"The Guitar Man" is a song written by

David Gates David Ashworth Gates (December 11, 1940 – January 5, 2023) was a American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread, which reached the top of the musical charts i ...

and originally recorded by the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group

Bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

. It first appeared on Bread's

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

album, '' Guitar Man''. It is a mixture of the sounds of

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

, including strings and acoustic guitar, and the addition of a wah-wah effect electric guitar, played by

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon ...

. It peaked at No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the United States and was their third No. 1 hit on the

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart, (following " If" and "

Baby I'm-a Want You ''Baby I'm-a Want You'' is the fourth album by Bread, released in 1972. Its singles included the title cut (which reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Top 100), "Everything I Own" (No. 5), "Mother Freedom" (No. 37), and "Diary" (No. 15). This was ...

"). ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' called it a "superfine superhit" with a "beautiful tune, apt lyric, full, rich production." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said "this ballad proves read'sversatility and ability to handle a lyric that says a bit more than 'I love you.'" ''Cash Box'' also said that the song "is about performers, but is bound to be a listener's dream.

Chart performance

Personnel

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, bass,

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

* James Griffin -

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

harmony vocals Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chora ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

Mike Botts Michael Gene Botts (December 8, 1944 – December 9, 2005) was an American drummer, best known for his work with 1970s soft rock band Bread, and as a session musician. During his career, he recorded with Linda Ronstadt, Karla Bonoff, Andrew G ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Cover versions

The song has been covered by

David J David John Haskins (born 24 April 1957, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England), better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician, producer, and writer. He is the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus and for Love and Rock ...

on his 2003 album ''Estranged'',

Cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...

on their 2004 album ''

Pressure Chief ''Pressure Chief'' is the fifth studio album by American band Cake. It was released on October 5, 2004, pushed back from its original August release date. It was produced by the band and recorded in a converted house in Sacramento. The lead singl ...

'',

Starflyer 59 Starflyer 59 is an American alternative rock band from Riverside, California that was founded in 1993 by Jason Martin, brother of Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric. While Jason Martin has written nearly all of Starflyer 59's songs, the band has ...

on their 2007 vinyl collection ''Ghosts of the Future'', and

Bobby Bare Jr. Robert Joseph Bare Jr. (born June 28, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Early life Bare was born in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of singer Jeannie Bare (née Sterling) and country musician Bobby Bare, Bobby Bare, Sr. His pa ...

on his ''American Bread'' EP.

Hank Marvin Hank Brian Marvin (born Brian Robson Rankin, 28 October 1941) is an English multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter. He is widely known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows, a group which primarily performed instrumentals and was the ba ...

released his album '' Guitar Man'' with a cover version of the song. In 2012

Wreckless Eric Eric Goulden (born 18 May 1954), known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock/ new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single " Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in ''Mo ...

and

Amy Rigby Amy Rigby (born Amelia McMahon, January 27, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter. After playing with several New York bands she began a solo career, recording several albums which had only modest sales despite enthusiastic reviews. She settled ...

recorded a version for a fund raising CD titled ''Super Hits of the Seventies'' for radio station

WFMU WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, in ...

. In 2020,

The Wild Feathers The Wild Feathers are an American country rock band formed in 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, by Ricky Young, Joel King, and Taylor Burns, all of whom were lead singers in previous bands. Drummer Ben Dumas joined the band following th ...

included a version of the song on their album "''Medium Rarities''."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guitar Man, The 1972 singles Bread (band) songs Songs written by David Gates Rock ballads Songs about music Songs about musicians Songs about guitars 1970s ballads 1972 songs Cake (band) songs Elektra Records singles

Chart performance

Personnel

Cover versions

See also

References