Guest Book

Gosh, what fun reading y'all have provided today! 🙂 I'll agree with the notion that Duane was one of a kind, and there is no telling where he would have gone, musically speaking, if he had stayed with us. I think his playing would have fit right in on some of Miles Davis' electric fusion stuff of the early and mid 70's. And as CeeCee pointed out, the effects of his leadership on the music can't be overstated. To use a sports metaphor, I would compare Duane to some of the more influential athletes over the years, in that he makes those around him play better. Think about that. Powerful stuff. Not only to lend one's considerable individual talents to the collective output, but to also have the intrinsic ability to coax the best possible performances out of those around you, perhaps even better efforts than some others knew they had in 'em. Has Wilson Pickett ever sounded better than on "Hey Jude"? Aretha on "The Weight"? Boz Scaggs on "Loan Me A Dime"? Hell, Clapton on "Layla", for that matter? Did the Duane factor push these performers to heights that might not have otherwise been realized? No way of knowing for sure, but still, there is no doubt in my mind that having Duane involved on ANY project automatically made it a five star affair. EAPFP .