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Peter Green

Photo: Nick contador (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

British

Peter Green

Also known as: Peter Allen Greenbaum

This artist is no longer with us.

Born: October 29, 1946, Bethnal Green, London, England · Died: July 25, 2020, Canvey Island, Essex, England• United Kingdom• Active: 1965–2004

British Blues BoomBlues Rock

The blues guitarist B.B. King called the only one who ever gave him "cold sweats" — the man who replaced Clapton in the Bluesbreakers, founded Fleetwood Mac, wrote "Black Magic Woman" and "Albatross," then walked away from fame entirely at the height of it.

B.B. King only ever said this about one white blues guitarist: "He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats." The guitarist was Peter Green, and by the time King said it, Green had already walked away from the biggest band in Britain at the peak of its fame — and largely disappeared (Kilde: Wikipedia). He was born Peter Allen Greenbaum on 29 October 1946 in Bethnal Green, East London, the youngest of four children in a Jewish family; his older brother Michael put a guitar in his hands, and he was mostly self-taught by eleven, gigging professionally by fifteen while working day jobs for East London shipping firms. He passed through a string of local bands — Bobby Dennis and the Dominoes, the Muskrats, the Tridents — before joining organist Peter Bardens's group Peter B's Looners in late 1965, where he first played alongside drummer Mick Fleetwood (Kilde: Wikipedia). In October 1965 Green briefly deputized for an absent Eric Clapton in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers; by July 1966 he had the job full-time, replacing Clapton outright after his departure for Cream. When producer Mike Vernon told Clapton's fans "don't worry, we got someone better," it sounded like blasphemy — and Green backed it up. Mayall nicknamed him "the Green God" (Kilde: Wikipedia). Dissatisfied with the Bluesbreakers' direction, Green formed his own band in 1967 with Mick Fleetwood on drums and slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer; bassist John McVie joined that September, completing the classic Fleetwood Mac lineup — a band literally named after its rhythm section. Between 1968 and 1970, Green wrote a run of songs that still define the era: "Black Magic Woman" (later a hit for Santana), the chart-topping instrumental "Albatross" (UK No. 1, 1969), "Oh Well," "Man of the World" and the eerie, minor-key "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)," reportedly written after a bad LSD trip in which he dreamed of a green dog he interpreted as a symbol of money's corrupting pull (Kilde: Wikipedia). His trademark guitar was a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, bought secondhand for £114 in the mid-1960s, whose neck pickup had somehow been installed slightly out of phase — producing a thin, nasal, instantly identifiable tone that became inseparable from Green's playing and was later nicknamed "Greeny." He eventually sold it to Gary Moore, who recorded a full tribute album of Green's songs on it; Metallica's Kirk Hammett bought the guitar from Moore's estate in 2014 (Kilde: Wikipedia). By 1969, heavy and increasingly indiscriminate LSD use — including, by his own account, a dose taken at a commune near Munich in March 1970 that he later cited as the turning point — was destabilizing him. He grew increasingly preoccupied with not accumulating personal wealth, began wearing robes and crucifixes, and played his final Fleetwood Mac show on 20 May 1970 before leaving the band he'd founded. He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and underwent electroconvulsive therapy through the mid-1970s; in 1977 he was arrested after an incident involving a shotgun and his accountant, born of confusion rather than malice. For years he lived in near-total obscurity, eventually moving in with his brother and mother near Great Yarmouth (Kilde: Wikipedia). Green re-emerged gradually from 1979 onward, and in the late 1990s formed the Peter Green Splinter Group, releasing nine blues albums between 1997 and 2004. Fleetwood Mac's classic lineup, Green included, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. He died in his sleep on 25 July 2020 on Canvey Island, Essex, at 73. A month before his death, an all-star tribute concert, "Peter Green and Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac," had been planned at the London Palladium. His influence runs through Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler and members of Radiohead; Rolling Stone ranked him 58th on its list of the greatest guitarists of all time, while Mojo magazine placed him third (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Musical Influence

Green's out-of-phase "Greeny" tone and songwriting ("Black Magic Woman," later a hit for Santana) fed directly into blues-rock's next generation via Gary Moore, while his abrupt 1970 departure at the height of Fleetwood Mac's fame remains one of rock's most-cited cautionary tales about fame and mental health (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

B.B. KingOtis RushFreddie King

Formative experiences

•1946: Born Peter Allen Greenbaum in Bethnal Green, East London, to a Jewish family. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•July 1966: Becomes full-time lead guitarist of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, replacing Eric Clapton. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1967: Forms Fleetwood Mac with Mick Fleetwood, Jeremy Spencer, and (from September) John McVie. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•1969: "Albatross" reaches No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•20 May 1970: Plays his final show with Fleetwood Mac before leaving the band. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
•25 July 2020: Dies in his sleep on Canvey Island, Essex, aged 73. (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Instruments & Equipment

Guitar

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard ("Greeny")

Bought secondhand for £114; the neck pickup was installed slightly out of phase, producing his signature thin, nasal tone. Later owned by Gary Moore, then Kirk Hammett.

Stories & Anecdotes

""The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" was reportedly written after a bad LSD trip in which Green dreamed of a green dog he interpreted as a symbol of money's corrupting hold on him. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"When producer Mike Vernon told Clapton's fans "don't worry, we got someone better" about his replacement, it was treated as blasphemy — until Green proved it true. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"Green's "Greeny" Les Paul owes its famous tone to an accident: the neck pickup had somehow been installed slightly out of phase, and Green kept it that way rather than fix it. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"In 1977, deep in mental illness, Green was arrested after an incident involving a shotgun and his accountant — born of confusion about a gun he mentioned owning, not malice. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

"B.B. King said Green was the only guitarist who ever gave him "the cold sweats." (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

Collaborators

Drummer; co-founded Fleetwood Mac with Green in 1967.

Bassist who joined September 1967, completing the band's namesake rhythm section.

Slide guitarist in the original Fleetwood Mac lineup.

Hired Green into the Bluesbreakers to replace Eric Clapton, 1966.

Bought Green's "Greeny" Les Paul and recorded a full tribute album of his songs.

Watch & Listen

Featured

Fleetwood Mac Peter Green — Albatross — live Amsterdam 1969 (HQ audio)

Gibbo

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac — Live 1968–70

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac — Live 1968–70

1970 Fleetwood Mac — Peter Green — The Green Manalishi, Live Sweden

1970 Fleetwood Mac — Peter Green — The Green Manalishi, Live Sweden

David Gilmour - Peter Green Tribute (Albatross) - 2020-02-25 - London Palladium

David Gilmour - Peter Green Tribute (Albatross) - 2020-02-25 - London Palladium

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac - "Oh Well" (live) (1969)

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac - "Oh Well" (live) (1969)

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

Year	Title	Producer	Studio	Label	Chart	Sales	Musicians	YouTube	Notes
1968	Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac	Mike Vernon	—	Blue Horizon	—	—	Mick Fleetwood (Drums), Jeremy Spencer (Slide guitar), John McVie (Bass)		Debut album, stayed on the UK charts for 37 weeks.
1968	Mr. Wonderful	Mike Vernon	—	Blue Horizon	—	—	Mick Fleetwood (Drums), John McVie (Bass)		Second album, recorded live-in-studio with a horn section.
1969	"Albatross" (single)	Mike Vernon	—	Blue Horizon	—	—	—		Instrumental single, reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.
1969	Then Play On	—	—	Reprise	—	—	Danny Kirwan (Guitar)		Includes "Oh Well"; Danny Kirwan joins as a third guitarist.
1970	"The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (single)	—	—	Reprise	—	—	—		Green's final single with the band before his departure, 20 May 1970.
1979	In the Skies	Peter Green	—	PVK	—	—	—		First solo album since re-emerging from his years away from music.
1997	The Robert Johnson Songbook	—	—	Snapper	—	—	—		First album by the Peter Green Splinter Group, covering Robert Johnson songs.

Famous songs

01Albatross

02Black Magic Woman

03Oh Well

04The Green Manalishi

Awards & Recognition

1998

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Inducted with Fleetwood Mac

External links

YouTube Music Wikipedia

Sources

Keep SlowBlues independent. Official merch — wear the blues.