The Guitar Man
Bread
1972
Unranked screenshot addition; source-supported original release year, not membership in an annual Top 150.
Requested recording or edition is represented by this sourced catalog destination. The screenshot is metadata evidence; the supplied audio, exact mix, edit, pressing and master have not been independently verified. Version scope: Original 1972 studio recording family
Release: 1972
Release: 1972Source checked
Original recording release year at year precision. A later single, compilation, remaster or listening-list appearance does not replace the first supported year.
The large badge identifies this listening list, not a newly issued recording. Later reissues and renewed chart popularity do not replace an original release date. How years are assigned.
Rhino - Guitar Man album and original single history
The Guitar Man single appeared in summer 1972, before the late-1972 album. David Gates wrote it; Larry Knechtel supplied the featured wah-wah guitar work. Later reunion produced Lost Without Your Love.
Inspiration and background
Researched recording background
David Gates wrote The Guitar Man, which Bread released as a single in the summer of 1972 before the Guitar Man album. Larry Knechtel played the featured lead guitar, developing its wah-wah phrases after earlier solo attempts by Gates and Jimmy Griffin. The recording's instrumental role gives the song a distinct place within the band's otherwise ballad-heavy catalog.
Evidence scope: Sourced recording, release or edition context; private songwriting inspiration is not inferred.
Sources for this information
Rhino - Guitar Man album and original single history
The Guitar Man single appeared in summer 1972, before the late-1972 album. David Gates wrote it; Larry Knechtel supplied the featured wah-wah guitar work. Later reunion produced Lost Without Your Love. | Retrieved 2026-10-19
Other appearances and versions
Original 1972 studio recording family
Requested recording or edition is represented by this sourced catalog destination. The screenshot is metadata evidence; the supplied audio, exact mix, edit, pressing and master have not been independently verified. Version scope: Original 1972 studio recording family
An annual chart year and an original release date are different. Similar titles may be covers or different masters; no audio fingerprint has been performed.
Sources and scope
Research-supported screenshot addition; exact user-file audio identity not established.
Editorial genre classification for the identified recording, informed by its sourced release and arrangement context.
Rhino - Guitar Man album and original single history
The Guitar Man single appeared in summer 1972, before the late-1972 album. David Gates wrote it; Larry Knechtel supplied the featured wah-wah guitar work. Later reunion produced Lost Without Your Love.
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