band.

Green went on to record with Mayall’s band and the 1967 release, ‘A Hard Road’ is viewed by many as one of the finest blues releases out there. John was clearly deeply saddened by Peter’s passing and though he has been laid-low recently with Covid and further minor health issues, he confirmed :

"I feel so very fortunate to have not only had Peter in my band, but for sharing a musical life together whilst he was a fiery presence in the Bluesbreakers.
It is sad to have lost someone so special and I will always remember the great times we shared together.”  

Peter Green was a genuinely inspiring and inspired character, despite his brushes with mental health issues, he never fully slipped from musical view or consciousness. Instead, largely due to his early work with John Mayall and Fleetwood Mac, he remained a towering figure with a huge following worldwide. Few, in any, are ever likely to match his guitar genius and that instantly identifiable sound and soul he captured when picking a guitar. And, even rarer in many ways, he had a talent that moved seamlessly from electric to acoustic instrumentation. As a song-writer, too, he excelled, creating the standard in so many ways with his Fleetwood Mac work and still hugely significant songs such as ‘Black Magic Woman,’ ‘Albatross’ and ‘Oh Well.’

A strong personal favourite, ‘Black Magic Woman,’ also became a near-anthem and a huge global hit for US-Mexican picker, Carlos Santana, who had this to say about Green the musician he met, knew and loved:

“Dearest MR Peter Green. We know you, B B King and Otis Rush are sharing living tales of wonderment. I cherish and treasure all the time we spent together (especially the time you invited me to be with you and your dearest mother, love the stuffed bell peppers she cooked)
A Hard Road, you with John Mayall & the Blues Breakers. Yes Supernatural, just sacred.
I love you and I’ll see you, Hendrix, SRV, Albert, Freddie, BB. all the Kings, yes, Albert Collins mmmm mmm; John Lee Hooker. Say hello to Coltrane, Miles, Jaco, see you in eternity hall. Peace.”

Looking back over a career that always seemed to sparkle with glorious genius, it’s hard not to turn to his importance in founding one of the greatest blues bands ever, Fleetwood Mac. Still going strong over half a century later, albeit with hugely different output and personnel (save, of course, drummer and co-founder, Mick Fleetwood) this was a band that really made its mark, putting a distinctive stamp on everything it worked back in the blues days.

 

Now known as a performer of note himself, legendary blues music producer and founder of Blue Horizon records, Mike Vernon and brother, Richard, recalls with evident affection, admiration and tristesse his own initial involvement with Peter Green:

“In life you will meet countless people but very few make the lasting impression that Peter Green made on us - both musically and personally. A man with so much talent and so little ego. We owe him greatly for allowing us to establish and build our own record company Blue Horizon around him and his band Fleetwood Mac and also in helping us to find new acts to record and in so doing to assist in the expansion of the Blue Horizon ‘family’. For in many ways Blue Horizon was a true family - everyone involved being encouraged to help each other in their musical endeavours. In this way did we sign Tony ‘Duster’ Bennett and Gordon Smith. We also contracted Chicagoans Eddie Boyd and Otis Spann - both would record albums with Fleetwood Mac. Champion Jack Dupree recorded albums with Mick Taylor - at that time with John Mayall; Stan Webb of Chicken Shack and Black Cat Bones - whose line-up included Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke. It was our joint enthusiasm that pushed us forward and Peter was always there with words of encouragement - it was all about the ‘family’ and not the individual.

When ‘Black Magic Woman’ hit the National Charts in 1967 there was much excitement in the ranks - an original Green song that would later become a smash hit in the U.S. when covered by Santana. Then came ‘Need Your Love So Bad,’ originally recorded by Little Willie John - followed, somewhat surprisingly, by the instrumental ‘Albatross’ which reached the #1 spot on the U.K. Charts during early 1969. Sadly, we were to lose control of the band’s recording commitments at the very time when we were already working on ‘Man Of The World’ as a follow-up to ‘Albatross.’ The departure of Peter, Jeremy, Danny, John and Mick proved to be a blow for the label. But life must go on and so it was - more of a struggle and very challenging but not so rewarding! We watched with interest to see how Fleetwood Mac’s career would develop without our help.

The sad departure of Peter Green from this ‘mortal coil’ brings back so many memories. His laidback approach to life in general; his wickedly dry sense of humour; his constantly friendly attitude to all and sundry were there clearly to be seen. His talent as a guitarist, harmonicist, vocalist and songwriter was extraordinary and totally unique. Peter’s deft touch and feel for the Blues was, in our opinion, near to being faultless as could be imagined - evidence the Eddie Boyd and Otis Spann sessions in particular. He knew exactly when and what to play and he never overplayed - that was close to a sin in his mind! His vocal prowess was also ‘right on the money’ in a relaxed manner and yet sometimes pushed with an urgency that would surprise the listener. He spent a lot of time working on his phrasing and staying in tune - not that either ever seemed to be a problem for him. He was, after all, a Bluesman - plain and simple. But both Richard and I fell in love with his song writing abilities – ‘Man Of The World’ and ‘Oh Well’ in particular being forever firm favourites. Humility and his inner self combined with, perhaps, a sadness of heart brought out the very best in him - both those songs are treasures.

Neither of us had seen or spoken with Peter for well over twenty years - that might be seen as a serious misdemeanor by some but often in life our individual paths are not planned as to cross each other. Nevertheless, those close-to-three years - back in the late 1960s - that we all spent together working on making music will remain in our memory for the rest of our lives. ‘Thank you’ Peter for being you. R.I.P.”

And now, as we mourn the passing of a home-grown, blues music giant, it’s perhaps fitting that we turn to his final years and work with Splinter Group. Our CD Reviews Editor, Stephen Harrison, brings us up to date with a striking and fortunate memory:

 

PETER GREEN & THE SPLINTER GROUP

The Splinter Group was formed in 1997 in what could also be termed an intervention. Nigel Watson and Cozy Powell had the idea that bringing Peter Green back into the musical world would help him overcome his depression that he had been suffering for almost two decades. Part of that depression was brought on by overindulging on LSD in 1969 when Green was in Fleetwood Mac. He had sporadically appeared in different guises in a couple of bands but these did not become fruitful or fulfilling. Alongside Peter Green, Nigel Watson, and Cozy Powell, there were a few more people who would begin the foundation of The Splinter Group. The famous Greeny Guitar (The 1959 Gibson Les Paul ) had since been sold to fellow blues artist, Gary Moore. Ironically, the Gibson Les Paul that Green purchased for £ 114 now lies in the hands of Kirk Hammett of Metalica fame. He reportedly paid $ 2 Million for it.  During the 90s Peter Green played a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion model. The first album to be released was simply titled, Peter Green Splinter Group, and was released in 1997. The band toured England, Europe, and America to great acclaim and somewhat moderate success. I, myself was lucky enough to see The Splinter Group live in 1996. The venue was The Wheatsheaf in Stoke – On – Trent. A wonderful small music venue that sadly fell into the hands of the Wetherspoons chain many years ago. It was Sept.24^th. A night that I will never forget. To watch Peter Green take to the small stage in this small venue was something that I never dreamed would happen. There had been rumours that Peter Green would not play blues because of the delicate balance of his mind, something that I found hard to believe. It was complete rubbish because the whole night was a blues bonanza. This was before the first album had been released, so in a way, I think they were testing the waters and seeing how the audiences would react to Peter Green becoming a bonafide blues artist once more. The whole gig was almost like being in a religious experience. For a blues fan such as myself, this was the perfect gig to attend. And to make the evening end perfectly, Peter Green played a stunning version of Albatross. From that moment I was hooked on The Splinter Group but unfortunately, it would be the only time that I would see them perform live. My two personal favourite Splinter Group albums are The Robert Johnson Songbook and Hot Foot Powder. This partly because Robert Johnson is the best and most influential blues artist of all time in my opinion. It also happens to be where Peter Green felt at home. Playing the blues with The Splinter Group.

The Splinter Group

Peter Green- Lead Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harmonic/Vocals

Nigel Watson- Rhythm Guitar/Vocals

Cozy Powell- Drums

Roger Cotton- Piano

Larry Tlofree- Drums

Pete Stroud- Fretless Bass

Neil Murray- Bass