Peter Green

One of my ‘pet projects’ during the quarantine was to reacquaint myself with early British Blues gutarist and groups.  With that in mind among some of my recent purchases were John Mayall ‘Live in 1967’ vol 1&2 LP’s, Fleetwood Mac Before the Beginning 1968-1970 Live and Demo Sessions, Fleetwood Mac The Warehouse Tapes.  I mention these because they all feature Peter Green, and while the recordings are not typical quality/audiophile productions they really give a fantastic glimpse into Peters early days trying to fill the shoes of Eric Clapton.  As a few have already mentioned he was a total success.  As a pure blues guitarist I would have to rank him top of the British players back in the 60’s and early 70’s. I saw the Amazon documentary Peter Green: Man of the World several days ago and it conveys the impression that he had found a certain sense of peace after his turbulent days dealling with his health issues.  So sad to read of his passing.  RIP Peter!

Unfortunately, among the skewed thinking brought on by Peter's mental illness was the idea that it was improper for him to continue playing blues; that he was culturally appropriating music that should only be played by black people.

I do understand the sentiment behind that feeling, but even the black artists don't agree on the subject. As a black artist, it had to hurt when a white performer reaped monetary rewards from playing a song that earned them next to nothing. On the other hand, there are black artists who are grateful that their music had been rediscovered in the process.

At any rate, it is evident that the pinnacle of Mr. Green's talent lay in the blues. While we savor Peter Green's immense contribution to the world of music, one can only imagine the amazing catalog of music that was not to be. 
 

He was a very interesting person. Very talented but many demons it seems.

I’ve seen the documentary and recall he had a tough go of it but that seems like a totally rational conclusion to draw about some getting rich and others not based purely on ethnic factors.

I think he was a more complex person than many seem to give him credit for. But no doubt his ability to function was affected by his mental state.

An interesting story about Peter Green revolves around his 1959 Les Paul.  This is the guitar he used with John Mayall and for most of Fleetwood Mac recordings.  Some guitar geeks consider this model the holy grail of Les Pauls.  And the one used by a famous, trend setting guitarist makes it even more valuable.  So Green decides he doesn't want to play music anymore and looks to get rid of his equipment.  He offers the guitar to Gary Moore, but only at a specific price.  He tells Moore that he paid $345 for the guitar and he would only sell it for the same amount.  Moore agreed.  Years later Kirk Hammet of Metallica purchased the instrument for $2 million.  Green was a great musician and a highly principled man.