The Guitar Man

"The Guitar Man"
Song

"The Guitar Man" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by the pop/rock group Bread, of which Gates was a member. It first appeared on Bread's 1972 album, which was titled Guitar Man. The song is a mixture of the sounds of soft rock, including strings and acoustic guitar, and the addition of a wah-wah effect electric guitar, played by Larry Knechtel. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, and spent nine weeks in the Top 40. The song was a #1 hit on the adult contemporary chart, the third #1 on this chart for the band (following "If" and "Baby I'm-a Want You").

The song has been covered by David J on his 2003 album Estranged, Cake on their 2004 album Pressure Chief, The Kyle Hunt Band on their 2003 My Way album, Starflyer 59 on their 2007 vinyl collection Ghosts of the Future, and Bobby Bare, Jr. on his "American Bread EP".

Personnel (Bread version)

• David Gates - vocals, bass
• James Griffin - guitar, keyboards
• Larry Knechtel - keyboards, lead guitar
• Mike Botts - drums

References

• The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition, 1996