A singular talent, one of those guys you KNOW who it is in 3 seconds of anything he ever played. I shall always remember that unlike so many who look so pained while in the depths of doing their thing, he'd just smile like crazy from all those musical endorphins flooding his brain like a fire hose: That's how he could play like that.
I believe I've posted this before, but today would be a good day to revisit it. It's from a series of interviews at The Smithsonian Museum with immigrants who found success after coming to America. It's great as it's not the 'rock press' and none of the usual 'Sammy said this' or 'Dave said that' BS, and quite revealing, and in a way the story of a lot of immigrants.
I was working retail music stores when he hit, and it was mass hysteria among guitar players the way Beatlemania hit teenage girls !