MOUNTAIN’S LESLIE WEST DIES AT 75

UCR ^

[zigmeisterxiv]

Randall’s Island, dude, I was there.
Great NY summer night drinking wine and smokin dubes.
Smell of incense in the air and Leslie’s Sunn amps shaking the ground.

[fedupjohn]

I saw him sit in with Lynyrd Skynyrd, April 1977, Radio City Music Hall, NYC.
It seems that Ronnie V. & Gary R. got into a fist fight and Gary R. broke a finger on his left hand and could only play slide.
The guitar line up from left to right was:

Steve Gaines - Leslie West - Allen Collins - Gary Rossington

To top that off was that The Outlaws were the opening act .... One Ass Kicking Show

[MarDav]

Oh man! One of my first concerts was Mountain at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ (on my birthday - December 30). Our crew used to go driving around listening to Mountain (among others) all the time. Must have ruined about 2 or 3 Best Of eight tracks. Here’s a favorite of mine:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ8ZKb1MWZ4

[nickcarraway]

that explains it. Before I even read this, Sirius XM was playing a marathon of mountain songs on the DeepTracks (27) channel.

[freepersup]

Awesome Opossum! High Five!

One tumbler of 12 year old, run of the mill Buchanan’s Deluxe Scotch, going down the hatch in honor of your summer night in the company of Leslie West!

RIP Leslie West...

My next fav. YT vid. is Grand Funk Railroad playing “I’m Your Captain” at Shea Stadium.

Any chance that you were there?

Grand Funk Railroad - I’m Your Captain - Shea Stadium 1971
2,636,505 views

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_t59To7Snk

Grand Funk Railroad - I’m Your Captain (Live 1971)
This video was shown at Shea Stadium the entire last year before Shea closed. This July 9th 1971 concert still holds the ticket sales record, breaking the record set by The Beatles.

[fedupjohn]

Grand Funk Railroad - I’m Your Captain - Shea Stadium 1971 2,636,505 views

I was that the 1972 show at Madison Square Garden with Freddy King.

Mark Farner wrote An American Band about that tour.

Great Band

[Major Matt Mason]

Surprised he lived this long.

I thought he had died years ago.

[BikerTrash]

Yes, including Chad Stuart, of the 1960s British Invasion group, Chad & Jeremy. He died on Dec. 20.

First, RIP Leslie. Enjoyed your performances immensely.

As to Chad Stuart, your reply #15 is the first I've heard of his death. The day of his death, (Sunday), I had "A Summer Song" stuck in my head so I went to youtube and listened to it a few times.

Kind of a strange coincidence.

Upon reading your reply, I went to find news about Chad's death and found this:

Mr. Stuart continued to perform, but with a greatly reduced pop-cultural stature. At one point he opened for the hard-rock band Mountain in a bowling alley in Hartford, Conn.

(Refers to the late sixties/early seventies after breaking with Jeremy.)

[Inyo-Mono]

Interesting that it ties in with the post about Mountain. Thanks for the info.

[rockrr]

Excellent choice!

My favorite was always Nantucket Sleigh ride:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa7pDgF8rrY

[zeestephen]

Thanks for the link to "Trainer & Toad."

I do not recall hearing it before - I like it.

I loved Mountain's first album, but lost touch with them after that.

My favorites are completely obvious - "Mississippi Queen" and "Theme for an Imaginary Western."

In "Theme," I think the blend of Pappalardi's voice against the guitar is truly beautiful.

According to Wiki, Pappalardi produced Jack Bruce's original recording of the song.

In the late 1970s, I drove up to a rock and roll club north of Ft. Lauderdale - in Boca Raton or Deerfield Beach - and saw Leslie West playing with a band I had never heard of before.

West was hugely overweight and intoxicated. At the time I assumed he was broke and about to join the pantheon of Rock Legends who died young.

Congratulations, Leslie West, for making it to age 75!

[ViLaLuz]

I saw Mountain in concert in the early 70s. They were so loud my ears were ringing for days afterward.