January, 2010

Hi,
Mick Green has passed away. He was an influential guitar player for my generation of musicians. One of the first to capture the "American sound" back in the early 1960's. Here is an obituary I cut and pasted from one of the UK papers for those of you not familiar with Green.

Mick Green

Jan 11, aged 66. Guitarist with Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, the group he joined in 1962, two years after its chart-topping hit Shakin' All Over. Played on the band's 1964 number four hit I'll Never Get Over You. Influenced a generation of guitarists, among them Pete Townshend of The Who. Also worked with Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, and spent seven years as part of Engelbert Humperdinck's backing band. More recently worked as a session musician, featuring on Paul McCartney's 1999 album Run Devil Run, Bryan Ferry's Frantic (2002) and Van Morrison 's Keep It Simple (2008).

I first saw Mick Green play when I was fifteen years old....the year was 1962 or perhaps 1963? It was at a dance hall, The Wimbledon Palais. He was there as guitarist with Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. He played a double cutaway, reddish colored, Gibson les Paul Junior (I believe that is the name of the model...I used to know all this stuff when I was fifteen)....and he sounded great. The Wimbledon Palais had two stages...on the one stage an orchestra would play with the big band style and on the other stage the national touring rock acts would perform along with an opening act (the opening act for Johnny Kidd that night was The Outlaws with a young Ritchie Blackmore on guitar). But I was there to see Mick Green and he didn't disappoint me....the memory sticks with me even today. I never met him and if I had done I'd have told him this memory...I'm sure he would have enjoyed hearing it.

Let music sweeten our lives,

-Kim