'A friend of a friend of ...': Greg Douglass

The year 1977 was a memorable one for me.  I started earning some decent money (for a teenager working part-time, anyway), and part of the money I earned was put toward padding my collection of vinyl record albums.  It was in 1977 that "Book of Dreams" was released by the Steve Miller Band, and I snapped it up.  I'm sure I still have it in my collection to this day.

Greg Douglass

A big part of what sold me on the album was the song "Jungle Love."  Thirty-five years later, I could claim that one of the song's writers and performers, guitarist Greg Douglass, is a "friend of a friend" of mine on Facebook.

All these years later, "Jungle Love" still gets played at a Steve Miller show, and if Douglass happens to be in the crowd catching the show he just might get called up to the stage to play the tune he co-wrote with Lonnie Turner years ago.  Not too long ago, Douglass was hesitant to talk about hooking up with Miller again for fear of coming across as a "name-dropper."  No, saying you're a "friend of a friend of ..." is being a name-dropper.  Having a part in writing one of the Steve Miller Band's greatest hits is being a part of rock music history.

But -- as they say on late-night infomercials -- that's not all.  Douglass' guitar playing can be found on the 1983 hit song "Jeopardy" by the Greg Kihn Band.  He's played with the likes of Hot Tuna, Van Morrison, Eddie Money, Terry & The Pirates, John Cipollina from Quicksilver Messenger Service, Duane Eddy, Dave Mason, Rick Derringer, Nicky Hopkins ... some rock-and-roll heavyweights.

Douglass is still active, performing and teaching his art.  Click on a YouTube video of him out there and you might find a few comments from a student of his, excited to see their teacher playing for the world to see.  And he's still selling CDs.

In fact, this Friday night, August 9, he'll be doing a special show at the Art House Gallery & Cultural Center at 2905 Shattuck Ave, in Berkeley.  Doors open at 7:30 p.m. with an 8:00 show time.

Time to remember the hands in the studio

Andy Johns died Sunday at the age of 61.  An official cause of death hasn't been released yet, but it's been reported that he was hospitalized last week with liver problems.

Andy Johns

Any music fans who've spent a considerable amount of time reading through the credits while listening to some of the greatest tunes in rock history will know the name Andy Johns.  He engineered and produced some of the classic songs and albums to have ever been recorded in popular music by some of the giants -- The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Humble Pie, Free, Van Halen, Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull, Steve Miller, on and on.

"Exile On Main Street."  "Sticky Fingers."  Led Zeppelin IV.  "Houses of the Holy."  "Physical Graffiti."  "Shadows and Light."  "Stand Up."  The list of albums boasting Andy Johns' name as an engineer or producer is long, as it's been with his brother Glyn.  These are the names that rock music fans remember, especially among the hard-core audiophiles.  They're the ones parked between the speakers or with headphones slapped on their ears, digging not just the quality of the music being played but the quality of the sound being brought out from their musical heroes -- coming from the producer who's a "jack of all trades" and who knows how to coax the best out of the musicians, and the engineer who knows how to record it all in pristine condition.

That's the kind of thing Andy Johns did.  He may not have had the face or the name that so many people would recognize.  Nevertheless, music fans owe him a big "thank you."

 His work is worth remembering.  It's too bad we can't go through it all, but it would take too long.