Frampton may mean:

Places[link]

Canada[link]

• Frampton, Quebec

Australia[link]

• Frampton, New South Wales

UK[link]

Frampton (except in Lincolnshire) means "farmstead on the River Frome", of which there are several.

• Frampton, Dorset
• Frampton, Lincolnshire
• Frampton-on-Severn, Gloucestershire
• Frampton Cotterell, Gloucestershire
• Frampton Mansell, Gloucestershire
• Frampton, Vale of Glamorgan

People[link]

• Andrew Frampton (born 1979), English footballer
• Bob Frampton (born 1929), Canadian ice hockey player
• Cherry Frampton (born 1987), British glamour model
• Edward Reginald Frampton (1870–1923), English painter
• Eric Frampton (born 1984), American football player
• George Frampton (1860–1928), British sculptor
• Hollis Frampton (1936–1984), American filmmaker
• John Frampton (16th century), English merchant and translator
• Jordan Frampton (born 1985), British speedway rider
• Kenneth Frampton (born 1930), British architect
• Meredith Frampton (1894–1984), British painter
• Paul Frampton (born 1943), British theoretical physicist
• Peter Frampton (born 1950), British musician
• Robert Frampton (1622–1708), Bishop of Gloucester
• Roger Frampton (1948–2000), Australian jazz pianist

Other[link]

• Frampton (album), an album by Peter Frampton
• Frampton Comes Alive!, another Peter Frampton album

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Carl Frampton
Statistics
Real name	Carl Frampton
Nickname(s)	The Jackal, Brick Fists, The New Barry Mcguigan
Rated at	Super bantamweight
Height	5 ft. 5 in.
Nationality	Northern Irish
Born	(1987-02-21) February 21, 1987 (age 25) Tiger's Bay, Northern Ireland
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	14
Wins	14
Wins by KO	9
Losses	0
Draws	0
No contests	0

Medal record
Men’s Boxing
European Union Amateur Boxing Championships
Competitor for  Northern Ireland
Silver	Dublin 2007	Featherweight

Carl Frampton (born 21 February 1987 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is an Irish professional boxer who fights in the super bantamweight division, is managed by Barry McGuigan, and has been continuously linked to a possible domestic clash with unbeaten English rival Scott Quigg.^[1]

Amateur career[link]

As an amateur, Frampton fought out of the Midlands Boxing Club in Tigers Bay and won the Irish senior flyweight title in 2005 and added the 2009 Irish featherweight title beating David Oliver Joyce in the final, dropping Joyce in the 2nd and giving him a standing count in the 3rd.^[2]

He also claimed a silver medal at the 2007 European Union Amateur Boxing Championships in Dublin losing to France's Khedafi Djelkhir in the final.^[3] Carl is one of Ireland's most successful amateur boxers of recent years, winning over 100 hundred of his fights and losing only 8 times.

Professional career[link]

Frampton turned professional after his victory in the 2009 Irish featherweight finals. He moved to the Holy Family Golden Gloves Gym in North Belfast where he is trained by world renowned and award winning coach Gerry Storey and in June 2009, fought his first professional fight at the Olympia, Liverpool in England and beat Sandor Szinavel with a second round knockout on a card that included Grzegorz Proksa and Ajose Olusegan. In January 2010 he was named Ireland's Prospect of the Year at the Irish National Boxing Awards. In November 2010 he won his first professional title, the Celtic title, with a second round TKO win over Scottish boxer Gavin Reid in the Ulster Hall. He then went on to get a 4th round TKO win over Venezuelan Oscar Chacin, and fought his first defense of his BBBofC Celtic super bantamweight title against Welshman Robbie Turley on June 4 winning by 10 round UD.

Carl fought Australian Mark Quon as a replacement for Kiko Martinez on 10 September for the Commonwealth (British Empire) Super Bantamweight Title at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast winning by fourth round TKO stoppage.^[4] On the 28th of January 2012 Carl successfully defended his Commonwealth super-bantamweight title against Kris Hughes in the York Hall, with the fight having to be stopped in the seventh round. And on St. Patrick's Day once again defended his commonwealth super bantamweight championship against Ghana's Prosper Ankrah and won by second round TKO stoppage.

In his latest fight on May 26, 2012, Frampton beat fellow unbeaten contender Raúl Hirales, Jr. (16-0, 8 KO's) and won the vacant IBF Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight Title on the undercard of Carl Froch vs. Lucian Bute in Nottingham, UK.

References[link]

1. ^ Boxrec. "Carl Frampton". Boxrec Fighter Page. http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=499601&cat=boxer. Retrieved 1 March 2010. Boxrec Fighter Page
2. ^ Leonard Gunning. "Carl Frampton Gets Approval From Barry McGuigan". Boxing-Ireland.com. http://www.boxing-ireland.com/carl_frampton_1.html. Retrieved 1 March 2010. 
3. ^ "European Union Championships - Dublin, Ireland". EABA. http://amateur-boxing.strefa.pl/Championships/EuropeanUnion2007.html. Retrieved 1 March 2010. 
4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/14289499.stm

External links[link]

• Professional boxing record for Carl Frampton from BoxRec

Peter Frampton
Frampton in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Peter Kenneth Frampton
Born	(1950-04-22) 22 April 1950 (age 62) Bromley, Kent, England
Genres	Rock, hard rock, pop rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, talk box, keyboard, drums, bass
Years active	1966–present
Labels	A&M, Virgin, Atlantic, 33rd Street
Associated acts	Humble Pie, The Bee Gees, The Herd, Frampton's Camel, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
Website	www.frampton.com
Notable instruments
Peter Frampton Signature model Les Paul

Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English born naturalized American musician, singer, songwriter, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies in the United States alone and spawned several hits. Since then he has released several major albums.^[1] He has also worked with David Bowie and both Matt Cameron and Mike McCready from Pearl Jam, among others. Frampton is best known for such hits as "Breaking All The Rules", "Show Me the Way", "Baby, I Love Your Way", "Do You Feel Like We Do", and "I'm in You", which remain staples on classic-rock radio. He has also appeared as himself in television shows such as The Simpsons and Family Guy. Frampton is known for his work as a guitar player and particularly with a Talkbox and his tenor voice.

Early life[link]

Frampton was born in Bromley, England. He attended Bromley Technical High School,^[2] at which his father, Owen Frampton, was a teacher and the head of the Art department.^[3] He first became interested in music when he was seven years old. Upon discovering his grandmother's banjolele (a banjo-shaped ukulele) in the attic,^[4] he taught himself to play, and later taught himself to play guitar and piano as well. At age eight he started taking classical music lessons.^[5][6]

Early influences were Cliff Richard & the Shadows (featuring guitarist Hank Marvin) and American rockers Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, and then the Ventures, Jimi Hendrix, and The Beatles. His father introduced him to the recordings of Belgian gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.^[4][7]

Music career[link]

Early bands[link]

By the age of twelve, Frampton played in a band called The Little Ravens. Both he and David Bowie were pupils at Bromley Technical School. The Little Ravens played on the same bill at school as Bowie's band, George and the Dragons.^[5] Peter and David would spend time together at lunch breaks, playing Buddy Holly songs.^[5][8]

At the age of 14, Peter was playing with a band called The Trubeats followed by a band called The Preachers, produced and managed by Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones.^[5]

He became a successful child singer, and in 1966, he became a member of The Herd. He was the lead guitarist and singer, scoring a handful of British pop hits. Frampton was named "The Face of 1968" by teen magazine Rave.^[5][7][9]

In early 1969, when Frampton was 18 years old, he joined with Steve Marriott of The Small Faces to form Humble Pie.^[5][9]

While playing with Humble Pie, Frampton also did session recording with other artists, including: Harry Nilsson, Jim Price, Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as on George Harrison's solo All Things Must Pass, in 1970, and John Entwistle's Whistle Rymes, in 1972.^[9] During the Harrison session he was introduced to the 'talk box' that was to become one of his trademark guitar effects.^[10][11][12]

Solo career[link]

After five albums with Humble Pie, Frampton left the band and went solo in 1971, just in time to see Rockin' The Fillmore rise up the US charts.^[5] He remained with Dee Anthony, the same personal manager that Humble Pie had used.^[13]

His own debut was 1972's Wind of Change, with guest artists Ringo Starr and Billy Preston.^[7][9] This album was followed by Frampton's Camel in 1973, which featured Frampton working within a group project. In 1974, Frampton released Somethin's Happening. Frampton toured extensively to support his solo career, joined for three years by his former Herd mate Andy Bown on keyboards, Rick Wills on Bass, and American drummer John Siomos. In 1975, the Frampton album was released. The album went to #32 in the US charts, and is certified Gold by the RIAA.^[5]

Peter Frampton had little commercial success with his early albums. This changed with Frampton's breakthrough best-selling live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, in 1976, from which "Baby, I Love Your Way", "Show Me the Way", and an edited version of "Do You Feel Like We Do", were hit singles. The latter two tracks also featured his use of the talk box guitar effect. The album was recorded in 1975, mainly at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California, where Humble Pie had previously enjoyed a good following. Frampton had a new lineup, with Americans Bob Mayo on keyboards and rhythm guitar and Stanley Sheldon on bass. Wills had been sacked by Frampton at the end of 1974, and Bown had left on the eve of Frampton Comes Alive, to return to England and new fame with Status Quo. Frampton Comes Alive was released in early January, debuting on the charts on 14 February at number 191. The album was on the Billboard 200 for 97 weeks, of which 55 were in the top 40, of which 10 were at the top. The album beat, among others, Fleetwood Mac's Fleetwood Mac to become the top selling album of 1976, and it was also the 14th best seller of 1977. With sales of 6 million copies it became the biggest selling live album, although with others subsequently selling more it is now the fourth biggest. Frampton Comes Alive! has been certified as six times platinum.^{[6][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

The success of Frampton Comes Alive! put him on the cover of Rolling Stone, in a famous shirtless photo by Francesco Scavullo.^[22] Frampton later said he regrets the photo because it changed his image as a credible artist into a teen idol.^[23][24][25]

In late 1976 he and manager Dee Anthony visited the White House at the invitation of Steven Ford, the president's son.^[26] Frampton starred, with The Bee Gees, in producer Robert Stigwood's poorly received film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Frampton's career seemed to be falling as quickly as it had risen.^[5][7]

His following album, I'm in You (1977) contained the hit title single and went platinum, but fell well short of expectations compared to Frampton Comes Alive!.^[5]

Frampton suffered a near-fatal auto accident in the Bahamas in 1978 that marked the end of his prolific period and the beginning of a long fallow period where he was less than his old self. He returned to the studio in 1979 to record the album Where I Should Be. Among those contributing to the album were past band members Stanley Sheldon (bass), Bob Mayo (keyboards/guitar/vocals), Chad Cromwell (drums), and John Siomos (drums/vocals).^[5][6]

In 1980 his album Rise Up was released to promote his tour in Brazil, although he suffered another serious setback that year when all his guitars were destroyed in a cargo plane crash that killed three people. Among the instruments he lost was the treasured black Les Paul Custom (pictured on the cover of Frampton Comes Alive) given to him by Mark Mariana and first used on the night of the recording of the Humble Pie live album Performance, and which he had used all through his early solo career.^[27] The guitar was recovered and returned to him in December 2011.^[28] The album eventually turned into Breaking All the Rules, released the next year in 1981. These albums were the first he recorded almost completely live.^[29] In 1982 Frampton tried unsuccessfully to split his ties with A&M Records; he, however, re-signed with the label in 2006 and released his Grammy Award-winning Fingerprints.^[30]

Although his albums generally met with little commercial success, Frampton continued to record throughout the 1980s. He did, however, achieve a brief, moderate comeback of sorts in 1986 with the release of his Premonition album, and the single "Lying," which became a big hit on the Mainstream Rock charts. Most notably, he also united with old friend David Bowie, and both worked together to make albums. Frampton played on Bowie's 1987 album Never Let Me Down and joined the Glass Spider world tour.^[6][7][29]

Looking for that band experience again after touring with Bowie, Frampton kept referencing Steve Marriott, and at the beginning of 1991 rejoined his old Humble Pie mate for some shows (Marriott's last English gigs) at the Half Moon in Putney, London. The chemistry was still there for a while, as both Frampton and Marriott laid down some tracks in L.A. and prepared to do a "Frampton-Marriott" tour. However, Marriott abruptly returned to England in April (some^[who?] say he didn't want to do the Humble Pie thing, others^[who?] claim he would have returned to play with Frampton) but he died in a house fire less than 24 hours after his return. Broken up by Marriott's death, Frampton went off the road for a time, then reformed his old touring band with his old friends Mayo and John Regan (at least three songs, and possibly a fourth from the sadly ended Marriott-Frampton partnership were subsequently recorded; two ending up on Frampton's "Shine On" compilation, a third on his subsequent solo album.

In the late 1990s he starred in an infomercial plugging the internationally successful eMedia Guitar Method, a piece of instructional software represented as an alternative to taking actual guitar lessons. He claimed in the infomercial that the software was the best way to learn guitar.^[31]

In 1994 Frampton wrote and released the album Peter Frampton, the final version of which contained material recorded on Tascam cassette recorders. Originally released on the Relativity label, this record was re-released in 2000 by Legacy Records, with four bonus tracks and additional notes by Peter.

In 1995 Frampton released Frampton Comes Alive! II, which contained live versions of many of the songs from his 1980s and 1990s solo albums. Frampton Comes Alive! II was accompanied by a video release on DVD, recorded at The Fillmore Theatre on June 15, 1995. Although there was a large amount of marketing for the album, it did not sell well.^[31] After Frampton Comes Alive! II, he recorded and toured with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band,^[6] where he and Jack Bruce performed a cover version of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love".

Frampton performing in September 2006

In 2003, Frampton released the album Now, and embarked on a tour with Styx to support it. He also toured with The Elms, and even appeared in 2006 on the Fox Broadcasting variety show Celebrity Duets, paired with Chris Jericho of WWE fame. They were the first pair voted out.

On 12 September 2006 Frampton released an instrumental work titled Fingerprints. His band consisted of drummer Shawn Fichter, guitarist Audley Freed, bassist John Regan (Frampton's life long best friend,^[4]), and keyboardist/guitarist Rob Arthur, and guest artists such as members of Pearl Jam, Hank Marvin, and his bassist on Frampton Comes Alive!, Stanley Sheldon - the only member of the backing band on that album still alive.

On 11 February 2007 Fingerprints was awarded the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. In February 2007, he also appeared on the Chicago based PBS television show Soundstage.

Frampton released his fourteenth studio album, Thank You Mr. Churchill, on 27 April 2010.^[32] In summer 2010 he began touring North America with the English band Yes; the two acts had played stadium shows on a bill together in 1976. His 2010 band consisted of Rob Arthur (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), John Regan (bass), Adam Lester (guitar), and Dan Wojciechowski (drums).

He embarked on a UK Tour in March 2011 in support of his new album, visiting Leamington Spa, Glasgow, Manchester, London and Bristol.

Frampton went on tour in 2011 with The Frampton Comes Alive 35th Anniversary Tour that showcased and followed exactly the songs on the play list for the original tour from 1976, recorded for the famous Frampton Comes Alive!. The concerts each night started with the prerecorded thump of a microphone being turned on, familiar to many fans of the album, followed by the recorded voice of Jerry Pompili saying, "If there was ever a musician that was an honorary member of San Francisco society, Mr. Peter Frampton"...and then the crowd goes wild. He played the album song for song for 69 locations between June 15, 2011, and October 22, 2011, throughout the U.S.

Media appearances[link]

In 1978, Frampton played character "Peter Buckley" in an episode of Baa Baa Black Sheep entitled "A Little Bit of England".^[33]

In 1978, Frampton played Billy Shears in the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band starring along with the three brothers Gibbs of the band the Bee Gees.^[34] The movie was inspired by The Beatles album of the same name.

In 1996, Frampton appeared in an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Homerpalooza", in which he played "Do You Feel Like We Do".

He also made a TV appearance in the Family Guy episode "Death Lives", in which Peter Griffin asks Death to bring Peter Frampton to play "Baby, I Love Your Way" to his wife.

In 1999, Frampton appeared in "Blues Brothers 2000" as a member of a competing blues band.

Also in 2000, Frampton served as a technical advisor for Cameron Crowe's autobiographical film Almost Famous and also was the guitar instructor for Billy Crudup, who starred in the film as Russell Hammond, the guitarist for fictitious band "Stillwater." Crudup is quoted as saying, "Who could ask for a better tutor than Peter Frampton?" As an inside joke, he also appears briefly in the film as 'Reg', a road manager for Humble Pie, Frampton's real-life former band.^[7]

Frampton has made an appearance in a television commercial as well. He played a supporting role in a GEICO commercial, where he performed a small portion of "Do You Feel Like We Do".

On April 23, 2010, Peter Frampton became the all-time celebrity champion of the trivia game called No Apparent Reason, with five correctly answered questions on the nationally syndicated Mark and Brian Radio Program originating from KLOS Los Angeles. However, on May 5, 2010, Frampton was reduced to second place after only two short weeks by Luke Perry's answering six questions correctly.

On November 4, 2010, Frampton appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as one of her favorite musicians.

On October 21, 2011, Frampton was honored at Music City’s at Walk of Fame Park in Nashville, Tennessee.^[35]

In 2012 Frampton appeared in a Buick Verano commercial, playing himself.

Personal life[link]

Frampton has been married three times and has four children. His first marriage was to Mary Lovett (1972–1976). In June 1978, Frampton was involved in a near fatal car accident in the Bahamas, suffering multiple broken bones, a concussion and muscle damage. Dealing with the pain of the accident contributed to a brief period of drug abuse.^[5][6] He later married Barbara Gold (1983–93), with whom he had two children, Jade and Julian (who sang on Frampton's song "Road To The Sun" from Thank You Mr. Churchill). His third was to Tina Elfers (13 January 1996 – 22 June 2011), with whom he had two additional children, actress Mia Frampton who starred as Becca Keeler on Make It or Break It, and a step-daughter by the name of Tiffany Wiest.^[7] Frampton filed for divorce from Elfers in Los Angeles on June 22, 2011, citing irreconcilable differences.^[36]

Frampton has lived in London, Guatemala, and the USA, including Westchester County, New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville. He moved to Indian Hill, an eastern suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA in June 2000. This is the birthplace of his ex-wife Tina Elfers and the city in which they were married in 1996. They chose to live there to be closer to Tina's family.^[7] After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Frampton decided to become an American citizen. He made the change in 2004.^[25]

He is a strict vegetarian.^[37]

Discography[link]

• Wind of Change (1972)
• Frampton's Camel (1973)
• Somethin's Happening (1974)
• Frampton (1975)
• Frampton Comes Alive! (1976)
• I'm in You (1977)
• Where I Should Be (1979)
• Breaking All The Rules (1981)
• Art of Control (1982)
• Premonition (1986)
• When All the Pieces Fit (1989)
• Peter Frampton (1994)
• Now (2003)
• Fingerprints (2006)
• Thank You Mr. Churchill (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• "Peter Frampton". Official website. http://frampton.com/. 
• Peter Frampton at Allmusic
• Peter Frampton at the Internet Movie Database
• Fox Television Celebrity Duets season premier recap
• Audio interview at BBC Wiltshire
• Five audio interview segments with Peter Frampton from 1986
• Peter Frampton Live Photo Gallery

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2009)

Leslie West
Leslie West live at the Florida Theatre in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Leslie Weinstein
Born	(1945-10-22) October 22, 1945 (age 66) New York City
Genres	Rock, hard rock, blues-rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Sony, Blues Bureau International, Lightyear
Associated acts	Mountain, West, Bruce and Laing, The Vagrants
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Junior Dean Leslie West signature model Electra signature MPC model

Leslie West (born Leslie Weinstein on October 22, 1945) is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the hard rock band Mountain.

Biography[link]

West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence.^[1] After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West. His musical career began with The Vagrants, an R&B/Blue-eyed soul-rock band influenced by the likes of The Rascals that was one of the few teenage garage rock acts to come out of the New York metropolitan area itself (as opposed to the Bohemian Greenwich Village scene of artists, poets and affiliates of the Beat Generation, which produced bands like The Fugs and The Velvet Underground). The Vagrants had two minor hits in the Eastern US: 1966's "I Can't Make a Friend" and a cover of Otis Redding's "Respect" the following year.

Some of the Vagrants' recordings were produced by Felix Pappalardi, who was also working with Cream on their album Disraeli Gears. In 1969, West and Pappalardi would form the pioneering hard rock act Mountain, which was also the title of West's debut solo album. This was the second great "power trio" of the period, after Cream; Rolling Stone identified the band as a 'louder version of Cream'.^[2] With Steve Knight on keyboards and original drummer N. D. Smart, the band appeared on the second day of the Woodstock Festival on Saturday, August 16, 1969 starting an 11-song set at 9PM.

The band's original incarnation saw West and Pappalardi sharing vocal duties and playing guitar and bass, respectively. New drummer Corky Laing joined the band shortly after Woodstock. They had success with "Mississippi Queen", which reached #21 on the Billboard charts and #4 in Canada. It was followed by the Jack Bruce-penned "Theme For an Imaginary Western". Mountain is one of the bands considered to be forerunners of heavy metal music.^[3]

After the breakup of Mountain, West and Laing would produce two studio albums and a live release with Cream bassist Jack Bruce under the name West, Bruce and Laing. Mountain reformed in 1973 only to break up again in late 1974. But since 1981 it has continued to reform, tour and record on a regular basis.

West, along with keyboard player Al Kooper of Blood, Sweat & Tears, recorded with The Who during the March 1971 Who's Next New York sessions. Tracks included a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Baby Don't You Do It," and early versions of "Love Ain't For Keepin'" and The Who's signature track "Won't Get Fooled Again". Though the tracks were not originally included on the album (recording restarted in England a few months later without West or Kooper), they appear as bonus tracks on the 1995 and 2003 reissues of Who's Next and on the 1998 reissue of Odds & Sods.

West also played guitar for the track "Bo Diddley Jam" on Bo Diddley's 1976 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album.

Leslie West and Joe Bonamassa recorded Warren Haynes' "If Heartaches Were Nickels" together. West released it on Guitarded (2005), and Bonamassa on A New Day Yesterday (2000).

West contributed the music and co-wrote the lyrics to the song "Immortal" on Clutch's 2001 album Pure Rock Fury, which was a reworked cover of the song "Baby I'm Down" on Leslie West's first album.

In 2005 he contributed to Ozzy Osbourne's Under Cover album, performing guitar on a remake of "Mississippi Queen"

In addition to fronting Mountain, West continues to record and perform on his own. His latest solo album, entitled Blue Me, was released in 2006 on the Blues Bureau International label. In 2007 Mountain released Masters of War on Big Rack Records, an album featuring 12 Bob Dylan covers that sees Ozzy Osbourne providing guest vocals on a rendition of the title track.

West was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006.^[4]

West married his fiancée Jenni Maurer on stage after Mountain's performance at the Woodstock 40th anniversary concert in Bethel, New York (August 15, 2009). Over 15,000 people were present and the couple walked through a bridge of guitars held by Levon Helm, Larry Taylor and Corky Laing among others. West now lives in New Jersey.^[5]

Johnny Ramone, a fan of West, has called him, "one of the top five guitar players of his era".^[6]

West continues to make occasional appearances on radio, notably on Howard Stern's radio show.^[2]

In May 1987, West played the band leader in a series of late night pilot shows for Howard Stern on the FOX network. He taped a total of 5 shows with Stern, which never aired. Stern went on to form a new show dubbed the Channel 9 show without Leslie.

West was affectionately nicknamed "The King of Tone" by his legions of fans, referring to his influential and world renowned guitar tone. West was also nicknamed "The Fattest Fingers in Rock N' Roll", due to his large build.

On June 20, 2011 West had his lower right leg amputated as a result of complications from diabetes.^[7] Leslie made his 1st public appearance after his surgery on August 13, 2011 ^[8]

Equipment[link]

West is renowned for helping popularize use of the Gibson Les Paul Jr. guitar with P90 pickups, along with the use of Sunn Amplifiers, to create a tone which became his trademark sound.

Guitars[link]

West frequently used two Les Paul Juniors, one "TV Yellow" and the other a sunburst.^[9] West also used a modified Gibson Flying V, with the neck pickup removed (he used the hole for an ashtray) and a P90 fitted at the bridge position, West also had a two-pickup Flying V which he used after the ash tray vee broke (the s/n of that flying vee is s/n 906965).^{[clarification needed]} West also used a plexiglass Dan Armstrong for slide guitar.^[9]

From 1977 to 1982, he used a signature on-board effects MPC model guitar, created by the Japanese company Electra.^[9] He currently uses a signature model from Dean Guitars, the USA Soltero Leslie West Signature model,^[9] fitted with a custom-designed Dean pickup called "Mountain of Tone."

West has also long favored "headless" guitars, and can be seen playing them on some of the videos he has appeared in. In an interview segment on "Night Of The Guitars - Live!" West stated that he had narrowed his commonly played instruments down to two: an off-the-shelf Steinberger and an Ed Roman LSR with DiMarzio pickups. So impressed was he with the LSRs that he agreed to serve as spokesperson and defacto salesman, the specific styles with his name on them available only directly from Ed Roman or else from West himself. [1]

Amplifiers[link]

In 2005, West received a sponsorship with Carlsbro amplifiers, and could frequently be seen playing through "Carlsbro 50 Top" valve heads. His studio amplifier is a Marshall JMP. Live, he used Marshall JCM 900s. He started endorsing and using Budda Amplification in 2008.^[9] He was also associated with Sunn amplifiers, and used a Sunn Coliseum PA head, when it was shipped to him by accident. He claims that this is the amp that gave him his signature sound in this Gibson Interview with West.

Effects[link]

West uses octaver, chorus and delay effects.

Discography[link]

For his work with Mountain and West, Bruce and Laing, see their pages.

• 1969 Mountain
• 1975 The Great Fatsby
• 1976 The Leslie West Band
• 1988 Theme
• 1989 Alligator
• 1989 Night of the Guitar- Live!
• 1993 Live
• 1994 Dodgin' the Dirt
• 1999 As Phat as it Gets
• 2003 Blues to Die For
• 2005 Guitarded
• 2005 Got Blooze
• 2006 Blue Me
• 2011 Unusual Suspects (UK chart peak: #153)^[10][11]

A compilation of singles recorded in the 1960s by The Vagrants was released as The Great Lost Album in 1986. Mountain also recorded a live album entitled 'Mountain - Live' (1972 Island Music - ZCI 9199) The B-side features an 18 minute version of "Nantucket Sleighride".

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mountain Official site
• Audio Interview with Leslie West on Guitar Jam Daily
• Mountain Tour Archive