#bluesbreakers

John Mayall - The Turning Point (1969)

John McVie & a very cool Chris sending him off to LA at Heathrow airport.

Martin Celmins: Peter Green: The Authorized Biography (1995)

This authorized biography from 1995 -- subsequently retitled and reissued as Peter Green: Founder of Fleetwood Mac -- does a commendable job of unraveling the perplexing enigma that was Peter Green -- as much as that's possible, anyway.

Alas, the influential but reluctant guitar hero and tragic acid casualty still took some mysteries to his grave, but not before his friend Martin Celmins managed to both clarify and debunk some of the long-accepted narratives attached to the complex musician.

Beginning with valuable insights into Peter Allen Greenbaum's East London upbringing, Jewish heritage, and how they impacted his playing and songwriting style, Celmins traces the guitarist's rise to fame with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, where he capably replaced none other than Eric 'God' Clapton.

Next we get a thorough review of Green's decisive role as founder and leader of Brit-blues giants Fleetwood Mac and arguably the most reliable account of the infamous, LSD-fueled 'Munich Incident,' after which Peter left his own band and then music altogether, after recording 1970's The End of the Game.

Green even gave away his cherished 1959 Les Paul (nicknamed 'Greeny') to fellow guitar great Gary Moore, who faithfully guarded and also put it to good use throughout his career, most visibly on 1991's Still Got the Blues, like some kind of six-string Excalibur.

Celmins also pieces together a respectful portrait of Peter's fragile psyche during his wilderness years, until he cautiously resumed recording with a series of '80s solo albums and performing in '90s projects like the Peter Green Splinter Group and Peter Green & Friends.

I'm told the most recent, retitled editions of the book were revised and updated to cover the relatively stable and peaceful final years of Green's life, backed by new interviews and unseen photographs, up through his death in 2020 at the age of 73.

Looking back on Green's life and legacy, it's hard to think of a bigger name in the pantheon of electric guitarists whose musical influence and historical importance so overshadow their household name recognition.

But Peter's music obviously lives on in all those classic LPs with Mayall and Mac, as does his revered Les Paul, which passed on from Gary after his own death in 2010 and now safely resides in the hands of Metallica's Kirk Hammett, who still plays it on tour.

Featured Records:

Fleetwood Mac: Then Play On (1969)

Fleetwood Mac: "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (1970)

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers: A Hard Road (1967)

Peter Green: The End of the Game (1970)

REST IN PEACE JOHN MAYALL