Originally Posted by wetcamelfood (Post 749337)

Good point Mrpeabody, I'd like to take "British" out of my above quote too! :)

John

Originally Posted by mzero (Post 744921)

following this thread one thing that is interesting to think about here is why bb king has paid peter so many compliments about his playing, his tone and why peter was the only one of any number of more famous blues revialists that bbk seemed to look to for inspiration (or perspiration).

the obvious thing is pete's ability as a blues guitarist which was unique amongst his peers. the greatest white blues guitarist we've ever known. some may disagree with that as it is a matter of taste. but there are other things to consider. pete was a great singer, far better than any of the guitarists of his generation most of whom didn't sing at all (jimmy page, jeff beck) and even if they could hold tune weren't the lead singer in their own band (e.g., eric in cream). had he not been the player, pete could have been a professional blues or rock singer. but not only that, he was a writer as good or better than any of his peers (better than clapton, better than beck, as good or better than jimmy page). looking at the whole of peter's talent it is more clear why bb king held him in high regard above the rest. pete was the only one who had some of what bb had (has), a great player, a great singer and a great writer. i guess jimi hendrix had a range of talents similar to pete. but jimi wasn't as true a bluesman as peter. and of course jimi's heritage was closer to what you'd expect a great bluesman to be, not a charming jewish kid from london.

i don't know that i'm helping come up with a definitive quote for holly, but i do think that joe is onto something. the quote should imply something about the present and the future as much as it does about the past. peter is as much an influence now as he was in the 60's, he's very much still with us, and speaking for myself, always in our (my) hearts.

zero