“He was horrified, saying, ‘Doug, your tone is atrocious!’”: Sideman to the stars Doug Rappoport reveals the classic rock icon who persuaded him to up his gear game

In-demand session player Doug Rappoport's career has been marked by happenstance. “I got into sessions kind of by accident,” he divulges in a soon-to-published interview with Guitar World.

“For me, music was such a solo journey; I didn’t have any mentors or anyone to measure myself against. I didn’t know if I was any good, so by the time I was 18 or 19, I was just trying to find out if I had what it took.”

His journey eventually led him to playing alongside ’70s icon Edgar Winter, blues legend Johnny Winter's brother, best known for classic rock staples Frankenstein and Free Ride.

“I was pretty green when Edgar hired me,” says Rappoport. “I was younger than the rest of the guys in the band by quite a bit.

“Edgar saw potential. I’d pester him, saying, ‘How am I doing? What can I improve on?’ I watched those guys closely and learned a lot about rhythm guitar, chord voicings, and tone. And I heard a lot of stories of rock ‘n’ roll debauchery.”

Working with a veteran such as Winter also meant Rappoport had to step up his gear (and tone) game.

“I had that same beat-up old Strat, and a digital Yamaha amp,” the session player admits. “We did a short tour, and I shipped that amp, and Edgar was horrified, saying, ‘Doug, your tone is atrocious!’ I think I just called someone, and said, ‘Hey, I’m in Edgar Winter’s band, can you give me a nice deal on an amp?’” he adds with a laugh.

Beyond that, the session player primarily used “a beat-up Les Paul that never stayed in tune” but had a great tone, which he bought on the road, as well as what he calls “a sort of beat-up JCM2000 Marshall.”

Guitar World's interview with Doug Rappoport will be published in the coming weeks.

And, speaking of Edgar Winter, back in 2022, the multi-instrumentalist assembled an all-star cast – including Joe Walsh, Billy Gibbons, Steve Lukather, and Derek Trucks – to pay tribute to his brother's musical legacy through the release of a tribute album, Brother Johnny.