Peter Green

The Green God, whose silence spoke louder than any shredder

Peter Green was born Peter Allen Greenbaum in 1946 in Bethnal Green, in London's East End. He started on bass in semi-professional groups before switching to lead guitar, inspired by American bluesmen and by Hank Marvin's melodic playing. In 1965 he briefly filled in for Eric Clapton in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. When Clapton left for good in 1966 to form Cream, Mayall hired Green full time. Some fans doubted that anyone could replace Clapton, but Green soon won them over with his expressive, restrained playing.

Green's one studio album with the Bluesbreakers, A Hard Road (1967), included his instrumental The Supernatural, whose long sustained notes pointed the way to his later style. That year he left to form Fleetwood Mac with drummer Mick Fleetwood and slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer, soon joined by bassist John McVie. Their 1968 debut was a big success in Britain. Green then wrote a remarkable run of hits: Black Magic Woman, the dreamy instrumental Albatross, which reached number one in the UK, Man of the World and Oh Well.

By 1969 Fleetwood Mac were one of the biggest bands in Britain. But Green was struggling with fame and money, and heavy LSD use worsened his fragile mental health. After a troubling episode in Munich, he played his last show with the band in May 1970. His farewell single, The Green Manalishi, was dark and haunting. He then released the experimental solo album The End of the Game and almost disappeared from public life. He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia and received hospital treatment during the 1970s.

In 1979 Green began a slow return, recording gentle albums such as In the Skies. Carlos Santana had already made Black Magic Woman world-famous, and Judas Priest's version of The Green Manalishi introduced him to metal fans. In 1998 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Fleetwood Mac. In the late 1990s he formed the Peter Green Splinter Group, recording and touring widely before retiring from the band in 2004. He died in his sleep on Canvey Island in July 2020, aged 73.

The 10 greatest Peter Green solos

1. 1
   The Super-Natural

   John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers · solo by Peter Green · 1967
2. 2
   Need Your Love So Bad

   Fleetwood Mac · solo by Peter Green · 1968
3. 3
   Albatross

   Fleetwood Mac · solo by Peter Green · 1968
4. 4
   Black Magic Woman

   Fleetwood Mac · solo by Peter Green · 1968
5. 5
   Oh Well

   Fleetwood Mac · solo by Peter Green · 1969
6. 6
   Man of the World

   Fleetwood Mac · solo by Peter Green · 1969
7. 7
   The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)

   Fleetwood Mac · solo by Peter Green · 1970
8. 8
   Rattlesnake Shake

   Fleetwood Mac · solo by Peter Green · 1969
9. 9
   Love That Burns

   Fleetwood Mac · solo by Peter Green · 1968
10. 10
    I Loved Another Woman

    Fleetwood Mac · solo by Peter Green · 1968

The sound

Green was a master of economy. Where others dazzled with speed, he chose few notes and let each one sing, with careful volume control, a slow, trembling vibrato and bends that hovered around the pitch like a human voice. He often let silence do the work, placing a phrase and then waiting. His tone was warm and hollow, with a unique out-of-phase quality from the reversed pickup magnet in his 1959 Les Paul, especially in the middle position. He drew on B.B. King and Otis Rush but added a haunting, melancholic mood of his own.

• 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard "Greeny" (guitar) His main Fleetwood Mac guitar, with the reversed neck-pickup magnet behind his out-of-phase tone. It later passed to Gary Moore and then Kirk Hammett.
• Harmony Meteor (guitar) A hollow-body he played in his early days.
• Fender Stratocaster (guitar) Played often during his 1990s comeback with the Splinter Group.
• Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion (guitar) A semi-hollow model he used in the 1980s and 1990s.
• Gibson ES-165 (guitar) A jazz-style archtop he played in his later career.

Covers

• The Stumble, originally by Freddie King A crisp, affectionate reading of the Freddie King instrumental.
• Someday After a While (You'll Be Sorry), originally by Freddie King A slow blues in which he sings and plays with quiet authority.
• Need Your Love So Bad, originally by Little Willie John He turned the R&B ballad into a string-laden blues showcase that became a British hit.
• Jumping at Shadows, originally by Duster Bennett A brooding slow blues that became a highlight of Fleetwood Mac's final Green-era shows.
• Robert Johnson songs, originally by Robert Johnson A whole album of reverent, lightly electrified readings of Delta blues classics.

Timeline

• 1946 Born Peter Allen Greenbaum on 29 October in Bethnal Green, London
• 1965 Briefly fills in for Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers
• 1966 Becomes a full-time member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
• 1967 Forms Fleetwood Mac with Mick Fleetwood and Jeremy Spencer
• 1969 Albatross tops the UK singles chart
• 1970 Plays his last show with Fleetwood Mac in May
• 1979 Returns with the solo album In the Skies
• 1998 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Fleetwood Mac
• 2004 Leaves the Peter Green Splinter Group
• 2020 Dies on 25 July on Canvey Island, aged 73

Facts

1. His birth surname was Greenbaum.
2. Fellow musicians nicknamed him the Green God, a play on Clapton's God nickname.
3. B.B. King praised him as having one of the sweetest tones he had ever heard.
4. Fleetwood Mac was named after its rhythm section, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.
5. Carlos Santana's hit version of Black Magic Woman made Green's song famous worldwide.
6. Judas Priest recorded a heavy metal version of The Green Manalishi.
7. His 1959 Les Paul was later owned by Gary Moore and then Kirk Hammett.
8. Mojo magazine readers once voted him the third-best guitarist ever.
9. Rolling Stone ranked him 58th on its list of the greatest guitarists.
10. His guitar collection was auctioned by Bonhams in 2023.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Peter Green (musician)