Though he's not a household name per se, guitarist Les Dudek has enough stories to fill a book.
He played on two Allman Brothers Band classics, Ramblin' Man and Jessica, recorded and toured with Cher (who he also dated for a time), and jammed with the supergroup that would become Journey just as they were forming. On top of all that, Dudek also once jammed onstage with Mike Bloomfield – though the latter hadn't actually invited him to do so.
A native of Florida, Dudek explained in a recent interview with Guitar World that when rock's cream of the crop came through his home state, they'd often stick around after their shows to jam informally with some of its many crack musicians.
“There were big concerts going on everywhere, and all the parks in Florida had these jams,” Dudek recounted to Guitar World. “They’d have some big-name groups come in, and the next day they’d jam with the local bands. It was pretty cool.”
“I was at a Mike Bloomfield concert, and during one blues song Mike started playing keyboards,” he continued. “Mike’s ’59 Les Paul was sitting on a stand, and I thought, ‘What are the chances of this happening again?’ I went up and got the guitar and started playing rhythm behind him.
“Mike had his eyes closed, so when it came time for a solo, I went for it. After the song, Mike turned around and goes, ‘What are you doing?’ I introduced myself and said, ‘I just had to play the blues with you.’ He goes, ‘Well, just don’t do it again.’”
Similarly to Dudek, Bloomfield himself – who tragically died in 1981, aged just 37 – still has yet to reach household name status, often overshadowed by the likes of Eric Clapton and fellow 'Burst-slinger Peter Green.
“He [Bloomfield] accomplished what Eric Clapton tried to do with Cream in the Sixties,” Guitar World's Brad Tolinski wrote in 2013. “He expanded on the vocabulary of his blues heroes, but did so with just a bit more restraint, taste, and style.”
To read Guitar World's full interview with Les Dudek – which covers all of the aforementioned adventures, his time with Steve Miller, and more – pick up a new issue of the mag at Magazines Direct.
