Peter Lang (born January 6, 1948) is an acoustic guitarist who recorded for

Takoma Records Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by guitarist John Fahey in the late 1950s.

with John Fahey and

Leo Kottke Leo Kottke (born September 11, 1945) is an acoustic guitarist. He is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. He overcame a series of personal obstacles, including parti ...

Biography

Peter Lang was discovered in 1972 by guitarist John Fahey. Lang's first solo album, ''The Thing at the Nursery Room Window'', was released in 1973. With Lang, Fahey launched the careers of other notable artists on Takoma Records, including Kottke,

George Winston George Winston (born December 26, 1949) is an American pianist, guitarist, harmonicist, and record producer. He was born in Michigan and raised mainly in Montana ( Miles City and Billings), as well as Mississippi and Florida. He is best known fo ...

Robbie Basho Robbie Basho (born Daniel R. Robinson, Jr., August 31, 1940 – February 28, 1986) was an American acoustic guitarist, pianist and singer. Biography Basho was born in Baltimore, and was orphaned as an infant. Adopted by the Robinson family, ...

Bola Sete Bola Sete (born Djalma de Andrade; July 16, 1923 – February 14, 1987) was a Brazilian guitarist who played jazz with Vince Guaraldi and Dizzy Gillespie. History Born Djama de Andrade in Rio de Janeiro, Sete was the only son of a family with ...

and others. In the 70's Lang recorded or performed with Ry Cooder, Jerry Garcia,

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

John Hartford John Cowan Hartford (December 30, 1937 – June 4, 2001) was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive kn ...

, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Emmylou Harris,

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Most ...

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band Paul Vaughn Butterfield (December 17, 1942May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and band leader. After early training as a classical flautist, he developed an interest in blues harmonica. He explored the blues scene in his n ...

, John Hammond, Keith Jarrett,

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs " San Francisco Bay Blues", " Poetry Man", "Harpo's Blues", and her credited ...

, Maria Muldaur,

The Yellowjackets Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band founded in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. History In 1977, guitarist Robben Ford, for his first solo album, recruited keyboardist Russell Ferrante, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ri ...

, and

Robben Ford Robben Lee Ford (born December 16, 1951) is an American blues, jazz, and rock guitarist. He was a member of the L.A. Express and Yellowjackets and has collaborated with Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Larry Carlton, Rick Sprin ...

. Lang left music in the 1980s to pursue a career in animation and special effects production. He released the albums ''Dharma Blues'' in 2002 and ''Guitar'' in 2003. Both ''Lycurgus'' and ''Prime Cuts'' were re-released in 2003 with bonus tracks.

Awards and honors

* Best New Guitarist, Readers' Poll, ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' is an American popular magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and politica ...

'' magazine, 1974 *

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination for ''Lycurgus'', 1975 * Best Guitarist, Minnesota Music Awards, 1981, 1982, 1988

Discography

* '' The Thing at the Nursery Room Window'', ( Takoma, 1973) * ''

Lycurgus Lycurgus or Lykourgos () may refer to: People * Lycurgus (king of Sparta) (third century BC) * Lycurgus (lawgiver) (eighth century BC), creator of constitution of Sparta * Lycurgus of Athens (fourth century BC), one of the 'ten notable orators' ...

'', (

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird d ...

, 1975) * '' Prime Cuts'', (Waterhouse, 1977) * '' Back to the Wall'', (Waterhouse, 1978) * ''

American Stock ''American Stock'' is an album by American folk and blues guitarist Peter Lang, released in 1986. It is out of print. He would retire from the music business after this release before returning in 2002 with '' Dharma Blues''. All the titles we ...

'', (Aspen, 1986) * ''

Dharma Blues ''Dharma Blues'' is the title of a recording by American folk and blues guitarist Peter Lang, released in 2002. History ''Dharma Blues'' was Lang's first release since his 1986 ''American Stock''. Lang's first solo album, ''The Thing at the Nur ...

'', (Horus, 2002) * ''

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

'', (Horus, 2003) * '' Live at Charlotte's Web'', (2007) * ''Testament'', (Horus, 2008)

Compilations

* ''

Leo Kottke, Peter Lang & John Fahey ''Leo Kottke/Peter Lang/John Fahey'' is a split album by American guitarists Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, and John Fahey, released in 1974. History Fahey had started a new genre of guitar music, known later as American primitive guitar, which compr ...

'', (Takoma, 1974) * '' Friends of Fahey Tribute'', (Slackertone, 2006) * '' The Revenge of Blind Joe Death: The John Fahey Tribute Album'', (2006)

Bibliography

* Co-author of the book ''20th Century Masters of Finger-Style Guitar'', 1982, Stropes Editions, Ltd.

References

1948 births American folk guitarists Living people Fingerstyle guitarists American acoustic guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians {{US-guitarist-stub