Earl Slick
Encyclopedia
Earl Slick is a guitarist
best known for his collaborations with David Bowie
, Jim Diamond
and Robert Smith
, although he has also worked with other artists (John Lennon
: Double Fantasy, Milk and Honey, Yoko Ono
), John Waite
, and even released some solo recordings.
In the early 1970s, Earl Slick gained his reputation on New York music scene as a talented, skillful rock guitarist while playing in a band called Mack Truck featuring both singer/songwriter Jimmie Mack and his brother drummer Jack Mack. His work with Scottish singer/songwriter Jim Diamond was as the duo Slick Diamond. They toured and gave performances for a short time in the late 1970s.
Slick was initially hired by David Bowie to replace Mick Ronson
as lead guitarist for the Diamond Dogs
tour in 1974 (the live album David Live
was culled from this tour). Slick also played lead guitar on Bowie's Young Americans
and Station To Station
albums, released in 1975 and 1976 respectively. It was Slick's powerful playing that made the latter album's "Stay" an enduring favourite of fans of Bowie and of guitar virtuosity alike. After running afoul of Bowie's management, Slick was replaced as lead guitarist for the Station To Station tour (1976), his role being taken by Stacey Heydon. Slick continued as a session musician, working for Leo Sayer
, Ian Hunter
, John Lennon
, and Yoko Ono
, but also formed his own solo band.
Slick returned to Bowie for 1983's Serious Moonlight tour, which supported the Let's Dance album. Ironically, Slick, who had been ousted as lead guitarist from Bowie's 1976 tour, was the last-minute lead-guitarist replacement for this 1983 tour, substituting for Stevie Ray Vaughan
.
Slick then formed Phantom, Rocker & Slick
with Slim Jim Phantom
and Lee Rocker
.
In 1990, Slick was in the collaboration Dirty White Boy
which only saw one album, Bad Reputation
(1990), and industry showcases in London
and Los Angeles
.
The early 2000s saw Slick return to Bowie's roster, appearing on the tours supporting the Heathen (2002) and Reality (2003) albums. He also played briefly in Little Caesar
in 1991-92. For some time he was a member of both The Eons and Slinky Vagabond. In 2006 he began an association with singer and songwriter Saphin, a project which became the duo The Eons. Slinky Vagabond are Glen Matlock
, Clem Burke
, and Keanan Duffty. Slinky Vagabond (the name comes from the lyrics to the David Bowie song "Young Americans
") played their debut concert at the Joey Ramone
Birthday Bash in May 2007.
On February 11, 2011, UK-based Noble PR announced Slick had joined the New York Dolls
for their March UK tour. New York Dolls' rhythm guitarist Sylvain Sylvain
confirmed the report, "We made some calls and now we finally have got Earl Slick playing guitar. So Earl's going to be joining us for the upcoming tour. He's the newest member of the New York Dolls, if I can put that right now."
marketed by Guitar Fetish.
In January 2011, Framus International
announced the release of the Earl Slick Signature Model guitar which debuted at the Winter 2011 NAMM show in Anaheim, California
.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
best known for his collaborations with David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Jim Diamond
Jim Diamond (Scottish musician)
James "Jim" Diamond is a Scottish singer-songwriter. Diamond is best known for his three Top 5 hits. The first was "I Won't Let You Down" , as the lead singer in the trio Ph.D., with Tony Hymas and Simon Phillips. His solo performance, "I Should Have Known Better", was a United Kingdom number one...
and Robert Smith
Robert Smith (musician)
Robert James Smith is an English musician. He is the lead singer, guitar player and principal songwriter of the rock band The Cure, and its only constant member since its founding in 1976...
, although he has also worked with other artists (John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
: Double Fantasy, Milk and Honey, Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
), John Waite
John Waite
John Charles Waite is an English rock singer and musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored several international hits, including 1984's "Missing You", a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, reaching #1 in the...
, and even released some solo recordings.
In the early 1970s, Earl Slick gained his reputation on New York music scene as a talented, skillful rock guitarist while playing in a band called Mack Truck featuring both singer/songwriter Jimmie Mack and his brother drummer Jack Mack. His work with Scottish singer/songwriter Jim Diamond was as the duo Slick Diamond. They toured and gave performances for a short time in the late 1970s.
Slick was initially hired by David Bowie to replace Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
as lead guitarist for the Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs is a concept album by David Bowie, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Thematically it was a marriage of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Bowie's own glam-tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world...
tour in 1974 (the live album David Live
David Live
David Live is David Bowie’s first official live album, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Recorded on the initial leg of Bowie’s US tour supporting Diamond Dogs in July of that year , it has been cited as one of the best live...
was culled from this tour). Slick also played lead guitar on Bowie's Young Americans
Young Americans (album)
Young Americans, released in 1975, shows off David Bowie’s 1970’s shift to his “obsession” with soul music . For this album, Bowie let go of the influences he had drawn from in the past, replacing them with sounds from “local dance halls”, which, at the time, were blaring with “…lush strings,...
and Station To Station
Station to Station
Station to Station is the tenth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released by RCA Records in 1976. Commonly regarded as one of his most significant works, Station to Station is also notable as the vehicle for Bowie's last great 'character', The Thin White Duke...
albums, released in 1975 and 1976 respectively. It was Slick's powerful playing that made the latter album's "Stay" an enduring favourite of fans of Bowie and of guitar virtuosity alike. After running afoul of Bowie's management, Slick was replaced as lead guitarist for the Station To Station tour (1976), his role being taken by Stacey Heydon. Slick continued as a session musician, working for Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer is a British singer-songwriter, musician, and entertainer whose singing career has spanned four decades. Sayer became a naturalised Australian citizen in 2009. Sayer was a top singles and album act on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1970s...
, Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (singer)
Ian Hunter Patterson is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer of the English rock band Mott the Hoople from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and he again fronted them at the time of their 2009 reunion. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before Mott The Hoople, and...
, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, and Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
, but also formed his own solo band.
Slick returned to Bowie for 1983's Serious Moonlight tour, which supported the Let's Dance album. Ironically, Slick, who had been ousted as lead guitarist from Bowie's 1976 tour, was the last-minute lead-guitarist replacement for this 1983 tour, substituting for Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
.
Slick then formed Phantom, Rocker & Slick
Phantom, Rocker & Slick
Phantom, Rocker & Slick was an American rock band active in the mid-1980s. The bandmembers were drummer Slim Jim Phantom, bassist Lee Rocker, and guitarist Earl Slick. Phantom and Rocker had previously played together as members of the Stray Cats...
with Slim Jim Phantom
Slim Jim Phantom
Slim Jim Phantom is the drummer for Stray Cats. Alongside band mates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s.-Biography:...
and Lee Rocker
Lee Rocker
Lee Rocker is an American rockabilly double bass player. He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker and Naomi Drucker. His sister Roseanne is a country music singer-songwriter...
.
In 1990, Slick was in the collaboration Dirty White Boy
Dirty White Boy (band)
Dirty White Boy was a short-lived, bluesy sleaze rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, USA in 1988. The band released an album called Bad Reputation in 1990 and toured the U.S.A...
which only saw one album, Bad Reputation
Bad Reputation (Dirty White Boy album)
Bad Reputation is the name of a 1990 Sleaze Rock album by the band Dirty White Boy. It was the only album released by the band and spawned two singles "Let's Spend Momma's Money" and "Lazy Crazy" although due to the changing music scene at the time to Grunge neither were successful. The album was...
(1990), and industry showcases in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
The early 2000s saw Slick return to Bowie's roster, appearing on the tours supporting the Heathen (2002) and Reality (2003) albums. He also played briefly in Little Caesar
Little Caesar (band)
-History:The band was founded late in the 1980s by Ron Young, who had previously worked as a nightclub bouncer. The group independently released an EP which led to their signing with DGC Records, a subsidiary of Geffen Records, in 1989. John Kalodner did A&R work for the group, and Bob Rock...
in 1991-92. For some time he was a member of both The Eons and Slinky Vagabond. In 2006 he began an association with singer and songwriter Saphin, a project which became the duo The Eons. Slinky Vagabond are Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock is an English bass guitarist most famous for being in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. Drummer Paul Cook has said that Matlock came up with much of the music for the band's songs and most of the lyrics, while lead singer Johnny Rotten made some adjustments...
, Clem Burke
Clem Burke
Clem Burke is an American musician who is the drummer for the band Blondie. Recruited by Chris Stein and Debbie Harry when they were first forming Blondie, Burke remained with the band through its first stage and later returned for its late 1990s reunion and then its extensive 2009 tour.Following...
, and Keanan Duffty. Slinky Vagabond (the name comes from the lyrics to the David Bowie song "Young Americans
Young Americans (song)
"Young Americans" is a single by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released in 1975. It is included in the album with the same name.-History:...
") played their debut concert at the Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone
Joey Ramone was an American vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.-Early life:Joey Ramone was born Jeffry Hyman to parents Noel and Charlotte Hyman...
Birthday Bash in May 2007.
On February 11, 2011, UK-based Noble PR announced Slick had joined the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
for their March UK tour. New York Dolls' rhythm guitarist Sylvain Sylvain
Sylvain Sylvain
Sylvain Sylvain is an American rock guitarist, most notable for being a member of the New York Dolls.-Early years:...
confirmed the report, "We made some calls and now we finally have got Earl Slick playing guitar. So Earl's going to be joining us for the upcoming tour. He's the newest member of the New York Dolls, if I can put that right now."
Solo discography
- The Earl Slick Band (1976)
- Razor Sharp (1976)
- Silver Condor (1981)
- In Your Face (1991)
- Lost and Found (2000)
- Live '76 (2001)
- Slick Trax (2002)
- Zig Zag (2003)
Amps
- Earl has a Sommatone signature model custom built to his specifications called the "Slick 18." He owns the first production model with Orange Tolex
- Custom Red Sommatone Roaring 40 Head and 2x12 Open Back Cabinet
Pickups
- Earl uses DiMarzio pickups in his Gibson and his custom guitars. Pickups used: DiMarzio HS-2, PAF Pro, Super Distortion, DiMarzio Soapbar
Endorsements and Other Ventures
In 2010, Slick announced that he had begun marketing his own line of customized guitar straps, called Slick Straps, in an exclusive distribution deal with Guitar Fetish, an online guitar customizing and shop. In addition to the Slick Straps line, Slick has been quoted as endorsing the GFS line of guitar effects pedalsEffects unit
Effects units are electronic devices that alter how a musical instrument or other audio source sounds. Some effects subtly "color" a sound, while others transform it dramatically. Effects are used during live performances or in the studio, typically with electric guitar, keyboard and bass...
marketed by Guitar Fetish.
In January 2011, Framus International
Framus
Framus is a German guitar, bass, lap steel guitars and banjo manufacturing company, that existed from 1946 until going bankrupt in 1975. The Framus brand was revived in 1995 as part of Warwick GmbH & Co Music Equipment KG in Markneukirchen ....
announced the release of the Earl Slick Signature Model guitar which debuted at the Winter 2011 NAMM show in Anaheim, California
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
.
External links
- Earl Slick on MySpace Official MySpace
- DiMarzio Players Page http://dimarzio.com/site/#/players/