Bread was a rock band from Los Angeles, California. They placed 13 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1970 and 1977 and were a prime example of what later was labeled soft rock.
The band consisted of David Gates (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, violin, viola, percussion), Jimmy Griffin (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion), Robb Royer (bass, guitar, flute, keyboards, percussion, recorder, backing vocals), Mike Botts (drums; joined in 1970), and Larry Knechtel (bass, guitar, keyboards, harmonica; replaced Royer in 1971).
"The Guitar Man" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by the rock group Bread, of which Gates was a member. It first appeared on Bread's 1972 album, 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 number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. The song was a number-one hit on the easy listening chart, the third for the band on this chart (following "If" and "Baby I'm-a Want You").
The melody of the song is complex and is played by using 12 different chords, which is a rather high number for a pop song.
The song has been covered by David J on his 2003 album Estranged, Cake on their 2004 album Pressure Chief, Starflyer 59 on their 2007 vinyl collection Ghosts of the Future, and Bobby Bare, Jr. on his American Bread EP. Hank Marvin released his album Guitar Man with a cover version of the song.
Lyrics
Songwriters: DAVID GATES
Who draws the crowd and plays so loud,
Baby it's the guitar man.
Who's gonna steal the show, you know
Baby it's the guitar man,
He can make you love, he can make you cry
He will bring you down, then he'll get you high
Somethin' keeps him goin', miles and miles a day
To find another place to play.
Night after night who treats you right,
Baby it's the guitar man
Who's on the radio, you go listen
To the guitar man
Then he comes to town, and you see his face,
And you think you might like to take his place
Somethin' keeps him driftin' miles and miles away
Searchin' for the songs to play.
Then you listen to the music and you like to sing along,
You want to get the meaning out of each and ev'ry song
Then you find yourself a message and some words to call your own
And take them home.
He can make you love, he can get you high
He will bring you down, then he'll make you cry
Somethin' keeps him movin', but no one seems to know
What it is that makes him go.
Then the lights begin to flicker and the sound is getting dim
The voice begins to falter and the crowds are getting thin
But he never seems to notice he's just got to find
Another place to play,
Fade Away. Got to Play.
Fade Away. Got to Play.
I do not own the copyright to the band/music/images. This is just a fan made video for a fantastic song :)
This video is dedicated to my friend http://www.youtube.com/user/LauraPainting?feature=watch
RockOutWhatever...
