1969–1972 In early 1969
Leslie West, formerly of the
Long Island R&B band
The Vagrants, put together a band, Leslie West Mountain, with Norman Landsberg (keyboards, bass) and Ken Janick (drums) and began playing gigs and recording demos. Right around this time, former
Cream collaborator/producer
Felix Pappalardi, who had previously produced the Vagrants, expressed an interest in producing West's work. Mountain was received enthusiastically by the festival audience but the band did not appear in the
film of the event, nor was their performance included on volume 1 of the festival's
live album. Their performances of "Blood of the Sun" (from West's album) and "Theme for an Imaginary Western" (a song they planned to record for
Climbing! and written by former Cream bassist Jack Bruce) appeared on the second volume of Woodstock performances, "Woodstock II", although neither of those "live" songs were recorded at Woodstock. The 40th Anniversary Edition of
Woodstock on DVD and Blu-ray features filmed performances of "Beside The Sea" and "Southbound Train". Soon after Woodstock, Smart was replaced by Canadian
Laurence "Corky" Laing, Mountain went dormant again until 1992, when West and Laing teamed up once again and brought in
Richie Scarlet (known for his solo work and collaborations with
Ace Frehley) to round out the lineup that had a live appearance in
The Dennis Miller Show. Scarlet was replaced with Randy Coven in 1993 and in 1994 there was a Mountain lineup that included West, Laing,
Noel Redding and occasional special guest guitarist
Elvin Bishop. By 1995, the 1984–85 lineup of West, Laing and Mark Clarke was back, and recorded ''
Man's World in 1996. In 1998 things went quiet in the Mountain camp again until 2001. That year, with Scarlet back in the lineup, the band toured, then recorded Mystic Fire, and with former Michael Schenker Group member Rev Jones on bass. A review of the San Diego House of Blues date covered the Mountain set, including "Blowing in the Wind" from the Masters of War'' album, with enthusiasm. Of the Satriani set, the reviewer was also pleased with the
blues influence he felt Mountain brought to the evening, and with West joining in on a Satriani-led closing "
Stormy Monday" and "Going Down" blues jam. Fellow
Long Island native
Howard Stern has called Mountain one of his favourite bands and has occasionally played their music on his show. Other Mountain fans include
Randy Rhoads,
John McLaughlin,
Johnny Ramone,
Clutch,
Karma to Burn, comedian
Dennis Miller, and
John Frusciante (the
Red Hot Chili Peppers track "
Readymade" off 2006's
Stadium Arcadium features a Mountain-influenced riff).
Martin Barre, guitarist for
Jethro Tull has stated in interviews that
Leslie West was a direct influence on his playing.
Beastie Boys are also noted for their use of a brief sample of "Mississippi Queen" on the track "Lookin' Down the Barrel of a Gun" from their sample-heavy 1989 album, ''
Paul's Boutique''. Mountain continued to perform occasionally with Leslie West, Corky Laing and Rev Jones. On June 20, 2011, West had his lower right leg amputated as a result of complications from
diabetes. Following the surgery, West performed and recorded under his own name; his concerts featured many Mountain songs. Corky Laing formed a new project, Corky Laing Plays Mountain, in 2015. This project included bassist/vocalist Joe Venti and guitarist/vocalist Phil Baker in 2015. For their 2016 United States tour, Laing and Venti were joined by Richie Scarlet, now on lead guitar, and Ken Sidotti on keyboards. They performed Mountain music in addition to songs by
West, Bruce and Laing and
Cream. And in 2017, Mark Mikel was playing bass with Chris Shutters and Richie Scarlet on guitar in the lineup. Mikel continued until touring was ceased in 2020 due to
COVID-19. Leslie West died on December 22, 2020, after suffering a heart attack. He was 75. In 2021 Corky Laing's Mountain resumed touring with a lineup of Laing (drums, vocals), Joe Venti (bass, vocals) and Richie Scarlet (guitar, keyboards). ==Band members==