“Mike’s ’59 Les Paul was sitting on a stand. I thought, ‘What are the chances of this happening again?’ After the song, he turned around and goes, ‘What are you doing?’” When Les Dudek guested with Mike Bloomfield (without him knowing)
Caught up in the music and the moment, the veteran guitarist – who played on Allman Brothers Band's Ramblin' Man and Jessica – ran onto the stage while Bloomfield was at the keys, none the wiser
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.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
“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.”
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
“Even though a Marshall sounded fantastic, I refused to play one. That’s my bad… I had a terrible sound for years”: Punk-grunge icon Donita Sparks on ironic gear choices, L7’s infamous Reading Festival set and why recording with Butch Vig was “maddening”
“I bought my ’54 Strat from the biggest dealer in Sweden – he was crying when I walked away with the guitar”: Brian May, Steve Vai and Neal Schon have all given Yngwie Malmsteen guitars – but nothing compares to his Fender Strats