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Peter Green

Today we will tell you about blues guitarist Peter Green who passed away at the age of 73.


(Photo: W.W.Thaler - H. Weber, Hildesheim)


Green (Greenbaum) - An English Jew was born in London as Peter Allen Greenbaum on October 29, 1946.


From a very young age, his brother Michael began to teach him to play the guitar, and at 11, Peter already began to teach himself.


At the age of 15, he played professionally, while at the same time working for a courier company.


He first played bass guitar in a band called "Bobby Dennis and the Dominoes" which played pop and rock n' roll hits, including "the Shadows" which Peter admired. He would later point out that guitarist Hank Marvin is his guitar hero.


In 1965 he played lead guitar in "Peter B's Looners", where he also met the drummer Mick Fleetwood. Yes, the band of Peter Bardens who would later join "Camel".


In October 1965 he served as Eric Clapton's replacement for four shows on John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. About a year later he became his regular replacement and among other things will record with the band the album "A Hard Road" from 1967.


Green will later rise to prominence as part of his band "Fleetwood Mac," which he co-founded with blues breakers bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood. Together with the band Green will release three albums.


Green has signed on for some of the band's greatest works including "Albatross", "Black Magic Woman", "Oh Well", "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" and "Man of the World".


Green's great success brought with it mental problems after he became addicted to LSD, which caused him schizophrenia. Green eventually left Fleetwood Mac in the early 1970s as the band continued to exist under the direction of John McVeigh and Mick Fleetwood.


At one point, Green came to Israel and even volunteered at the kibbutz, but he was unable to overcome his mental problems and when he returned to England he deteriorated, was arrested, and became homeless.


In the late 1970s, he recovered with his family's help and returned to perform and record.


On December 25, 1980, during Green's visit to Israel, he joined an impromptu recording session at Eshel Studios in Tel Aviv, together with Israeli musicians, including drummer Yossi Bozin, guitarist Shimon Holly, keyboardist Pima Schuster (Stella Maris), guitarist and singer Amir Ben David (AvTipus). Also present at the studio were Ofer Ackerling, Yoav Kutner, and sound technician Yoram Lev.


In June 1996, he was ranked third on the list of "the best guitarists of all time" in Mojo magazine.


In 1998, he was inducted into the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" as the founder of Fleetwood Mac.


In 1997 he formed the band "Peter Green Splinter Group" in which he played, among others, drummer Cozy Powell. Green will release several albums with the band until 2003.


Green, ranked 58th on "Rolling Stone" magazine's 100 greatest guitarists of all time, will be remembered as a musical genius who greatly influenced musicians and bands in the blues field but certainly not only, but even hard rock (Aerosmith) and metal (Judas Priest) artists performed his songs.


Green has released 6 albums as part of his solo career and has had a significant number of collaborations and guest appearances with artists such as: John Mayall, Eddie Boyd, B. B. King, Peter Gabriel, and more.


In 2016 Kirk Hammett from "Metallica" purchased Green's 1959 Les Paul guitar for a fantastic figure of $ 2 million. It was the same guitar that Gary Moore purchased from Green in the 1960s.


On July 25, 2020, Green died under natural circumstances at the age of 73. His family reported that he passed away peacefully in his sleep.


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