On Tuesday of this week, I pulled up several YouTube videos of rock stars who were at the top of their game in the ’70s and had a deep influence on a later generation of musicians. One of them was a video of former Mountain frontman Leslie West and another rock legend, Peter Frampton, jamming on Mountain’s biggest hit, the bone-rattling “Mississippi Queen”. It brought back a decades-old memory when I saw Mountain perform at an all-day rock festival (my first rock concert). Only a few months after the band’s performance at Woodstock, Mountain came to my hometown’s concert arena and (almost literally) shook its foundation. The concrete floor beneath my feet was vibrating from the sonic blast delivered by West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer Corky Laing.
I mention this because of the sad news that West passed away on Wednesday at the age of 75 in Palm Coast, Fla. The cause of death was attributed to cardiac arrest, following a history of ill health including the amputation of his lower right leg from complications due to diabetes.
West, whose real last name was Weinstein, was an anomaly when it came to ’70s rock guitarists, most of whom were skinny kids in flashy clothes. Fans, however, couldn’t have cared less about West’s beefy figure. It was his guitar virtuosity that mesmerized crowds, providing the needed heft to lift songs like “Mississippi Queen”, “Theme for an Imaginary Western” and other Mountain hits. Rolling Stone once wrote that Mountain’s goal was to play louder than British hard rock power trio Cream. In fact, Cream was an inspiration for the band. In one interview, West said he was influenced to form Mountain after he attended a Cream concert, with guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist and lead vocalist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker creating their trademark thunderous jams. The Cream connection didn’t stop there: Mountain’s Pappalardi also co-wrote and produced Cream songs.
After the demise of Mountain, West joined Bruce and Mountain drummer Laing to form another hard rock trio, which seemed to be the formula for rock bands in the early and mid-70s. After the band’s breakup, West continued to play with other bands and contributed guitar work on a number of artists’ records.
R.I.P. Leslie.