Old Enough to Forget

I had no idea who Walter Rossi was when I picked up Diamonds for the Kid . The name felt familiar, but I was probably confusing him with Gary Rossington. Who knows, I can't figure out how my brain works. Frankly it was the cover that caught my attention. My goodness that cream Les Paul Custom looked so cool. The Bigsby B7 and the missing middle pick up and the distinctive pots and mystery switch just looked awesome. There was Walter standing impatiently, looking a little like Al Di Meola (it reminded me of the Elegant Gypsy cover without the woman in black), with his hands on his hips with his shirt unzipped, probably down to his belt buckle, giving the camera a look that could wilt flowers and scare children. He may have looked like a middle aged guy with thinning hair who had seen it all and kept the receipts but he was only thirty three years old at the time. Walter was, as you may have guessed from the cover, a guitar player. In the '60s he earned his stripes playing with W...