Black Magic Woman
Peter Allen Greenbaum (29 October 1946 – 25 July 2020),[1][2] known professionally as Peter Green, was an English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist.[3] As the founder of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Green founded Fleetwood Mac in 1967 after a stint in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and quickly established the new band as a popular live act in addition to a successful recording act, before departing in 1970. Green's songs, such as "Albatross", "Black Magic Woman", "Oh Well", "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" and "Man of the World", appeared on singles charts, and several have been adapted by a variety of musicians.
Green was a major figure in the "second great epoch"[4] of the British blues movement. Eric Clapton praised his guitar playing, and B.B. King commented, "He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats."[5][6][7] His trademark sound included string bending, vibrato, and economy of style.[4][8]
In June 1996, Green was voted the third-best guitarist of all time in Mojo magazine.[9][10] In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked him at number 58 in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[11] Green's tone on the instrumental "The Super-Natural" was rated as one of the 50 greatest of all time by Guitar Player in 2004.[12]
Green was a major figure in the "second great epoch"[4] of the British blues movement. Eric Clapton praised his guitar playing, and B.B. King commented, "He has the sweetest tone I ever heard; he was the only one who gave me the cold sweats."[5][6][7] His trademark sound included string bending, vibrato, and economy of style.[4][8]
In June 1996, Green was voted the third-best guitarist of all time in Mojo magazine.[9][10] In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked him at number 58 in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".[11] Green's tone on the instrumental "The Super-Natural" was rated as one of the 50 greatest of all time by Guitar Player in 2004.[12]
1946–1965: Early life and careerPeter Allen Greenbaum was born in Bethnal Green, London, on 29 October 1946, into a Jewish family,[13] the youngest of Joe and Ann Greenbaum's four children. His brother, Michael, taught him his first guitar chords and by the age of 11 Green was teaching himself. He began playing professionally by the age of 15, while working for a number of East London shipping companies. He first played bass guitar in a band called Bobby Dennis and the Dominoes, which performed pop chart covers and rock 'n' roll standards, including Shadows covers. He later stated that Hank Marvin was his guitar hero and he played the Shadows' song "Midnight" on the 1996 tribute album Twang. He went on to join a rhythm and blues outfit, the Muskrats, then a band called the Tridents in which he played bass. By Christmas 1965 Green was playing lead guitar in Peter Bardens' band "Peter B's Looners", where he met drummer Mick Fleetwood. It was with Peter B's Looners that he made his recording début with the single "If You Wanna Be Happy" with "Jodrell Blues" as a B-side.[14] His recording of "If You Wanna Be Happy" was an instrumental cover of a song by Jimmy Soul.[15] In 1966, Green and some other members of Peter B's Looners formed another act, Shotgun Express, a Motown-style soul band which also included Rod Stewart, but Green left the group after a few months.[2]