On October 18, rock ‘n’ roll guitar god, Johnny Salton, joined Jimi, Janis and John Bonham in rock ‘n’ roll heaven, succumbing to cancer. Salton began his career playing bass of all things (one scribe commented that his band the Reactions had so many talented string players they could afford Salton on bass). His big break came with Charlie Pickett’s band, eventually touring the USA. Salton’s wicked slide guitar graced a number of Charlie’s albums, and in 1985 when Charlie turned off his amp to pursue a career in law, Salton formed Psycho Daisies with some of Charlie’s guys. Salton’s main inspiration came from Paisley Underground bands such as Jeffrey Lee Pierce’s Gun Club and The Dream Syndicate.
I had the honor of playing drums in Psycho Daisies behind Salton in the early-2000s, even recording a CD, “Snowflakes Falling On The International Dateline.” Neither Johnny nor Charlie are household names today, but they sure deserve to be. Luckily, we still have the albums to remember him by.
Read the obituary.