Leslie West has gained fame the world over during
his 30-plus year career as one of the most innovative and influential musicians
in the history of rock music. He is most noted for his role as leader
of the explosive hard rock trio, Mountain, which was named by VH-1 as one
of the Top 100 Hard Rock Groups of all time. With Mountain, he
climbed the heights of rock stardom on the strength of a unique, signature
guitar sound and classic songs such as “Mississippi Queen”, “Never
In My Life” and “Theme From An Imaginary Western”,and Nantucket
Sleighride which are still staples of rock radio to this day.
Leslie has earned the admiration of a long list of famous peers. During
his career, he has recorded or played with a litany of rock icons including
Billy Joel, Van Halen, The Who, Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix, to name just
a few. In fact, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Schenker and Richie Sambora
have all cited Leslie as an important influence on their own music.
Leslie’s bold, expressive and unique guitar
style is really a mirror of his own personality. Spend a little time
talking with this larger-than-life figure, and you’ll realize that he
is as charismatic without a guitar in his hands as he is with one. Possessing
a sharp sense of humor, he is at once gregarious and gruff while recounting
stories from his legendary past. And when discussing his newest projects,
he exudes an infectious enthusiasm and excitement.
But Leslie has never been one to rest on his
impressive laurels. His boundless creativity has often involved him
in projects that take him outside his traditional roles of guitarist, singer
and songwriter. In 1986, he acted alongside Tom Hanks and Shelley
Long in the hit comedy film, The Money Pit and has lent his
distinctive voice to the popular animated series, Beast Wars Transformers
which ran for three seasons on the WB network beginning in 1996 before
going into syndication. He has also contributed the theme music to the
new WB show, Mutant X. Leslie has long been a popular personality
on the Howard Stern Radio Show and was Musical Director for the shock jock’s
FOX series, as well as for the late comedian Sam Kinison. Most recently,
he lent his production and songwriting skills to an album by Atlantic Records’
modern rock group, Clutch, and has just released his own instructional guitar
DVD, Big Phat Ass Guitar. Leslie West has been a creative force for over
three decades and shows no sign of losing his ambition or his desire to continually
reinvent himself. His ability to adapt his creative spirit to a diverse
range of projects is a key ingredient in the longevity of this multi-faceted
entertainer’s success.
