“Pete Townshend said, ‘I wish I could play like you.’ I thought, ‘I wish I could come up with the three chords you take to the bank!’” How Caleb Quaye became Elton John’s go-to guitarist – and took over Jimmy Page’s session work
Caleb Quaye left the music business in the ‘80s, after a career spent inheriting assignments slated for Jimmy Page and palling around with Pete Townshend and Elton John. “But I kept playing,” he tells Guitar World, “in a Christian band for my church and at evangelistic events.”
In the ‘70s Quaye was an ace whose licks enhanced tracks ranging from Harry Nilsson’s Coconut to Elton John’s Tiny Dancer. He was a full-time member of John’s band and also lent his talents to Lou Reed, Hall & Oates, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, The Beach Boys, Peter Criss.
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Andrew Daly is an iced-coffee-addicted, oddball Telecaster-playing, alfredo pasta-loving journalist from Long Island, NY, who, in addition to being a contributing writer for Guitar World, scribes for Rock Candy, Bass Player, Total Guitar, and Classic Rock History. Andrew has interviewed favorites like Ace Frehley, Johnny Marr, Vito Bratta, Bruce Kulick, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Rich Robinson, and Paul Stanley, while his all-time favorite (rhythm player), Keith Richards, continues to elude him.
