I had the pleasure of knowing Glen, grew up in clarion, Iowa where he lived later on in life. Worked at the hardware store during highschool and he would come in hang out and leave, had no idea who he was. Thought he was just a local drunk. Anyways, during the holidays he would come in every Saturday, and sit on the window display in the front of the store and play Christmas music. He would sometimes get up follow people around playing music and ask if they had any requests. Even got the pleasure of getting guaiter lessons from Glen and he refused to take money simply said being able to share his passion was payment.
I turned 16 in Sept 1970. Once I could drive I went to many concerts. The band lived in the Detroit area then. Saw them many times. Literally in a barn loft once. They were more influential than people realize. The band had the best show in the business in the early 70s.
Incredible! Guys from the 60s ,70s were amazing to talk to during the 80s. They trip on younger guys still listening older stuff. They stop whatever they’re doing, like a brother. As Love to death and killers does for me
I bought the Love it to death album in 1980 as a young teenager/guitar player and I'm 18 was the first Alice song I taught myself. I used to look at the back album cover and think Glen is the coolest, baddest looking guitar player ever. He had the whole, cool, tough guy, alpha male guitar player look down before Nugent, Frehley and the others that followed.
Glen was an incredibly kind soul and one of my dads best friends. Lost my father earlier this year and while going through some of his old stuff, found an old G.B. pick of his. RIP
Glen Buxton's guitar had a very distinct and unique quality about it.One of the very unsung soldiers of rock history.Those that knew him speak very highly of him . RIP!!
@@MattTalksVinyl I loved Alice Cooper. I play bass, and Dennis Dunaway is one of my biggest influences. I auditioned for Alice’s band in 1991 - didn’t get the gig, couldn’t sing the high part in Poison. When I was ready I played the thing Dennis Dunaway plays before Gutter Cat Vs The Jets. Alice walks over and says “Hey, that’s Dennis Dunaway.” You coulda shot me dead right there. I put a video of me playing it on my social media Dennis saw it and commented favorably. Wow!
@@timothymiller5405 Yes, with Dennis you were always aware "The bassist is making this track way cooler than it might otherwise be." Dennis is a nice guy. He replied to some of my emails some years ago. When me and my buds were at the back of the stadium waiting for them to come up the stadium tunnel to the stage in back, we reached down to them calling out their names as they passed beneath us. Only two of them.reached up their hands and touched ours. That was Neal and Dennis.
49 yrs is a long life for a hard rock n roller and a hard partier, particularly for GB's early days of hanging out with the likes of Jim Morrison, probably not all that bad though, I'd bet they had some pretty great times. RIP Glenn, You were seriously a gem, especially with your quite unique, superb, and so very valuable musical contributions 🤘❤!!!
On the cover of The Doors album Waiting For The Sun- Morrison showed up with Glen and somehow Jimbo didn't have a shirt. The pullover he's wearing was actually Glen's, lent for the photo shoot.
I was about 11 or 12 when I first heard his work. I fell in love with it and now, at the grand old age of 62, I'm still listening to it and the love is just as strong. God bless you Glen.
"Evil melodic power." That's a good one. He really pricked up my ears, at around age 14. Me and my buds loved learning his riffs (and Bruce's). Soon we had our own little goth-style band doing WAY too much Alice Cooper. Though the word "goth" wasn't used back then. Frank Zappa appeared to view Buxton as a central element of the band. He put Glen's gonzo psychedelic fuzz guitar raving very loud in the mix. ("Living" is a great example.) Buxton was a unique guitarman. He did some distinctive, creative things with that SG. Nice job here. Almost got choked up as I listened and saw the pictures. Thanks for respecting him like that.
An excerpt or two I read from bass player Dennis Dunaway's bio he said that during their crazy time in a Michigan mansion, (Which they turned into their hippie pad) he would see Glen in his space tearing apart his guitars and noodling about in order to come up with sounds and effects. Those sounds are definitely unique to this day, and it would probably frustrate many guitarists to try and replicate them. I just listened to many of my favorites from the period Love it to Death-Billion Dollar Babies.
My favorite guitar player of all time. Saw him live just after Easy Action came out and loved it! I even dedicated my book Spanish Gold to Glen. What a character!
I was fortunate enough to have my copy of "Muscle Of Love" signed by all the original members of The Alice Cooper Group at different times. When Glen signed, he told me that he didn't really even play on the album. This was in 1997, seven days before he died.
@@zappasmoustache23 It was at a record show in Houston, TX. Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton and Neal Smith were there. There was also another guy with them but I don't recall his name. I think they were going to do a radio show or maybe play a club there in Houston, (I overheard them telling this to other fans). I told them that Muscle of Love was one of my favorite Alice Cooper albums. That's when Glenn laughed and said that he didn't even really play on the album. I didn't ask why. Not sure if you're familiar with the Muscle of Love album cover, but he signed his name, IE Glen Buxton under the pink word "Fragile", I guess in reference to his health. He died like a week or two later.
@@tonystephens6858The Area 51 show in Houston, on 10 October, 1997. Other guy might have been Richie Scarlet? I have a CD copy of that show that I won through a Myspace contest, and I treasure it.
Discoevered Alice Cooper in early 73 the Love it to Death album and I was hooked. They are right to say that every song was put together well and his solos were different. Alice is a down to earth guy not surprised from reading about the band they didn't have the antimosity toward each other. I think they made plenty of money from the first 4 albums.
His playing and riffs in the song Fields of Regret (off of Pretties For You) are the stuff of legend. My friend saw them play that live along with a few other songs from the first two albums when they were touring to support Love It To Death. We were massive fans of those first two albums. Unfortunately I think that was one of the last times they played the old songs as their new material proved to be more commercially viable and I think management wanted them to highlight that material. So sorry I missed that concert at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.
I heard they played "Return of the spiders" as the encore while supporting the "Love it to death" album ! Oh I wish I could have seen them ! But I wasn't allowed at 11 years old...
He was barely in and played on 'Billion Dollar Babies' either. Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner, Mick Mashbir already played on that record. My star on 'Schools Out' he also missed!? Replaced by Mick Mashbir. Dennis Dunaway didn't really like that, he said in an interview. He was fit to play it, he thought. According to my taste buds, The Band 'Alice Cooper' was at its best when Buxton played guitar. It gave the band a more gritty innovative dirty rock'n roll that I got hooked on as a 10 year old kid in Sweden 1972. I've been a fan of the band 'Alice Cooper' ever since. I really like the first albums 'Pritties for you' and 'Easy action' too. For me it's from those two records to 'Schools Out' which that's the real deal with 'Love it to death' and 'Killer' as favourites. 'Billion Dollar Babies' and 'Muscle of Love' are good in their own way but Buxton wasn't there....fighting 'the demons of rock'n roll'. 'Alice Cooper group' with Glenn Buxton....1969-72 ....are my Alice Cooper....not the solo artist!
@@rcole3321 I had to check it out...but not according to the info I can find...he does sing on that song though. He possibly plays guitar with Steve Hunter on 'Generation Landslide', with whom he was apparently good friends.
Well said me too! It's too bad he couldn't have gotten his act together and cut back on his drinking sooner. Would love to have heard how billion dollar babies and muscle of love could have sounded if he hadn't been drinking so much and could've applied himself more like he did on all the previous albums. But I still love the stuff he brought to the band. He had the talent and the attitude and look and seemed like a cool guy
Thank you for this documentary. It is so classic. I wish I would have known he was touring the Midwest for a while. I was in 9th or 10th grade when Billion Dollar Babies came out. It sounds like he may have only played on Elected. He passed away so young. It's sad but I'll bet cigarettes were a major contributor. What an amazing guitarist. I would love to see Gibson re-release that original Gibson SG with the three pickups. I would buy one in a heartbeat.
@@brianhammer5107I heard he played on a rhythm track on "Elected" and maybe a acoustic guitar track on "Generation landslide"...only for the "Billion dollar babies" album...
Things Buxton sort of pioneered: The double string scream where one is bent, the other not. Typically the E/B strings or the B/G. You can find little flashes of this by earlier guitarists, but Buxton obviously picked up on it and made it into something more dramatic. The "jet landing" or "incoming bomb" pick drag down the neck (toward the head) usually along the B or G strings. Such as you hear in "Second Coming" after the lyrics are over and that dirge like figure starts. It is possible M. Bruce did it as well, but I suspect it was more Glen's thing. You hear it all over now, a basic metal guitar move now. Lots of diminished 5th notes. A melancholy thing that really fits the later term "gothic" real well, which they pioneered. Really spooky moanings using his wang bar. At places in "You Drive Me Nervous" there is this sound like a flying saucer taking off. I believe it's glen pulling up hard on the wang bar, while dragging a finger up the neck on the E/B strings. The pulling up/down hard makes the strings get plucked by the string notches of the bridge; the finger dragging up the frets makes the sound ascend. Very creative and weird. Though I don't have proof it was Glenn, since other players were getting involved on that album, it is the sort of original thing he would do. Then the pick-drag across the strings, from thinner to heavier strings, also sounding like an incoming bomb or suggestive of the tolling of a great bell. Very dramatic. He likely also picked this up from earlier guitarists. I have heard it on 1950's tracks. But he made it into something big, dramatic and strangely dark. I assume M. Bruce did this move as well. On the SG's it has a searing sound. He was brilliant with feedback. But he felt he could only get it right with his White SG with the 3 pickups. That guitar was stolen from him at some hotel which depressed him.
Are you sure that is the one that was stolen from GB. Alice said it was a brand new pink Gibson Les Paul. The 3-pick up Gibson SG of Glens was restored by someone that got ahold of it. There is a video on UA-cam about it.
@@christophersanders5007 Dunno but the account I read (possibly that book by the guy who went on tour with them?) said he was disconsolate because the guitar stolen was his magic feedback monster. Those words not used, but that was my impression. And something he'd had a long time. It makes perfect sense that a stolen guitar would pass through many hands, end up in pawnshops, and gradually degrade. As is the case with the restored SG.
@DivineFellowship thank you! To me the guitar that is synonymous with GB is his white Gibson triple pickup SG Custom. I always wondered what happened to that guitar because I think it was gone by sometime during the Schools Out tour. There are some pics of him with what looks like a brand new (like a 1972) SG Deluxe in either a walnut finish or cherry finish. Hard to tell from the black and white photos. By the Billion Dollar Babies tour when he wasn't doing so well he was seen playing a Gretsch Duo Jet. I will have to look up that book do you remember the name of it?
When i was around 13 or 14, my mates where just getting into the music they like or love, some like the music from Rod Stewart, Mark Bolan, Elton John or Slade, but for me the stuff i like was rock, and from a guy who wore makeup, my dad hated it, i liked it more, i think i wore out my record of Schools out,[ yes i hated school at that age!] But not sure who played what on the records, what's a bass guitar? A lead guitar? I needed to find out, i asked my brother who was into music, he told me, when i saw Alice on the telly i now knew who to watch. I then bought all the albums, and played them over and over, the neighbors hated me, i didn't care! Each time i played a record in my bedroom out came the air guitar and i played my heart out! I always pictured myself as Glen, why not my hair was the same length and i looked a little like him, he had become my hero, when i heard he had passed way, it was like someone had pulled my heart out, the only other person who has done that is when my dad passed away, God bless you Glen you will never be forgotten
An outstanding guitar talent. It grieves me still that GB does not receive the recognition he deserves, from the rock music press in their line ups of all time great guitarists.
never trust music journalists. Rock fans are well aware and appreciate Glen Buxton's unique inventive style. He makes the cut on being distinctive alone, but was so much more. Rock writers from the early 70s through the dawn of punk and post-punk, new wave of british heavy metal, the early Roxy Music, totally oblivious of their first 4 years of completely unique rock. im sure Bowie was watching. The music press will list the same 10 bores everytime.
@@DaveAnchovies Bowie visited the Alice Cooper Band back stage before he became "Ziggy." Furnier was in his dyed-red shag haircut phase. And of course, "Pretties..." was out. Bowie stole the "Ziggy" haircut from him. There is a photo of Furnier in that haircut, totally dyed bright red, plus androgynous clothes and you immediately think it's David Bowie. Bowie always got pissed off if anybody brought Alice Cooper up in interviews or asked if he got any ideal from them. He obviously did. Interviewers knew they were to never bring up Alice Cooper to David Bowie.
@@rjlchristie I disagree, and your comment is also in conflict with the video content posted here. If you want to argue with Matt and others on here, your case that Glen was overrated, go right ahead. Or maybe you should just go quietly, to a another page, one which better suits your taste.
Growing up with an older brother that liked Alice Cooper... a lot! I remember coming home from junior high school one afternoon, as I walked around the corner and was within three houses of my house I knew my big brother was home because his stereo was blasting and this meant mom and dad weren't home. Far out! I said to myself. Walking up the driveway all I could hear was... *You're out of State! You're thrown in jail! You ain't got the bread to pay the bail!*
According to DD the only playing of his on BDB is slide on Generation Landside. Don't hear a lot of Bruce either on BDB and MOL either. Session drummer Alan Swartzberg Said that he ghost drummed on half of MOL
Yeah, I thought Michael was all over BDBs. Glenn played second lead on "Raped and Freezing" according to Steve Hunter, that's about it. Nothing on MOL...
Your reply showed up today and I had to go back and watch it again. Loved that picture of Glen with the acoustic guitar. Rare pic. Going to check his site and more of your videos.
Glen Buxton and Steve Clark, from Def Leppard, share the same contributions to their respective bands. Neither one wrote complete songs. They had a talent for creating catchy riffs that were included in well known songs.
@@RoknRolUSAoh cool ! Are you the guy who's in the "Glen Buxton memorial video" being interviewed ? Then they end up at a pizza parlor after the service...I had a VHS tape of that years ago I ordered off of eBay...you seem like a good guy who helped Glen out when he needed someone... God bless 🙏🏼
Love the doors, love sabbath, love all those classic bands BUT the original Alice cooper group for me was head and shoulders above their peers in terms of originality, musicality, edginess and just all round rock band coolness. They exuded a kind of unhinged threat that could kick off at any moment, whereas that seemed so fake and performative in others. Just my opinion of course. Music is the best. Fact.
Glenn was great in the band but Michael Bruce was the musical melodic genius in the band and wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of the songs as well as playing guitar, piano and organ
Agree, but he was kind of the "outsider" of the band because the others grew up together and had a history, and Dennis was dating (then married) Neal's sister. But, yes, he did contribute a lot.
@@ksullivan728and without Bruce’s writing they would have stayed in the place where their first two albums were- nowhere. Bruce wrote catchy pop songs. Caught In A Dream and Long Way To Go written solely by Bruce set them on the right trail
Glen was classically trained and jazz was his favorite. I've read somewhere that Blue Turk was his favorite Coop tune to make. Really got to stretch out his desires of music. And I still use that great song to introduce A Cooper to people. Most" That's WHO?" song to freak'em out.
NOT YET AN OLD F💩RT OF 64 AND AS A LEAP YEAR BABY i AM 16 😁 BUT AS OF NOW MAY 22, 2024.. i AM A 12 YEAR OLD AGAIN 😳 JUST GOT 2 CDZ DELUXE EDITIONS OF SCHOOLS OUT AND THE BILLION DOLLAR BABIES.. 50 + YEARS AGO AND WELL WROTH PURCHASING 🤑 Weed Me
Alice left the band rather than kick Glen out, who wasn't able to contribute nor perform as he had. They'd been friends forever, and he couldn't do it to him.
![Alice Cooper's Greatest Guitar Riffs Pt. 1 [Guitar Lesson, Riffs, Classic Rock Songs]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_QdYNRkhbzQ/mqdefault.jpg)
I live 40 miles from his grave, I try to stop whenever I'm in the area.
My favourite line up of the Alice Cooper band was Glen Buxton.. Michael Bruce.. Dennis Dunnaway.. Neal Smith and Alice himself
Ditto
Lost interest when they broke up...the truth was I was devastated...😐
the only true lineup
I had the pleasure of knowing Glen, grew up in clarion, Iowa where he lived later on in life. Worked at the hardware store during highschool and he would come in hang out and leave, had no idea who he was. Thought he was just a local drunk. Anyways, during the holidays he would come in every Saturday, and sit on the window display in the front of the store and play Christmas music. He would sometimes get up follow people around playing music and ask if they had any requests. Even got the pleasure of getting guaiter lessons from Glen and he refused to take money simply said being able to share his passion was payment.
That's such an incredible story! He sounds like he was a really genuinely good soul. Thank you for sharing!
That story means a lot to me. And I'm touched.
I turned 16 in Sept 1970. Once I could drive I went to many concerts. The band lived in the Detroit area then. Saw them many times. Literally in a barn loft once. They were more influential than people realize. The band had the best show in the business in the early 70s.
Oh man, to get a guitar lesson from Glen would be a dream come true. Thanks for sharing your story.
Incredible! Guys from the 60s ,70s were amazing to talk to during the 80s. They trip on younger guys still listening older stuff. They stop whatever they’re doing, like a brother. As Love to death and killers does for me
I bought the Love it to death album in 1980 as a young teenager/guitar player and I'm 18 was the first Alice song I taught myself. I used to look at the back album cover and think Glen is the coolest, baddest looking guitar player ever. He had the whole, cool, tough guy, alpha male guitar player look down before Nugent, Frehley and the others that followed.
Totally! You hear his stuff and it just inspires and motivates you to play.
Great guitar player. So sad he's gone. His playing added so much to the original band.
Absolutely ❤️🤘
Glen was an incredibly kind soul and one of my dads best friends. Lost my father earlier this year and while going through some of his old stuff, found an old G.B. pick of his. RIP
Glen wassss the greatest! Glen made that group happen and Vincent outta be damn grateful to him, before or after death!
I was in the ASU student government in 77/78. Glen helped us book bands into the activity center. It was awesome.
Glen Buxton's guitar had a very distinct and unique quality about it.One of the very unsung soldiers of rock history.Those that knew him speak very highly of him . RIP!!
Maestro of the era!
One of my all-time heroes.
I remembered him from high school , Cortez high school , he was best friends with my brother , who also passed away
He was an incredible talent who needs much more recognition!
Did your brother ever say what he was like?
@@DevinRyanVitek he was a much greater person than my brother . He was well liked by everyone who knew him, and I am sure he still is.
@@anniebranwen4148 Thank you for your reply!
cuz old friends said goodbye I guess I'll be leavin too
Glen was Great!
Love his playing. So many tragic stories about rock guitarists.
God bless his soul.
My best friend, miss him so much.
GB was/is one of the great under-appreciated guitarists of his era. Great info. Thx.
Totally! Thank you for watching!
Thank you for this. I aw the School's Out tour. Every guy in the band was simply a force of nature. Glen Buxton - RIP.
Wow! Wish I could have had a chance to see him live! Thank you for watching!
I’m in touch with Glen’s sister. Sweet lady - misses her brother of course.
@@MattTalksVinyl I loved Alice Cooper. I play bass, and Dennis Dunaway is one of my biggest influences. I auditioned for Alice’s band in 1991 - didn’t get the gig, couldn’t sing the high part in Poison. When I was ready I played the thing Dennis Dunaway plays before Gutter Cat Vs The Jets. Alice walks over and says “Hey, that’s Dennis Dunaway.” You coulda shot me dead right there. I put a video of me playing it on my social media Dennis saw it and commented favorably. Wow!
Holy crud! I don't think I could ever have the courage to play in front of the Coop! What a story AND compliment!
@@timothymiller5405 Yes, with Dennis you were always aware "The bassist is making this track way cooler than it might otherwise be." Dennis is a nice guy. He replied to some of my emails some years ago. When me and my buds were at the back of the stadium waiting for them to come up the stadium tunnel to the stage in back, we reached down to them calling out their names as they passed beneath us. Only two of them.reached up their hands and touched ours. That was Neal and Dennis.
49 yrs is a long life for a hard rock n roller and a hard partier, particularly for GB's early days of hanging out with the likes of Jim Morrison, probably not all that bad though, I'd bet they had some pretty great times. RIP Glenn, You were seriously a gem, especially with your quite unique, superb, and so very valuable musical contributions 🤘❤!!!
On the cover of The Doors album Waiting For The Sun- Morrison showed up with Glen and somehow Jimbo didn't have a shirt. The pullover he's wearing was actually Glen's, lent for the photo shoot.
I was about 11 or 12 when I first heard his work. I fell in love with it and now, at the grand old age of 62, I'm still listening to it and the love is just as strong. God bless you Glen.
"Evil melodic power." That's a good one. He really pricked up my ears, at around age 14. Me and my buds loved learning his riffs (and Bruce's). Soon we had our own little goth-style band doing WAY too much Alice Cooper. Though the word "goth" wasn't used back then. Frank Zappa appeared to view Buxton as a central element of the band. He put Glen's gonzo psychedelic fuzz guitar raving very loud in the mix. ("Living" is a great example.) Buxton was a unique guitarman. He did some distinctive, creative things with that SG. Nice job here. Almost got choked up as I listened and saw the pictures. Thanks for respecting him like that.
Thank you!
yeah. That description perked up my ears too. I know what you mean, anyway.......
Hail to the Blonde Bomber! One of the great guitarists of rock.
An excerpt or two I read from bass player Dennis Dunaway's bio he said that during their crazy time in a Michigan mansion, (Which they turned into their hippie pad) he would see Glen in his space tearing apart his guitars and noodling about in order to come up with sounds and effects. Those sounds are definitely unique to this day, and it would probably frustrate many guitarists to try and replicate them. I just listened to many of my favorites from the period Love it to Death-Billion Dollar Babies.
My favorite guitar player of all time. Saw him live just after Easy Action came out and loved it! I even dedicated my book Spanish Gold to Glen. What a character!
I was fortunate enough to have my copy of "Muscle Of Love" signed by all the original members of The Alice Cooper Group at different times. When Glen signed, he told me that he didn't really even play on the album. This was in 1997, seven days before he died.
That's incredible!
Hey man any chance you could elaborate, or did he not give much detail?
@@zappasmoustache23 It was at a record show in Houston, TX. Michael Bruce, Glen Buxton and Neal Smith were there. There was also another guy with them but I don't recall his name. I think they were going to do a radio show or maybe play a club there in Houston, (I overheard them telling this to other fans).
I told them that Muscle of Love was one of my favorite Alice Cooper albums. That's when Glenn laughed and said that he didn't even really play on the album. I didn't ask why.
Not sure if you're familiar with the Muscle of Love album cover, but he signed his name, IE Glen Buxton under the pink word "Fragile", I guess in reference to his health. He died like a week or two later.
@@tonystephens6858The Area 51 show in Houston, on 10 October, 1997. Other guy might have been Richie Scarlet? I have a CD copy of that show that I won through a Myspace contest, and I treasure it.
He didn't play all that much on B$B either.
Early melodic metal riffs. His sound is distinct and original.
Totally! Beautiful stuff
My favorite guitar tone ever, a lot come close but his tone was like no other
Discoevered Alice Cooper in early 73 the Love it to Death album and I was hooked. They are right to say that every song was put together well and his solos were different. Alice is a down to earth guy not surprised from reading about the band they didn't have the antimosity toward each other. I think they made plenty of money from the first 4 albums.
This was a very touching tribute for which I thank you
Thank you for watching!
Yes, respectful, educated.
I went to high school with this band. When they were the Earwigs and the spiders
Holy crud! Cool! I bet it was a shock when they made it big!
did you Nazz out?
One of the fathers of Hard rock, up there with Lesley West.
he was great; alice said he made keef look like a boy scout.
His playing and riffs in the song Fields of Regret (off of Pretties For You) are the stuff of legend. My friend saw them play that live along with a few other songs from the first two albums when they were touring to support Love It To Death. We were massive fans of those first two albums. Unfortunately I think that was one of the last times they played the old songs as their new material proved to be more commercially viable and I think management wanted them to highlight that material. So sorry I missed that concert at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago.
I heard they played "Return of the spiders" as the encore while supporting the "Love it to death" album ! Oh I wish I could have seen them ! But I wasn't allowed at 11 years old...
He was barely in and played on 'Billion Dollar Babies' either. Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner, Mick Mashbir already played on that record. My star on 'Schools Out' he also missed!? Replaced by Mick Mashbir. Dennis Dunaway didn't really like that, he said in an interview. He was fit to play it, he thought.
According to my taste buds, The Band 'Alice Cooper' was at its best when Buxton played guitar. It gave the band a more gritty innovative dirty rock'n roll that I got hooked on as a 10 year old kid in Sweden 1972. I've been a fan of the band 'Alice Cooper' ever since.
I really like the first albums 'Pritties for you' and 'Easy action' too. For me it's from those two records to 'Schools Out' which that's the real deal with 'Love it to death' and 'Killer' as favourites.
'Billion Dollar Babies' and 'Muscle of Love' are good in their own way but Buxton wasn't there....fighting 'the demons of rock'n roll'.
'Alice Cooper group' with Glenn Buxton....1969-72 ....are my Alice Cooper....not the solo artist!
It’s sounds like Glen playing the wah guitar on ‘I love the dead’ is that not him on lead?
@@rcole3321 I had to check it out...but not according to the info I can find...he does sing on that song though.
He possibly plays guitar with Steve Hunter on 'Generation Landslide', with whom he was apparently good friends.
Well said me too! It's too bad he couldn't have gotten his act together and cut back on his drinking sooner. Would love to have heard how billion dollar babies and muscle of love could have sounded if he hadn't been drinking so much and could've applied himself more like he did on all the previous albums. But I still love the stuff he brought to the band. He had the talent and the attitude and look and seemed like a cool guy
According to Steve Hunter, he played that wah lead on "I Love the Dead". He and Glen played leads on "Raped and Freezing".
@davejones5745 that would be cool and nice to know thanks!
Thank you for this documentary. It is so classic. I wish I would have known he was touring the Midwest for a while. I was in 9th or 10th grade when Billion Dollar Babies came out. It sounds like he may have only played on Elected. He passed away so young. It's sad but I'll bet cigarettes were a major contributor. What an amazing guitarist. I would love to see Gibson re-release that original Gibson SG with the three pickups. I would buy one in a heartbeat.
Thank you for watching! I'd totally get one too!
He did some work on "Unfinished Sweet" as well. But he was a drug casualty by then, and Ezrin brought in Dick Wagner ...
@@brianhammer5107I heard he played on a rhythm track on "Elected" and maybe a acoustic guitar track on "Generation landslide"...only for the "Billion dollar babies" album...
Hooray for this
Thank you for watching!
Things Buxton sort of pioneered:
The double string scream where one is bent, the other not. Typically the E/B strings or the B/G. You can find little flashes of this by earlier guitarists, but Buxton obviously picked up on it and made it into something more dramatic.
The "jet landing" or "incoming bomb" pick drag down the neck (toward the head) usually along the B or G strings. Such as you hear in "Second Coming" after the lyrics are over and that dirge like figure starts. It is possible M. Bruce did it as well, but I suspect it was more Glen's thing. You hear it all over now, a basic metal guitar move now.
Lots of diminished 5th notes. A melancholy thing that really fits the later term "gothic" real well, which they pioneered.
Really spooky moanings using his wang bar.
At places in "You Drive Me Nervous" there is this sound like a flying saucer taking off. I believe it's glen pulling up hard on the wang bar, while dragging a finger up the neck on the E/B strings. The pulling up/down hard makes the strings get plucked by the string notches of the bridge; the finger dragging up the frets makes the sound ascend. Very creative and weird. Though I don't have proof it was Glenn, since other players were getting involved on that album, it is the sort of original thing he would do.
Then the pick-drag across the strings, from thinner to heavier strings, also sounding like an incoming bomb or suggestive of the tolling of a great bell. Very dramatic. He likely also picked this up from earlier guitarists. I have heard it on 1950's tracks. But he made it into something big, dramatic and strangely dark. I assume M. Bruce did this move as well. On the SG's it has a searing sound.
He was brilliant with feedback. But he felt he could only get it right with his White SG with the 3 pickups. That guitar was stolen from him at some hotel which depressed him.
Amazing!
Are you sure that is the one that was stolen from GB. Alice said it was a brand new pink Gibson Les Paul. The 3-pick up Gibson SG of Glens was restored by someone that got ahold of it. There is a video on UA-cam about it.
@Christopher Sanders Neil Smith has it now. He acquired the body and had it restored. Yes, the video is on You Tube.
@@christophersanders5007 Dunno but the account I read (possibly that book by the guy who went on tour with them?) said he was disconsolate because the guitar stolen was his magic feedback monster. Those words not used, but that was my impression. And something he'd had a long time. It makes perfect sense that a stolen guitar would pass through many hands, end up in pawnshops, and gradually degrade. As is the case with the restored SG.
@DivineFellowship thank you! To me the guitar that is synonymous with GB is his white Gibson triple pickup SG Custom. I always wondered what happened to that guitar because I think it was gone by sometime during the Schools Out tour. There are some pics of him with what looks like a brand new (like a 1972) SG Deluxe in either a walnut finish or cherry finish. Hard to tell from the black and white photos. By the Billion Dollar Babies tour when he wasn't doing so well he was seen playing a Gretsch Duo Jet. I will have to look up that book do you remember the name of it?
Criminally underrated. So tasty. So raw. So tight.
Absolutely!
When i was around 13 or 14, my mates where just getting into the music they like or love, some like the music from Rod Stewart, Mark Bolan, Elton John or Slade, but for me the stuff i like was rock, and from a guy who wore makeup, my dad hated it, i liked it more, i think i wore out my record of Schools out,[ yes i hated school at that age!] But not sure who played what on the records, what's a bass guitar? A lead guitar? I needed to find out, i asked my brother who was into music, he told me, when i saw Alice on the telly i now knew who to watch. I then bought all the albums, and played them over and over, the neighbors hated me, i didn't care! Each time i played a record in my bedroom out came the air guitar and i played my heart out! I always pictured myself as Glen, why not my hair was the same length and i looked a little like him, he had become my hero, when i heard he had passed way, it was like someone had pulled my heart out, the only other person who has done that is when my dad passed away, God bless you Glen you will never be forgotten
Thank you for sharing! Rock on forever 🤘💜
Amazing talent that was so underrated. A true guitar legend
Totally !
He had many wicked riffs just like Keith Richards.
And he looked in younger years like Keith, right?
@@musicparadies Odd but yea, he did.
Thank you. Great photos.
Thank you for watching!
An outstanding guitar talent. It grieves me still that GB does not receive the recognition he deserves, from the rock music press in their line ups of all time great guitarists.
Totally!
never trust music journalists. Rock fans are well aware and appreciate Glen Buxton's unique inventive style. He makes the cut on being distinctive alone, but was so much more. Rock writers from the early 70s through the dawn of punk and post-punk, new wave of british heavy metal, the early Roxy Music, totally oblivious of their first 4 years of completely unique rock. im sure Bowie was watching. The music press will list the same 10 bores everytime.
@@DaveAnchovies Bowie visited the Alice Cooper Band back stage before he became "Ziggy." Furnier was in his dyed-red shag haircut phase. And of course, "Pretties..." was out. Bowie stole the "Ziggy" haircut from him. There is a photo of Furnier in that haircut, totally dyed bright red, plus androgynous clothes and you immediately think it's David Bowie. Bowie always got pissed off if anybody brought Alice Cooper up in interviews or asked if he got any ideal from them. He obviously did. Interviewers knew they were to never bring up Alice Cooper to David Bowie.
I think he gets more credit than he actually earned. Bruce is the one whose guitar playing and writing contributions don't get properly appreciated..
@@rjlchristie I disagree, and your comment is also in conflict with the video content posted here. If you want to argue with Matt and others on here, your case that Glen was overrated, go right ahead. Or maybe you should just go quietly, to a another page, one which better suits your taste.
Glen was and forever will be a Rock God.
Totally.
My first album. Alice cooper killer.
Great way to start!
Great record
He was fav when I was a kid
A great inspiration
@@MattTalksVinyl but the solo on bdb gen lan and raped and freezing is the Devon steve hunter.
Growing up with an older brother that liked Alice Cooper... a lot!
I remember coming home from junior high school one afternoon, as I walked around the corner and was within three houses of my house I knew my big brother was home because his stereo was blasting and this meant mom and dad weren't home. Far out! I said to myself. Walking up the driveway all I could hear was...
*You're out of State! You're thrown in jail! You ain't got the bread to pay the bail!*
Haha awesome! Love stories like that!
thanks for posting , your presentation was brief but had all the pertinent facts
Thank you for watching!
Glen was the heart soul of the original band
Based on the way Frank Zappa mixed them on their first album, he seemed to view Buxton as the central attraction.
Great video Matt!!! I learned some new things that's for sure... can you please make a closer look at Jackson C Frank? That would be awesome!
Thanks! I'll add him to my list!
According to DD the only playing of his on BDB is slide on Generation Landside.
Don't hear a lot of Bruce either on BDB and MOL either. Session drummer Alan Swartzberg
Said that he ghost drummed on half of MOL
Thought Bruce and mick mashbir played on both of those albums??? Neal didn’t play on all drum tracks? Didn’t know that…
Nah Michael played on B.D.B. and M.O.L.
Yeah, I thought Michael was all over BDBs. Glenn played second lead on "Raped and Freezing" according to Steve Hunter, that's about it. Nothing on MOL...
I think that Allan Swartzberg geezer played drums on "Crazy little child" ...not 100% sure...but I read that somewhere...
Great video and picture selection. Nice tribute to Glen.
Thank you kindly
Your reply showed up today and I had to go back and watch it again. Loved that picture of Glen with the acoustic guitar. Rare pic. Going to check his site and more of your videos.
Glenn hey Bux you played cool riffs perfect for Coopers Band
Glen Buxton and Steve Clark, from Def Leppard, share the same contributions to their respective bands. Neither one wrote complete songs. They had a talent for creating catchy riffs that were included in well known songs.
Totally
Nice work Matt, My Stars turned me on to Glenn, he did some really nice stuff,
Thank you for watching! He was a fantastic artist!
I always assumed Glenn did the lead on My Stars. (I really love it.) Can anyone confirm that was him and not one of the stand-in hotshots?
Thought that was Dick Wagner?
@@mikeskoog6689 You are correct.
@@DivineFellowship It was, in fact, Dick Wagner.
RIP Glen.
Great video man good job
Thank you!
@@MattTalksVinyl cheers mate
I love the dead is an underrated guitar track .
Totally everything he did was gold
I heard he liked farming and didn't miss the traveling
But that's magazine gossip
I met Glen in Phoenix and asked if he'd like to get away from there and move to my farm Iowa. He did and he loved it. Not gossip.
@@RoknRolUSAoh cool ! Are you the guy who's in the "Glen Buxton memorial video" being interviewed ? Then they end up at a pizza parlor after the service...I had a VHS tape of that years ago I ordered off of eBay...you seem like a good guy who helped Glen out when he needed someone... God bless 🙏🏼
@@philipholmes5884 Thanks, yeah that was me.
👍🇺🇲❤RIP
Right on.
Love the doors, love sabbath, love all those classic bands BUT the original Alice cooper group for me was head and shoulders above their peers in terms of originality, musicality, edginess and just all round rock band coolness. They exuded a kind of unhinged threat that could kick off at any moment, whereas that seemed so fake and performative in others. Just my opinion of course. Music is the best. Fact.
I find the Glenn was inspired by The Yardbirds I loved his work
I went to Glen's parents with him and in his room going through his records I found a Yardbirds promo pic from when they opened for them.
Glen didn't play on 'Billion Dollar Babies' much at all, either - read Michael's book.
Glenn was great in the band but Michael Bruce was the musical melodic genius in the band and wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of the songs as well as playing guitar, piano and organ
True.
Agree, but he was kind of the "outsider" of the band because the others grew up together and had a history, and Dennis was dating (then married) Neal's sister. But, yes, he did contribute a lot.
@@ksullivan728and without Bruce’s writing they would have stayed in the place where their first two albums were- nowhere. Bruce wrote catchy pop songs. Caught In A Dream and Long Way To Go written solely by Bruce set them on the right trail
Glen was classically trained and jazz was his favorite. I've read somewhere that Blue Turk was his favorite Coop tune to make. Really got to stretch out his desires of music. And I still use that great song to introduce A Cooper to people. Most" That's WHO?" song to freak'em out.
I first heard about him through Randy Rhoads he was massively influenced by him
No Glen no Randy Rhoads
Totally! There wouldn't be a lot of players without him!
Sardonic by choice. The great G.B.
I always though Muscle of Love had a different sound than their previous albums and never quite liked it.
You pretty much took your words straight from the Glen Buxton Wiki page and didn’t include any audio examples of his playing. 🙄
Took the photos from the website I created and then used Wikipedia for the script.
NOT YET AN OLD
F💩RT OF 64 AND
AS A LEAP YEAR
BABY i AM 16 😁
BUT AS OF NOW
MAY 22, 2024..
i AM A 12 YEAR
OLD AGAIN 😳
JUST GOT 2 CDZ
DELUXE EDITIONS
OF SCHOOLS OUT
AND THE BILLION
DOLLAR BABIES..
50 + YEARS AGO
AND WELL WROTH
PURCHASING 🤑
Weed Me
Alice left the band rather than kick Glen out, who wasn't able to contribute nor perform as he had. They'd been friends forever, and he couldn't do it to him.
BS
BS Couldn't have said it better myself
Hes never mentioned. Come on man.