Luther Perkins Why? He was Johnny Cash's guitarist. That should be enough. If you need more convincing listen to the opening riff of "Folsom Prison Blues." His playing was simple yet brilliant. He got more mileage per note than a guy like Kirk Hammet could ever hope. The guy literally invented the Boom-Chicka-Boom picking style that were a signature of Cash's hits of the 50's & 60's.
Paul Simonon Why? First and foremost he was the bass player for the only band that mattered. He's the prototype for what punks have been trying to look like for nearly 35 years. He came up with the name The Clash from a newspaper article. He's gone on to have a successful career in the art world. He's featured on one of the greatest album covers of all time "London Calling." The photographer caught him at the end of a frustrating show in which his bass wouldn't stay in tune so he smashed it before leaving the stage.
Izzy Stradlin Why? Cultivated the quintessential gypsy rocker look in the heyday of hair metal. He always seemed more interested in the music than the insanity around GnR. Laid down some of the best hard rock rhythm guitar on the planet. Was the first GnR member to say "Fuck You" to Axl and diva bullshit and walked away from the band at their absolute apex of popularity. "Where's Izzy?" in the ApeDonkey sidemen hall of fame that's where.
Little Steven/ Nils Lofgren I'm not a big Springsteen and the E Street Band fan, more of an admirer of the music they been able to create but both of these guys 100% deserve to be in the BadAss sidemen hall of fame.
Lets start with Little Steven Why? The E Street Band, Artist Against Apartheid, The Sopranos . That's a pretty good list huh. Is it even possible to look at a guy in a long bandanna and not think of Little Steven? He co produced three of Bruce's best Darkness on the Edge of Town, The River and Born in the USA. He played a major role in one of the great television series of all time as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos. He has a kick ass syndicated radio show Little Stevens Underground Garage. If all that wasn't enough when he got married in 1982 Bruce Springsteen was his best man. Little Richard was the minister who performed the ceremony and Percy Sledge sang "When a Man Loves a Woman" for the newlyweds.
Nils Lofgren Why? Some of you may only know him from his open letter to Michael Vick that came out last year. You'd be wrong if your opinion ended there. He was contributing to Neil Young albums at 17. The day before recording "Southern Man" Neil told Lofgren he would be playing piano on the song. The only problem was Nils didn't play piano. The result is one of the most famous piano riffs in rock history. Nils also played on one of the coolest and greatest albums of all time Neil Young's "Tonight's the Night." If tequila and cocaine every made a record "Tonight's the Night" would be the result. When Little Steven left the E Street Band, Springsteen promptly brought Lofgren in as his replacement. Oh and one more thing BadAss headband.
Peter Buck Why? REM is my favorite band of all time and Peter Buck is my favorite member of the band. If you've ever seen them live you know Buck goes into a world during performances. The first time I saw REM live was on the Green World Tour with Robyn Hitchcock as the opening act. Buck played guitar for Hitchcock on that tour. So he played an entire opening set, went backstage for a few minutes then returned to play a marathon REM set. He has an unmistakable style of picking through chords as opposed to strumming them. He was the one member of REM known for his partying acumen, once partying with Lester Bangs. In 2001 he was kicked off a transatlantic flight for drunkenness. At one point Buck was in REM, The Minus 5, Tuatura and Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3. He along with Bill Berry and Mike Mills cut a blues album with Warren Zevon and called themselves Hindu Love Gods.
Honorable Mention
Bob Stinson, Brian Jones, Steve Cropper
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