RIP Wilko Johnson, known for not using a pick but instead relying on fingerstyle, to play rhythm guitar riffs/solos while creating percussive sound

[basquebromance]

shame on us all for not helping him live longer. we unashamedly need to advocate for life-saving medicine

Rest in Power Mr Wilko Johnson - you fought the good fight, and had a damn good run. when they said it was over, you came back stronger. cheers bro

Wilko Johnson has died aged 75

Wilko Johnson, beloved singer-songwriter and guitarist for Dr Feelgood, passed away aged 75 this week, it has been confirmed.

www.nme.com

 

[Tommy Tainant]

shame on us all for not helping him live longer. we unashamedly need to advocate for life-saving medicine

Rest in Power Mr Wilko Johnson - you fought the good fight, and had a damn good run. when they said it was over, you came back stronger. cheers bro

Wilko Johnson has died aged 75

Wilko Johnson, beloved singer-songwriter and guitarist for Dr Feelgood, passed away aged 75 this week, it has been confirmed.

www.nme.com

Very sad.

 

[basquebromance]

 

[basquebromance]

this is a cool extended guitar riff

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Wilko Johnson obituary

Musician with Dr Feelgood whose stark chords and pin-sharp riffs made him one of the most distinctive of British rock guitarists

www.theguardian.com

This is an excellent obit.

 

[basquebromance]

“More than anything, Wilko
wanted to be a poet. I was
lucky to have known him
and have him as a friend.
His music lives on.”
Roger Daltrey

In 2013 Johnson was diagnosed with terminal
pancreatic cancer, but won the hearts of the world with
his bravery in the face of the disease, refusing
chemotherapy to undertake a farewell tour. When it
turned out that the cancer was less virulent than feared,
he underwent an 11-hour surgery to remove a gigantic
3kg tumour (“that’s the size of a baby!” he told the BBC),
after which he lived for almost a further decade

Known for a percussive, ‘finger-style’ approach to
guitar-playing, Johnson was among rock’s most instantly
identifiable guitarists. His choppy, simultaneous rhythm
and lead style was inspired by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates
guitarist Mick Green. Johnson sharpened Green’s
template to a razor’s edge, and in doing so paved the
way for punk and rebuilt the blues for a new generation

Despite a sharp intelligence and sensitivity, Johnson
projected a feral presence on stage. In the mid-1970s, as
rock music became more indulgent and pretentious, the
Feelgoods stripped it right back to the bare essentials:
no-nonsense rock’n’roll and cut-throat blues.

When an interviewer asked how he achieved his
trademark sound, Johnson simply shrugged and replied:
“I plug the guitar in here, turn on the amp and turn the
knob to here.”

When the interviewer asked: “What about pedals?” he
fired back: “I’m a guitarist not a fucking cyclist!”

A new generation of
punk bands were inspired by the Feelgoods’ aggression
and fat-free rock’n’roll. “Thousands of people play
a Telecaster because of Joe Strummer,” he told Guitarist
magazine. “Well, Joe played a Telecaster because of me!”
(Johnson, of course, played a Fender Telecaster because
of Mick Green.) The punks copied more than just
Johnson’s choice of guitar

At the Classic Rock Awards in 2013, when it was
believed that Johnson’s days were numbered, Jimmy
Page presented him with The Innovator award, an
acknowledgement for artists who pushed the envelope
and broke new boundaries.

“I saw Dr. Feelgood play live way back in the day,” said
Page, “and the stage presence, the act, was phenomenal.
I love Wilko’s style – I love everything about him! His
playing is just amazing. He’s just got the Telecaster and an
amp, and the amount of tone he gives out is incredible.
Wilko’s got the whole package. And he’s more fun to
watch than me.”

Still under the impression that he had just months to
live, Johnson guested with the Urban Voodoo Machine
on their ironic single Help Me Jesus. When Classic Rock
asked whether Johnson had considered suing the
medic who misdiagnosed him, he replied: “No. Had
he not done so then I wouldn’t have made the album
withRoger Daltrey,” referring to the pair’s 2014 record
Going Back Home.

“That whole experience led to one of the greatest years
of my life, in many ways,” he said later. “Facing death,
sitting there at three o’clock in the morning thinking:
‘Oh fuck, I’m going to die’, that’s something to experience.
But it wasn’t always like that. Most of the time I was in
a state of heightened consciousness. When you’re in that
position you look around you and think: ‘I’m alive and
it’s so beautiful.’

“There were lots of funny kicks during that year,
playing gigs – sometimes very big ones where you know
that everybody knows you’re going to die. And you can’t
go wrong, can you?” he said, laughing