Leslie West, guitarist for the rock group Mountain and a 65-year-old diabetic, is recovering after his lower right leg was amputated http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43472293/ns/today-entertainment/t/43472263.

I met Leslie West years ago (1970) backstage at the Cincinnati Pop Festival, he was larger than life back than..I ran into him at Winter NAMM and we talked about that event, and about Jimi, again

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Tony Houston

Losing a leg or foot is my biggest fear from having type 2 diabetes.Although I keep it under control by diet and don't have to take insulin,losing a limb is still a possibility.
I hope he recovers quickly and fully.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

best wishes to Mr. West.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Sorry to hear this. Mojo to you Leslie..............

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Mountain - Theme For An Imaginary Western - Cincinnati Pop Festival - 13/June/70 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJDX-sYfJ_M.

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Tony Houston

Thanks for posting Tony. Leslie is a favorite guitarist of mine since hearing his first album with Mountain. I hope that he recovers quickly and can carry on playing guitar for a long time.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

Same thing happened to another Blues great Son Seals. He lost his foot then eventually his life. Diabetes is nothing to play around with.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

That puts a real shake in me as well. Type 2 here also.

Tough break for "The Toad".

Mazel tov and heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery!

NYC's Crossroader was one of my formative influences.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I hate to hear that,diabetes runs in my family and I could be borderline,I'll find out next week...it's a bad disease.
Leslie West is a great guitarist,I've always loved his vibrato technique and his lyrical solos,he has always been overlooked as an innovative musician of the '60s and later.
It seems many of the younger generations of guitar bangers have never heard of him...which is a shame.

I knew Son Seals, I met him back in the late '70s. We opened for him several times, one time was right before his operation, and another time after, where he sat in a chair. He could still smoke!

Son Seals - On My Knees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlaIdSD64T0

Not to drift the topic, but notice the bass player in the above video, that's Snapper Mitchum. I played with Snapper for 5yrs in 'Snapper & The Blues Invaders'. He opened the door for me to play Buddy Guy, Jr Wells, Lefty Dizz and great bluesmen.


'Snapper & The Blues Invaders' - Circa 1985 (me on the left)

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Tony Houston

On the other hand, as a guitar player, better to lose a leg than an arm though.

Son Seals was great. I met him at the Chestnut Caberet years ago in Philly. He shared the bill with Lonnie Mack. Great show. When I saw him at the Pocono Blues Festival some time later, I was shocked. He still put on a great show. Lesson learned. Take care of yourself. Some of these guys live hard and play hard. When I met him in Philly, he seemed to be drinking a bit.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal