Interview - Earl Slick
Image by DiMazio
In rock music, stage left is a curious position. On the one hand, they are the person who stands to the side of the main attraction, the foundation that allows them to fly but rarely offers them a chance in the spotlight. On the other, they have the accolade of playing on some of rock’s most revered recordings, and alongside some true giants.
Earl Slick knows this better than most. The legendary guitarist has played alongside David Bowie, John Lennon, and Carl Perkins. Keith Richards features in one of his songs, while Mick Jagger, Robert Smith, and George Harrison have all crossed paths with the New Yorker. The list goes on.
Slick’s is a unique tale, which he and lauded rock journalist Jeff Slate have compiled for a new autobiography, the elegantly titled Guitar. Ruthlessly edited, the book reveals a small slice of some of the tales Slick can tell across his 50-year music career. Recently, CLASH caught up with the virtuoso to discuss that career, the book, and his experiences working with some of rock music’s most innovative characters.
After earning his stripes as a guitarist on the New York scene in the early 1970s, Slick was brought in during Bowie’s Diamond Dogs tour in 1974. Infamously, the tour completely changed midway through, as Bowie eschewed the theatrical elements of the show to embrace a more soulful sound, which would culminate in Young Americans. “It was weird,” Slick explains, somewhat understatedly. “Because we had a lot of success with the Diamond Dogs show in the States, the big set and all that stuff. Then we took a break, and when we came back it was a whole other thing. It was pretty much a new band and the direction was new. I wasn’t very fond of it. I can do change, I get that but… it was a strange one.”