Farewell, Leslie West

I was delighted to see your tribute to Leslie West in the April 2021 issue. I’ve been a big fan of his playing since Woodstock, even though Mountain didn’t appear in the movie (a whole ’nother story). Give me 10 seconds of Leslie playing two notes over the hundreds someone like Yngwie can squeeze into that same period. But, as mentioned in the article, it was on Howard Stern’s show where I got to know Leslie as a person. What a character. I remain a huge fan. One aspect of Leslie not fully expounded on in the article is his mentoring young guitarists. Although he wouldn’t describe it in those terms, Leslie was indeed an inspiration to up-and-coming musicians. He was the Rodney Dangerfield of guitar, always seeking to jam with anyone and willing to offer advice on how to further their lives and careers. Check out Unusual Suspects as an example. He will be sorely missed.

— Bennett Herdeman