yep, good call Dick ... i was just concerned my guitar list was too long. there are a few others i would add, i like guitar. people that hit the cutting room floor that shouldn't were Knopfler, George Harrison, Joe Walsh, Neil Young, Carlos Santana, Derek Trucks, Jorma Kaukonen, Peter Frampton and many more
haven't seen that, but i'm an old school rock guy - have a separate list for jazz
my favorites drummers are Ginger Baker, John Bohnam, Keith Moon and Neil Peart
favorite guitarists (long list) are Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Duane Allman, Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, David Gilmour, Johnny Winter, Jerry Garcia and Steve Howe
favorite bassists are John Entwistle, John Paul Jones, Chris Squire + Jack Bruce
favorite keyboards are Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks and Richard Wright
favorite vocalists are Robert Plant, Peter Gabriel, Grace Slick, Steve Winwood and Roger Daltrey
When I was in college my driving record was so terrible that I got a $2,300 annual car insurance premium quote. So, I sold my beloved Ford Torino and, being a savvy money manager, I immediately put all the money I got from selling my car into stereo equipment.
Later in the evenings, I used to tune in to the low power radio station that the University of Wisconsin used as a tool to help broadcasting students hone their skills. In general, each student had a one hour time slot and a lot of freedom around what they broadcast (until midnight when the school picked up Ron Cuzner’s jazz show). Many students brought in stacks of albums from their collections and did shows on stuff they liked. One guy did an entire show on jazz bass player Ron Carter, across different timeframes and with different groups. This, in turn, encouraged me to think about listening to music in a different way. It is really interesting to set aside the lead guys, and concentrate on some of the folks in the background, somewhat like what Stevehose has been doing with the Wrecking Crew.
Some great finds: Steve Gadd on drums, Stevie Ray Vaughn doing a riff on David Bowie’s Young Americans (his first recording), Joe Sample on piano, Merry Clayton with the Stones (who can forget “Its just a shot away…”), Claudia Lennear first with Ike and Tina as one of the Ikettes, then backing the Stones, Joe Cocker, Elton John… (truth be told she probably hit my radar screen when she posed naked in Playboy magazine), David Sanborn on stage with Bowie, and on and on.
Alas, the industry has killed off so many of the elements that made this stuff fun. Low power radio is illegal now. Radio stations that play an oddball variety of music have disappeared. Bands cannot maximize their unique skills because they have to surrender their creative freedom in order to be promoted. Producers and studios rotate background musicians. Background singers no longer work on harmonies and record together; instead they are recorded separately and digitally mixed. Drummers are often not used, and when they are, much of the individuality of their work is “quanticised” out of existence. Fortunately, I can still find really good live music at small venues nearby, but I rarely buy music by today's musicians.
And Scott -- If you like Ginger Baker and Neil Peart, spare a thought for the great Mitch Mitchell the next time you listen to Jimi Hendrix. He was not the leader/writer/arranger that Baker and Peart were, but is more in the brilliant fill/follower category with Ringo.
