Uploaded March 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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An acoustic cover of "The Guitar Man" by Bread from their 1972 album Guitar Man.
Words and music by David Gates
Who draws the crowd and plays so loud, baby, it's the guitar man
Who's gonna steal the show, you know, baby, it's the guitar man
He can make you love, he can make you cry
He will bring you down and he'll get you high
Somethin' keeps him goin' miles and miles a day
To find another place to play
Night after night, who treats you right, baby, it's the guitar man
Who's on the radio, you go and listen to the guitar man
Then he comes to town and you see his face
And you think you might like to take his place
Somethin' keeps him driftin' miles and miles away
Searching for the songs to play
Then you listen to the music and you like to sing along
You want to get the meaning out of each and every song
Then you find yourself a message
And some words to call your own and take 'em home
Coming alive in overdrive, baby, it's the guitar man
Who pays their dues and plays the blues, baby, it's the guitar man
He can make you love, he can get you high
He will bring you down, then he'll make, make you cry
Somethin' keeps him movin', but no one seems to know
What it is that makes him go
Then the lights begin to flicker and the sound is getting dim
The voice begins to falter and the crowds are getting thin
But he never seems to notice
He's just got to find another place to play
Fade away
Got to play
Fade away
Got to play
Fade away
*Song Facts*
"The Guitar Man" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by his rock group Bread. It first appeared on Bread's 1972 album, Guitar Man. The song is a mixture of the sounds of soft rock, including strings and acoustic guitar, and the addition of a wah-wah effect electric guitar, played by Larry Knechtel. It peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States and their third number-one hit on the easy listening chart, (following "If" and "Baby I'm-a Want You").
The song has been covered by David J on his 2003 album Estranged, Cake on their 2004 album Pressure Chief, Starflyer 59 on their 2007 vinyl collection Ghosts of the Future, and Bobby Bare, Jr. on his American Bread EP. Hank Marvin released his album Guitar Man with a cover version of the song. In 2012 Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby recorded a version for a fund raising CD titled Super Hits of the Seventies for radio station WFMU.
This haunting song with simple, but telling lyrics is about the life of a musician and his relationship with the fans.
Larry Knechtel played the lead guitar parts in the song. Frontman David Gates said, "James (Griffin) went out and tried to play a solo that wasn't sounding right, and I went out and tried it and didn't have any luck either. Larry plays a little guitar, so I asked him to try it. He hooked up a little wah-wah pedal, and came up with all those things on the spot. I bet that wasn't more than two hours of work on his part."
At the end of the song, there is a recording of a crowd yelling after an announcer introduces Jim Morrison at a Doors concert.
On July 23rd 1972, "The Guitar Man" by Bread entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #62; and on August 27th, 1972 it peaked at #11 (for 3 weeks) and spent 10 weeks on the Top 100...
And on September 3rd, 1972 it reached #1 (for 1 week) on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
Between 1970 and 1977 the quartet had thirteen Top 100 records; six made the Top 10 with one reaching #1, "Make It With You", for 1 week in 1970...
Sadly two of the four original members have passed away; guitarist/vocalist Jim Griffin* (1943 - 2005) and drummer Mike Botts (1944 - 2005)...
And also Larry Knechtel, who played lead guitar on "The Guitar Man", (1940 - 2009)
May all three R.I.P.
*Noles Thoughts*
I didn't know about this song until I heard the Cake version sometime in the 2000s. I was into the Cake version but didn't realize it was a cover. When I heard the Bread version, I could tell why the song's called "Guitar Man". Some cool wah pedal guitar to go with an enchanting melody that goes into a melancholic state throughout the song. What a coincidence that a Bread song was covered by Cake. Do you think Cake just wanted to covered a song by a band named after a similar food? Who knows! Cake have always put their own spin on their covers though with songs like "I Will Survive" and "War Pigs". And "The Guitar Man" is no exception. The tempo is sped up in their version, and it uses synthesizers and other cool sounds Cake always uses. The lyrics in this song remind me of "Shooting Star" by Bad Company. A fictional rock and roll superstar. "Shooting Star" has a more ugly ending with a drug overdose rather than "The Guitar Man" having a determination to find another place to play when things get tough. And that ending is why I love this song! I wrote my own 3rd verse I added here.
#BreadBand #TheGuitarMan #SoftRock
🎤 plaidonflannel.com
🎸 plaidonflannelshop.com
An acoustic cover of "The Guitar Man" by Bread from their 1972 album Guitar Man.
Words and music by David Gates
Who draws the crowd and plays so loud, baby, it's the guitar man
Who's gonna steal the show, you know, baby, it's the guitar man
He can make you love, he can make you cry
He will bring you down and he'll get you high
Somethin' keeps him goin' miles and miles a day
To find another place to play
Night after night, who treats you right, baby, it's the guitar man
Who's on the radio, you go and listen to the guitar man
Then he comes to town and you see his face
And you think you might like to take his place
Somethin' keeps him driftin' miles and miles away
Searching for the songs to play
Then you listen to the music and you like to sing along
You want to get the meaning out of each and every song
Then you find yourself a message
And some words to call your own and take 'em home
Coming alive in overdrive, baby, it's the guitar man
Who pays their dues and plays the blues, baby, it's the guitar man
He can make you love, he can get you high
He will bring you down, then he'll make, make you cry
Somethin' keeps him movin', but no one seems to know
What it is that makes him go
Then the lights begin to flicker and the sound is getting dim
The voice begins to falter and the crowds are getting thin
But he never seems to notice
He's just got to find another place to play
Fade away
Got to play
Fade away
Got to play
Fade away
*Song Facts*
"The Guitar Man" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by his rock group Bread. It first appeared on Bread's 1972 album, Guitar Man. The song is a mixture of the sounds of soft rock, including strings and acoustic guitar, and the addition of a wah-wah effect electric guitar, played by Larry Knechtel. It peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States and their third number-one hit on the easy listening chart, (following "If" and "Baby I'm-a Want You").
The song has been covered by David J on his 2003 album Estranged, Cake on their 2004 album Pressure Chief, Starflyer 59 on their 2007 vinyl collection Ghosts of the Future, and Bobby Bare, Jr. on his American Bread EP. Hank Marvin released his album Guitar Man with a cover version of the song. In 2012 Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby recorded a version for a fund raising CD titled Super Hits of the Seventies for radio station WFMU.
This haunting song with simple, but telling lyrics is about the life of a musician and his relationship with the fans.
Larry Knechtel played the lead guitar parts in the song. Frontman David Gates said, "James (Griffin) went out and tried to play a solo that wasn't sounding right, and I went out and tried it and didn't have any luck either. Larry plays a little guitar, so I asked him to try it. He hooked up a little wah-wah pedal, and came up with all those things on the spot. I bet that wasn't more than two hours of work on his part."
At the end of the song, there is a recording of a crowd yelling after an announcer introduces Jim Morrison at a Doors concert.
On July 23rd 1972, "The Guitar Man" by Bread entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #62; and on August 27th, 1972 it peaked at #11 (for 3 weeks) and spent 10 weeks on the Top 100...
And on September 3rd, 1972 it reached #1 (for 1 week) on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart...
Between 1970 and 1977 the quartet had thirteen Top 100 records; six made the Top 10 with one reaching #1, "Make It With You", for 1 week in 1970...
Sadly two of the four original members have passed away; guitarist/vocalist Jim Griffin* (1943 - 2005) and drummer Mike Botts (1944 - 2005)...
And also Larry Knechtel, who played lead guitar on "The Guitar Man", (1940 - 2009)
May all three R.I.P.
*Noles Thoughts*
I didn't know about this song until I heard the Cake version sometime in the 2000s. I was into the Cake version but didn't realize it was a cover. When I heard the Bread version, I could tell why the song's called "Guitar Man". Some cool wah pedal guitar to go with an enchanting melody that goes into a melancholic state throughout the song. What a coincidence that a Bread song was covered by Cake. Do you think Cake just wanted to covered a song by a band named after a similar food? Who knows! Cake have always put their own spin on their covers though with songs like "I Will Survive" and "War Pigs". And "The Guitar Man" is no exception. The tempo is sped up in their version, and it uses synthesizers and other cool sounds Cake always uses. The lyrics in this song remind me of "Shooting Star" by Bad Company. A fictional rock and roll superstar. "Shooting Star" has a more ugly ending with a drug overdose rather than "The Guitar Man" having a determination to find another place to play when things get tough. And that ending is why I love this song! I wrote my own 3rd verse I added here.
#BreadBand #TheGuitarMan #SoftRock
