Leslie West
Leslie
West was born in Queens, New York on October 22, 1945. He was
first inspired to play music after seeing Elvis Presley's notorious
appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. He got his first guitar
from his grandfather. It was an old tenor guitar from a pawn
shop. His first "live appearance" was when he was in the
seventh grade. He played Heartbreak Hotel.
After attending several private schools, West quit in the tenth grade, and went on to work in different odd jobs.
Later, with the money from his Bar Mitzvah, he bought an electric guitar. Inspired by seeing a live performance of The Beatles in New York, he started the Vagrants.
Together, the band played in local clubs and at parties. One night, after meeting another band called The Rascals, the band introduced The Vagrants to an agent who helped the band put together some demos, and eventually land them a contract with Atlantic Records. It was here that West met Felix Pappalardi, who was called in to produce the band's album, Mountain.
When the album was completed, West left the band to pursue his solo career. He also decided that he would like to do more work with Pappalardi. The resulting band, Mountain, featured West, Pappalardi, and Corky Lang. The band played together with several different line-ups starting in 1969, and the band broke up in 1974.
West went on to join up with Jack Bruce in a band called West, Bruce, and Lang. The band was dubbed to be the next supergroup, but after 2 studio albums and a live release, the band dissolved.
West, although he never achieved the level of fame he had with Mountain, continued his solo career despite continuing health problems, and has released several solo albums including The Great Fatsby, Alligator, and Go For Your Life, as well as his latest release, As Phat as it Gets.
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Mountain: The Best Of Mountain Performed by
Mountain. For guitar and voice. Format: guitar tablature
songbook. With guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal
melody, lyrics, chord names and guitar notation legend. Hard
rock. Series: Hal Leonard Guitar Recorded Versions. 72
pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.694958) See more info... |