Leslie West, the hard-charging guitarist who headed the rock institution Mountain, has died. He was 75.
West reportedly died in Florida, of heart failure. He had longtime health issues. The death was confirmed Dec. 23 by his sponsor Dean Guitars.
West’s pioneering hard-rock group Mountain was identified by Rolling Stone as a “louder version of Cream.” Indeed, there was a strong connection between the New York band and the English supergroup, both power trios.
West, who started in the rock business with “Nuggets” band the Vagrants, formed Mountain in 1969 with former Cream producer Felix Pappalardi, who sang and played bass. West also sang in the group.
“I just took over where (Cream’s Eric) Clapton left off when he quit,” West once said.
The band played Woodstock (its third gig) and many of the underground rock era’s major pop festivals. Mountain’s biggest hit — still a classic rock staple — was the cowbell-driven big-riffer “Mississippi Queen.”
After Pappalardi left the band, they turned to Cream’s ace bassist and singer, Jack Bruce, morphing into an outfit called “West, Bruce and Laing.”
“I idolized Cream, and here was a chance to play with one of the best musicians in rock ‘n’ roll,” West told Guitar World.
Bruce and Cream lyricist Peter Brown had collaborated on the song “Theme for an Imaginary Western,” which a year later provided Mountain with one of its career highlights — the lengthy cinematic number appeared on the band’s debut “Climbing!” album as sung by Pappalardi. (A live version appeared on the “Woodstock 2” album.)
Another extended and stunning workout for Mountain was Pappalardi’s “Nantucket Sleighride,” a showcase for West’s playing. Originally running 6 minutes, the whaling tale provided the title of the band’s second album (1971). The song took up an entire side of the 1972 album “Live: The Road Goes Ever On.”
Both of these adventurous songs offered echoes of power trios such as Cream and the psychedelic era, while looking ahead to the hard rock of the 1970s. Along with Blue Cheer, Mountain is considered a seminal heavy metal band.
The psychedelic blues “Long Red” from West’s early solo album also has shown legs, sampled by a host of major rappers, including Jay-Z in “99 Problems.”
West continued to perform and record solo into the new century, as well as with versions of Mountain (Pappalardi died in 1983). West played the 40th anniversary Woodstock concert and got married onstage.
In 2011, the often overweight West had his lower right leg amputated as a result of diabetes. He continued to record and perform.
In addition to his work with Mountain, West released at least 16 solo albums. He appeared frequently on other artists’ recordings. He was a pal of Howard Stern and served as musical director for a failed TV pilot for the radio star.
Born in New York, West said he bought his first guitar with his bar mitzvah money. He was a large man who played a small guitar — back in the day, a Gibson Les Paul Jr. run through hot-wired Sunn amps for a unique, signature sound. Eddie Van Halen was a fan, praising West’s “incredible tone.”
Singer Dee Snider of Twisted Sister said, “Leslie West and Mountain are one of the founding fathers of heavy metal. … His voice and guitar will be silenced but his music will live forever.”
Survivors include his wife, Jenni Maurer, who was with West when he died Dec. 23 in South Florida, where he had recently moved.
Top photo by Heinrich Klaffs