On April 7, 2023, Ian Bairnson died. If you don’t know who he was, you’re not alone. But you’ve probably heard of the Alan Parsons Project. He was the guitar player. And he was my favorite guitarist of all time.
No, seriously. I was a rock guitarist in college, and I’d heard all the greats – Hendrix, Clapton, Page, Van Halen, etc. They were all great, but none of them really spoke to me. I was looking for something but I didn’t know what. And then my cousin bought me Ammonia Avenue by The Alan Parsons Project. I put the needle down on the first song, Prime Time. It started cool, with a hi hat and a Rhodes. And then those guitar melodies. And I suddenly found what I’d been looking for. Speed doesn’t matter. Playing old blues licks doesn’t matter. Here was a guy improvising really good melodies. With great tone.
I was hooked. I became a massive fan of Ian and of the band.
And Ian’s playing was a massive influence on mine. Still is.
He suffered from dementia. And eventually he died. On April 7, 2023.
Live long enough and you’ll watch all of your heroes die. In the case of Ian, I can still listen to his work. I never get tired of it.
It sucks to see your heroes die. I’m pretty bummed about it.
I’m very glad I still have his music. That sounds shallow. But it’s the truth.
