The Guitar Man

For the Jerry Reed song, see Guitar Man (song).

"The Guitar Man" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by the rock group Bread. It first appeared on Bread's 1972 album, Guitar Man. It 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 No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States and was their third No. 1 hit on the easy listening chart,^[2] (following "If" and "Baby I'm-a Want You").

"The Guitar Man"
Single by Bread
from the album Guitar Man
B-side	"Just Like Yesterday"
Released	July 1972
Genre	Rock, soft rock[1]
Length	3:46
Label	Elektra
Songwriter(s)	David Gates
Producer(s)	David Gates
Bread singles chronology
"Diary" (1972) "The Guitar Man" (1972) "Sweet Surrender" (1972)

Record World called it a "superfine superhit" with a "beautiful tune, apt lyric, full, rich production."^[3] Cash Box said "this ballad proves [Bread's] versatility and ability to handle a lyric that says a bit more than 'I love you.'"^[4] Cash Box also said the song "is about performers, but is bound to be a listener's dream."^[4]

Chart performance

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Australia (KMR)	22
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5]	6
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[6]	7
Ireland (IRMA)[7]	14
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8]	8
UK Singles (OCC)[9]	16
US Billboard Hot 100[10]	11
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[11]	1
US Cash Box Top 100[12]	10

Personnel

• David Gates - lead vocals, bass, violin
• James Griffin - acoustic guitar, harmony vocals
• Larry Knechtel - lead guitar
• Mike Botts - drums

Cover versions

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. In 2020, The Wild Feathers included a version of the song on their album "Medium Rarities".

See also

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1972 (U.S.)

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-21. Retrieved 2013-08-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 39.
3. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. July 15, 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
4. "Cash Box Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. July 15, 1972. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
5. "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
6. "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
7. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Guitar Man". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
8. "Bread – The Guitar Man". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
9. "Bread: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
10. "Bread Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
11. "Bread Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
12. "Cash Box Top 100 9/23/72". Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved 2016-11-01.