“We did it in this old haunted house, standing in front of this open fire with a couple of Marshalls outside the fireplace... It was two in the morning”: Can't Get Enough was Bad Company's breakout smash, and its harmonized leads were perfect for the era

Recently (June 23), we sadly lost Mick Ralphs, the rock-solid guitarist who co-founded not one, but two legendary rock bands – Mott the Hoople and later Bad Company.

Leading the tributes to the guitar great was Ralphs' bandmate, Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers, who called him “my friend, my songwriting partner, [and] an amazing and versatile guitarist who had the greatest sense of humor.”

Back in 1999, Guitar World sat down with Rodgers, Ralphs, and another Bad Company co-founder, drummer Simon Kirke, to discuss the latter two's triumphant reunion with the legendary frontman – with Rodgers and Ralphs reflecting on that aforementioned songwriting chemistry.

Inevitably, the subject of the band's blockbuster debut single, Can't Get Enough, came up quickly: particularly, where did those bulls-eye harmonized guitar leads, so in tune with the era, come from? Ralphs was happy to tell...

“I'd figured [the leads] out long before we recorded it – both the melody and harmony part,” the late guitarist told Guitar World. “Paul liked it, and I taught him the harmony part on guitar.

“We did it together live on the record. That's why it's a little bit shaky toward the end! 'Cause he was getting excited playing it.”

In their infancy, Bad Company were given a huge helping hand by Led Zeppelin, who signed the group to their Swan Song label, and keyed the band in on Headley Grange, the legendary English country house where Zeppelin wrote and recorded a not-insignificant portion of their greatest work.

Hell of a place to record some swaggering guitar harmonies, eh?

“We did it in this old haunted house, standing in front of this open fire with a couple of Marshalls outside the fireplace,” Ralphs recounted. “We had the headphones on, blasting along to the track. It was about two in the morning.”

So, was the house really haunted?

“Well, is anything really haunted in England?” the guitarist shrugged. “It was a spooky sort of house, I must admit. I think old houses do have atmosphere, depending on what happened in them. It was an empty house, too, which felt a little weird. But it was okay, really. We made enough noise to scare any would-be ghosts away.

“We had Ronnie Lane's mobile truck parked outside and recorded it on that. I remember Paul sang the vocals outside. Simon had the drums set up in a hallway.”

Just days after his final performance with Bad Company – on October 29, 2016, at the O2 Arena in London – Ralphs suffered a massive, debilitating stroke that would leave him bedridden for the remainder of his life.

“He was a dear friend, a wonderful songwriter, and an exceptional guitarist,” Simon Kirke said in tribute to his longtime bandmate. “We will miss him deeply.”