Chords for Earl Slick on Playing with David Bowie and John Lennon
Tempo:
134.05 bpm
Chords used:
D
G
C
B
A
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[D] [C] [G]
[D]
[G]
[D]
[C] [D]
[G] [C]
[G] [A] [Bm] [C]
[G] [D] [G] [C]
[G] [A] [G]
[C] [D] [Am] [Dm]
[C] [D] [Am] [Dm]
[D]
[G] [F] [D]
[B] [D]
[G] [D]
[Bb] [G] [D]
[Db]
[D] What would you consider to be your first, your real big break?
There was like a big break and then there was a huge [B] break.
The big break was I was introduced to a man named Michael Kamen, who had a band called
the New York Rock Ensemble at the time, who later years went on to become a very big movie soundtrack composer.
He met David Bowie in 1974, right after Mick Ronson had left the band.
And I had been doing some work for Michael, like playing guitar in his band, when he would
do some small tours.
And he made the introduction to Bowie and that precipitated the audition I did for David [Eb] Bowie.
And obviously that relationship evolved and that was very fruitful for a [Bb] few years.
You know, with David Bowie, it's been [B] on and off since 1974, all the way up to the last
tour that he did a couple years ago, with some dead spots in there.
Either me being somewhere else, or him being somewhere else, or me being busy, or him deciding
he wanted a different kind of a band.
But always ending up, every so often, coming back in and out.
I've been in and out of that band for 30 years.
It's a long time.
Does it feel like you're getting old shoes every time you get back on the gig with him?
Oh yeah, yeah.
Once you do something with somebody like that enough times, you know why you're there, he
knows why he wants you there, and it's just a piece of cake.
Very easy.
What each other's strengths are, and what each other's looking for, it's almost a telepathy.
You know, when David puts together a band, he puts together a band based on certain personalities
and certain artistic views and certain styles of playing that fit like a puzzle.
If you notice, most of Bowie band members, not most of them, almost everyone I know,
I think, are all artists in their own right as well.
You know, I have a specific job, you know, Jerry Lennon, the other guitar player in the
band, he's got a specific thing, and you know, and you just know what that is.
I mean, I've been doing it on and off with David so long that it's just, I know why I'm there.
It makes it way easier.
Bowie aside, you've obviously worked with some other artists of note, shall we say.
[E] As far as other artists I've worked with, and the gig of all time, I spent three months
in the studio with John Lennon in 1980, which was a very surreal experience because, you
know, as I said, even before the Stones, because the Beatles were on TV before the Stones were,
so my first exposure to this whole new version of the rock and roll insanity was the Beatles.
So getting to play in the studio with John on a couple of his albums was a pretty intense
experience to say the least.
It was great because he was just, I didn't get let down, you know.
Sometimes you meet people that you admire and you meet them and they're assholes.
And he was a wonderful man.
He was great.
He was fun.
We had a ball.
We made some great music.
If somebody wanted to get a [Eb] taste of what you did with these guys, what would be the
key tracks or records to listen to?
You know, some of the Bowie stuff, my favorite Bowie stuff is more of the adventurous stuff,
which would be on Station to Station, like this title track, and Stay, which is also
on that record.
And on the last album, Reality, there's a couple of tracks on there, including the title track.
With John, with Lennon, they're actually re-releasing Double Fantasy sometime this year in another
form, which is going to be way cool.
And on that one, there's a lot of stuff I like on that one and on Milk and Honey.
You know, I mean, I'm Losing You probably comes to mind first on Double Fantasy.
And I think Steppin' Out and Nobody Told Me on Milk and Honey.
Was it the experience of being in the studio and recording these tunes, or was it more
so as a listener just sitting back and going, wow, that's a great tune, whether you played
on it or not?
At the time I recorded it, it was the experience that was really ruling the day.
You know, I mean, I liked all the songs, no doubt about that.
But it was the experience of being there while the song was being put together, because John
would just come in and [G] bang out a few chords and we would just pick it up and go from there.
So it was the whole experience of having, and it was a whole band of guys in the room
playing at the same time.
What a novel concept.
But it was a riot.
We had a really good time.
It was a very fun record to do.
Working on Yoko's stuff was great as well, because what we were doing is on Double Fantasy,
if you listen to the record, every other track, John Yoko, John Yoko.
And Yoko's stuff was pretty out there.
But I got to do things on her stuff that I could only, like I couldn't play station to
station style guitar on the John Lennon tracks, but I could play that on Yoko's tracks.
So I got to do both of what I like to do.
You know, the real rootsy rock and roll stuff, and then I got to do some of the out there
business on her stuff.
Best favorite gig of all time?
Best favorite gig of all time is the David Bowie tour.
Pick a gig.
Every night?
Every night, yeah.
[B] Where do people keep up with you on the web?
On the web to keep up with me, probably, I hate to admit it, would be Facebook.
There's also a MySpace page.
There'll be a new Earl Slick dot com in the fall when I get around to it.
I'm not really big on sitting there.
And if you do go on MySpace, Facebook, and you leave me a message, I probably won't answer it.
So don't get offended.
[D]
[G]
[D]
[C] [D]
[G] [C]
[G] [A] [Bm] [C]
[G] [D] [G] [C]
[G] [A] [G]
[C] [D] [Am] [Dm]
[C] [D] [Am] [Dm]
[D]
[G] [F] [D]
[B] [D]
[G] [D]
[Bb] [G] [D]
[Db]
[D] What would you consider to be your first, your real big break?
There was like a big break and then there was a huge [B] break.
The big break was I was introduced to a man named Michael Kamen, who had a band called
the New York Rock Ensemble at the time, who later years went on to become a very big movie soundtrack composer.
He met David Bowie in 1974, right after Mick Ronson had left the band.
And I had been doing some work for Michael, like playing guitar in his band, when he would
do some small tours.
And he made the introduction to Bowie and that precipitated the audition I did for David [Eb] Bowie.
And obviously that relationship evolved and that was very fruitful for a [Bb] few years.
You know, with David Bowie, it's been [B] on and off since 1974, all the way up to the last
tour that he did a couple years ago, with some dead spots in there.
Either me being somewhere else, or him being somewhere else, or me being busy, or him deciding
he wanted a different kind of a band.
But always ending up, every so often, coming back in and out.
I've been in and out of that band for 30 years.
It's a long time.
Does it feel like you're getting old shoes every time you get back on the gig with him?
Oh yeah, yeah.
Once you do something with somebody like that enough times, you know why you're there, he
knows why he wants you there, and it's just a piece of cake.
Very easy.
What each other's strengths are, and what each other's looking for, it's almost a telepathy.
You know, when David puts together a band, he puts together a band based on certain personalities
and certain artistic views and certain styles of playing that fit like a puzzle.
If you notice, most of Bowie band members, not most of them, almost everyone I know,
I think, are all artists in their own right as well.
You know, I have a specific job, you know, Jerry Lennon, the other guitar player in the
band, he's got a specific thing, and you know, and you just know what that is.
I mean, I've been doing it on and off with David so long that it's just, I know why I'm there.
It makes it way easier.
Bowie aside, you've obviously worked with some other artists of note, shall we say.
[E] As far as other artists I've worked with, and the gig of all time, I spent three months
in the studio with John Lennon in 1980, which was a very surreal experience because, you
know, as I said, even before the Stones, because the Beatles were on TV before the Stones were,
so my first exposure to this whole new version of the rock and roll insanity was the Beatles.
So getting to play in the studio with John on a couple of his albums was a pretty intense
experience to say the least.
It was great because he was just, I didn't get let down, you know.
Sometimes you meet people that you admire and you meet them and they're assholes.
And he was a wonderful man.
He was great.
He was fun.
We had a ball.
We made some great music.
If somebody wanted to get a [Eb] taste of what you did with these guys, what would be the
key tracks or records to listen to?
You know, some of the Bowie stuff, my favorite Bowie stuff is more of the adventurous stuff,
which would be on Station to Station, like this title track, and Stay, which is also
on that record.
And on the last album, Reality, there's a couple of tracks on there, including the title track.
With John, with Lennon, they're actually re-releasing Double Fantasy sometime this year in another
form, which is going to be way cool.
And on that one, there's a lot of stuff I like on that one and on Milk and Honey.
You know, I mean, I'm Losing You probably comes to mind first on Double Fantasy.
And I think Steppin' Out and Nobody Told Me on Milk and Honey.
Was it the experience of being in the studio and recording these tunes, or was it more
so as a listener just sitting back and going, wow, that's a great tune, whether you played
on it or not?
At the time I recorded it, it was the experience that was really ruling the day.
You know, I mean, I liked all the songs, no doubt about that.
But it was the experience of being there while the song was being put together, because John
would just come in and [G] bang out a few chords and we would just pick it up and go from there.
So it was the whole experience of having, and it was a whole band of guys in the room
playing at the same time.
What a novel concept.
But it was a riot.
We had a really good time.
It was a very fun record to do.
Working on Yoko's stuff was great as well, because what we were doing is on Double Fantasy,
if you listen to the record, every other track, John Yoko, John Yoko.
And Yoko's stuff was pretty out there.
But I got to do things on her stuff that I could only, like I couldn't play station to
station style guitar on the John Lennon tracks, but I could play that on Yoko's tracks.
So I got to do both of what I like to do.
You know, the real rootsy rock and roll stuff, and then I got to do some of the out there
business on her stuff.
Best favorite gig of all time?
Best favorite gig of all time is the David Bowie tour.
Pick a gig.
Every night?
Every night, yeah.
[B] Where do people keep up with you on the web?
On the web to keep up with me, probably, I hate to admit it, would be Facebook.
There's also a MySpace page.
There'll be a new Earl Slick dot com in the fall when I get around to it.
I'm not really big on sitting there.
And if you do go on MySpace, Facebook, and you leave me a message, I probably won't answer it.
So don't get offended.
Key:
D
G
C
B
A
D
G
C
[D] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [C] _ _
[G] _ _ _ [A] _ [Bm] _ _ _ [C] _
[G] _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [C] _
[G] _ _ _ [A] _ [G] _ _ _ _
[C] _ [D] _ _ _ [Am] _ _ _ [Dm] _
[C] _ [D] _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _ [Dm] _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ [F] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
[Bb] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _ _
[D] What would you consider to be your first, your real big break? _
There was like a big break and then there was a huge [B] break.
The big break was I was introduced to a man named Michael Kamen, who had a band called
the New York Rock Ensemble at the time, who later years went on to become a very big movie soundtrack composer.
He met David Bowie _ in 1974, right after Mick Ronson had left the band.
And I had been _ _ doing some work for Michael, like playing guitar in his band, _ _ _ when he would
do some small tours.
_ And he made the introduction to Bowie and _ _ _ that _ precipitated the audition I did for David [Eb] Bowie.
And obviously that relationship evolved and that was very fruitful for a [Bb] few years.
You know, with David Bowie, it's been [B] on and off since 1974, all the way up to the last
tour that he did a couple years ago, _ with some dead spots in there.
_ _ _ _ Either me being somewhere else, or him being somewhere else, or me being busy, or him deciding
he wanted a different kind of a band.
But always ending up, every so often, coming back in and out.
I've been in and out of that band for 30 years.
_ It's a long time.
Does it feel like you're getting old shoes every time you get back on the gig with him?
Oh yeah, yeah.
Once you do something with somebody like that enough times, you know why you're there, he
knows why he wants you there, and it's just a piece of cake. _
Very easy.
_ _ _ _ What each other's strengths are, and what each other's looking for, it's almost a telepathy.
You know, when David puts together a band, he puts together a band based on certain personalities
and certain artistic views and certain styles of playing that fit like a puzzle.
If you notice, most of _ Bowie band members, not most of them, almost everyone I know,
I think, are all artists in their own right as well. _
You know, I have a specific job, _ _ you know, Jerry Lennon, the other guitar player in the
band, he's got a specific thing, and you know, and you just know what that is.
I mean, I've been doing it on and off with David so long that it's just, I know why I'm there. _ _ _
It makes it way easier.
Bowie aside, you've obviously worked with some other artists of note, shall we say.
[E] As far as other artists I've worked with, and the gig of all time, I spent three months
in the studio with John Lennon in 1980, _ _ _ which was a very _ surreal experience because, _ you
know, as I said, even before the Stones, because the Beatles were on TV before the Stones were,
so my first exposure to this whole _ _ _ new version of the rock and roll insanity was the Beatles.
So _ _ getting to play in the studio with John on a couple of his albums was a pretty intense
experience to say the least.
It was great because he was just, _ I didn't get let down, you know.
Sometimes you meet people that you admire and you meet them and they're assholes. _ _
And he was a wonderful man.
He was great.
He was fun.
We had a ball.
We made some great music.
_ If somebody wanted to get a [Eb] taste of what you did with these guys, what would be the
key tracks or _ records to listen to?
You know, some of the Bowie stuff, my favorite Bowie stuff is _ more of the _ _ _ adventurous _ _ _ stuff,
which would be on Station to Station, _ like this title track, and Stay, which is also
on that record.
And on the last album, Reality, there's a couple of tracks on there, including the title track. _ _ _
_ With John, with Lennon, they're actually re-releasing Double Fantasy sometime this year in another
form, which is going to be way cool.
_ And _ _ on that one, _ _ _ _ _ _ there's a lot of stuff I like on that one and on Milk and Honey.
You know, I mean, I'm Losing You probably comes to mind first on Double Fantasy.
And I think Steppin' Out and Nobody Told Me on _ _ Milk and Honey.
_ _ _ Was it the experience of being in the studio and recording these tunes, or was it more
so as a listener just sitting back and going, wow, that's a great tune, whether you played
on it or not? _ _
At the time I recorded it, _ _ _ _ _ it was the experience that was really ruling the day.
You know, I mean, I liked all the songs, no doubt about that.
_ _ But it was the experience of being there while the song was being put together, because John
would just come in and [G] bang out a few chords and _ _ _ we would just pick it up and go from there.
So it was the whole experience of having, and it was a whole band of guys in the room
playing at the same time. _
_ _ What a novel concept. _ _
But it was a riot.
We had a really good time.
It was a very fun record to do.
_ _ Working on Yoko's stuff was great as well, because what we were doing is on Double Fantasy,
_ if you listen to the record, every other track, _ John Yoko, John Yoko.
And Yoko's stuff was _ pretty out there.
But I got to do things on her stuff that I could only, like I couldn't play station to
station style guitar on the John Lennon tracks, but I could play that on Yoko's tracks.
So I got to do both of what I like to do.
You know, the real rootsy rock and roll stuff, and then I got to do some of the out there
_ _ business on her stuff.
_ Best favorite gig of all time?
Best favorite gig of all time is the David Bowie tour. _
Pick a gig.
_ _ Every night?
Every night, yeah.
[B] _ _ _ Where do people keep up with you on the web?
On the web to keep up with me, probably, I hate to admit it, would be _ _ Facebook. _ _ _
_ There's also a MySpace page.
There'll be a new Earl Slick dot com in the fall when I get around to it.
I'm not really big on sitting there.
And if you do go on _ _ MySpace, _ Facebook, and _ _ you leave me a message, I probably won't answer it.
_ So don't get offended. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [C] _ _
[G] _ _ _ [A] _ [Bm] _ _ _ [C] _
[G] _ [D] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ [C] _
[G] _ _ _ [A] _ [G] _ _ _ _
[C] _ [D] _ _ _ [Am] _ _ _ [Dm] _
[C] _ [D] _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _ [Dm] _
_ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ [F] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
[Bb] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _ _
[D] What would you consider to be your first, your real big break? _
There was like a big break and then there was a huge [B] break.
The big break was I was introduced to a man named Michael Kamen, who had a band called
the New York Rock Ensemble at the time, who later years went on to become a very big movie soundtrack composer.
He met David Bowie _ in 1974, right after Mick Ronson had left the band.
And I had been _ _ doing some work for Michael, like playing guitar in his band, _ _ _ when he would
do some small tours.
_ And he made the introduction to Bowie and _ _ _ that _ precipitated the audition I did for David [Eb] Bowie.
And obviously that relationship evolved and that was very fruitful for a [Bb] few years.
You know, with David Bowie, it's been [B] on and off since 1974, all the way up to the last
tour that he did a couple years ago, _ with some dead spots in there.
_ _ _ _ Either me being somewhere else, or him being somewhere else, or me being busy, or him deciding
he wanted a different kind of a band.
But always ending up, every so often, coming back in and out.
I've been in and out of that band for 30 years.
_ It's a long time.
Does it feel like you're getting old shoes every time you get back on the gig with him?
Oh yeah, yeah.
Once you do something with somebody like that enough times, you know why you're there, he
knows why he wants you there, and it's just a piece of cake. _
Very easy.
_ _ _ _ What each other's strengths are, and what each other's looking for, it's almost a telepathy.
You know, when David puts together a band, he puts together a band based on certain personalities
and certain artistic views and certain styles of playing that fit like a puzzle.
If you notice, most of _ Bowie band members, not most of them, almost everyone I know,
I think, are all artists in their own right as well. _
You know, I have a specific job, _ _ you know, Jerry Lennon, the other guitar player in the
band, he's got a specific thing, and you know, and you just know what that is.
I mean, I've been doing it on and off with David so long that it's just, I know why I'm there. _ _ _
It makes it way easier.
Bowie aside, you've obviously worked with some other artists of note, shall we say.
[E] As far as other artists I've worked with, and the gig of all time, I spent three months
in the studio with John Lennon in 1980, _ _ _ which was a very _ surreal experience because, _ you
know, as I said, even before the Stones, because the Beatles were on TV before the Stones were,
so my first exposure to this whole _ _ _ new version of the rock and roll insanity was the Beatles.
So _ _ getting to play in the studio with John on a couple of his albums was a pretty intense
experience to say the least.
It was great because he was just, _ I didn't get let down, you know.
Sometimes you meet people that you admire and you meet them and they're assholes. _ _
And he was a wonderful man.
He was great.
He was fun.
We had a ball.
We made some great music.
_ If somebody wanted to get a [Eb] taste of what you did with these guys, what would be the
key tracks or _ records to listen to?
You know, some of the Bowie stuff, my favorite Bowie stuff is _ more of the _ _ _ adventurous _ _ _ stuff,
which would be on Station to Station, _ like this title track, and Stay, which is also
on that record.
And on the last album, Reality, there's a couple of tracks on there, including the title track. _ _ _
_ With John, with Lennon, they're actually re-releasing Double Fantasy sometime this year in another
form, which is going to be way cool.
_ And _ _ on that one, _ _ _ _ _ _ there's a lot of stuff I like on that one and on Milk and Honey.
You know, I mean, I'm Losing You probably comes to mind first on Double Fantasy.
And I think Steppin' Out and Nobody Told Me on _ _ Milk and Honey.
_ _ _ Was it the experience of being in the studio and recording these tunes, or was it more
so as a listener just sitting back and going, wow, that's a great tune, whether you played
on it or not? _ _
At the time I recorded it, _ _ _ _ _ it was the experience that was really ruling the day.
You know, I mean, I liked all the songs, no doubt about that.
_ _ But it was the experience of being there while the song was being put together, because John
would just come in and [G] bang out a few chords and _ _ _ we would just pick it up and go from there.
So it was the whole experience of having, and it was a whole band of guys in the room
playing at the same time. _
_ _ What a novel concept. _ _
But it was a riot.
We had a really good time.
It was a very fun record to do.
_ _ Working on Yoko's stuff was great as well, because what we were doing is on Double Fantasy,
_ if you listen to the record, every other track, _ John Yoko, John Yoko.
And Yoko's stuff was _ pretty out there.
But I got to do things on her stuff that I could only, like I couldn't play station to
station style guitar on the John Lennon tracks, but I could play that on Yoko's tracks.
So I got to do both of what I like to do.
You know, the real rootsy rock and roll stuff, and then I got to do some of the out there
_ _ business on her stuff.
_ Best favorite gig of all time?
Best favorite gig of all time is the David Bowie tour. _
Pick a gig.
_ _ Every night?
Every night, yeah.
[B] _ _ _ Where do people keep up with you on the web?
On the web to keep up with me, probably, I hate to admit it, would be _ _ Facebook. _ _ _
_ There's also a MySpace page.
There'll be a new Earl Slick dot com in the fall when I get around to it.
I'm not really big on sitting there.
And if you do go on _ _ MySpace, _ Facebook, and _ _ you leave me a message, I probably won't answer it.
_ So don't get offended. _ _ _ _ _ _ _