Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - China Grove, 11/13/2023, Alexandria, VA

[@myvalium1]

You just gotta kick back and appreciate Jeff Baxter’s talent

[@larrybethune3909]

I understand he has some skill sets around software development and the missile defence program (Star Wars). Typical musician 'eh!?

[@ToddSauve]

@@larrybethune3909 It was actually naval missile defence for carrier battle groups. Maybe he offered some expertise on Star Wars, too. The man is talented in the way few of us are.

[@lauriequeripel6083]

Agreed. He's got great taste in music too, loves Spirit/Randy California.

[@handerson8150]

I LOVE it when artists reinterpret their work. A new version often becomes a new favorite! This is GREAT!

[@theswampfox9584]

China Grove doesn’t belong to Skunk Baxter it’s Tom Johnstons

[@NEWYORKPATRIOT-cp2tx]

Folks throw around the words "under rated" a lot. But Skunk Baxter is truly one of the most over looked guitar players in American history. His experience includes playing with Hendrix. We've all heard his playing on too many great recordings. And yet thats only part of who he is. He's a brilliant expert on , of all things BALLISTIC MISSLE DEFENSE and worked for the US defense dept. How's that for a kicker? A wonderful guitarist and a brilliant patriot. God bless Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. He's truly a great American.

[@Phredbo]

Didn't he play with steely Dan

[@newstarcadefan]

@@Phredbo he did.

[@Phredbo]

Yeah I think shink Baxter was the best guitarist for steely Dan and argumentally the best guitarist ever

[@Scott__C]

Yeah, he never really stepped out and had a solo career as Glenn Campbell did.

[@Phredbo]

The other day a radio station asked Ted Nugent who he thought was the best guitar player ever his first reply was Mitch Ryder since Mitch had taught Ted a lot of licks his second pick was Glen Cambell

[@rogerduckwall4146]

Wow!!!! What an amazing twist!!!! Im blown away!!!!!

[@joshuapost8564]

why is Jeff Baxter one of the GOATs of the 70s? This. This right here

[@anthonymicale3989]

Jeff Baxter is a national treasure.

[@Patriot-x8y]

Congratulations on using the most overused comment on youtube. You whats really a treasure ? Originality. Aisle 5. Go find some

[@crupert23225]

@@Patriot-x8y Was that necessary? And actually, the most overused comment is "underrated". Which, he is. You know what's really a treasure? People who can write a complete sentence and punctuate it properly. Basic English. 3rd grade. Attend.

[@Patriot-x8y]

@@crupert23225 so you're like a professional idiot ? Got it.

[@bevo65]

@@crupert23225 Allow me to invoke another overused comment. That was EPIC! Well done.

[@youngyeller]

jeff is double cool. amazing talent, and a double naught spy.

[@daleowens156]

I was at the show and he was great!!

[@richardcuccia]

Now, that was fun, silly, & quite talent-filled. Thanks. Richard

[@Starman261A]

Jeff. Thanks a lot. Doobie Brothers and this song bring back some great memories.

[@denniseldridge2936]

In case you were wondering why Skunk was and is the most sought after session guitarist in the history of session guitarists lol

[@JeffStrickland]

YESSSS! This scratched an itch I didn't know I had. lol Friggin' love it!

[@Mo_Ketchups]

Didn’t see anyone give props to that BASS player-voice is PERFECT on this!! 👏👏🤟

[@joshrandall5297]

That's a stretch.

[@Mo_Ketchups]

@@joshrandall5297 Stretch yer taffy.

[@TheBent139]

We had a band when I was 13 and we pretty much played cuts from that album and What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits..we were awful but we did have a good guitarist. I was the lead singer and my voice was changing. We still got all the cute neighborhood girls to hang out with us and that meant mission accomplished.

[@jimdep6542]

I might have been the bass player in your band....this sounds familiar. You did have good bass player, btw....if it was me. LOL

[@TheBent139]

@@jimdep6542 A shame the name wouldn't match. The bass player was named Paul. We met at his house as his father was a musician. This was 1973-74 in North Carolina.

[@jimdep6542]

@@TheBent139 Rats.......the years are right, .......but the bass player's name, his father being a musician and North Carolina don't match up. My name's Jim, I was in the SF Bay Area and my dad was in the USMC and didn't like my taste in music. ....oh well, it was worth asking. We would have had some fun memories to share.

[@JustPlainSteve5372]

👍

[@denniseldridge2936]

And that made your band the most important rock band in the world. Your band was greater than the billion dollar bands that stand on million dollar stages every night with "perfect" musicians in their ranks. It's the garage bands that really rock the world, IMHO.

[@jerrym1183]

Am left speechless after that, --- wow --- am always looking for new Talent and I found it with Mr. Baxter and this Band👍

[@ivansavoie3190]

Great version even greater guitarist,

[@geraldhartley]

Well that was unexpected! 😆 What a talented skunk he is.

[@johnforeman634]

Whenever I see someone playing guitar like that I get so damn jealous! That has to be one of the coolest skills a person could have. No money can buy that. It must be earned over a long period of time.

[@TheTobesOfHades]

at the beautiful Birchmere! Thanks.

[@ScottOuellette-p1d]

I LOVED WHEN HE PLAYED WITH RANDY CALIFORNIA IN SPIRIT BACK IN THE LATE 70'S EARLY 80'S.

[@NickRatto]

One hell of a story line you’ve made us all fell so damn good over the yrs n yet to be play it again n again never gets ole 🕰🐜🎶😎

[@andyinoregon]

I played two albums obsessively in the summer of 1973, The Doobie Brothers' "The Captain and Me" and Steely Dan's "Countdown To Ecstasy." Jeff "Skunk" Baxter played brilliant pedal steel guitar on both albums. Very lucky to have seen him with Steely Dan in April 1974 and with The Doobie Brothers in April 1977.

[@davidjorgensen877]

Never heard a Strat sound so much like a Tele - amazing chicken pickin' rendition of one of my all-time fave songs. Chet is smiling down on you, Jeff!

[@TheDevnul]

Looks like he has an extra knob or switch.

[@Joel_Powell]

At Christmas, my brother-in-law wanted to show me a video and "quiz" me because he knows I am a music lover, especially of the '60s and '70s. He handed me his phone with a KZbin video ready to play and said "see if you can guess who the guy is playing the congas." The video started and the first frame was Linda Ronstadt followed by just hands on the congas. It was "You're No Good" from an old Midnight Special. I handed the phone back to him and said...Skunk Baxter. He asked how I got it so quickly - I said - "Skunk was everywhere in the '70s, man - I had a better chance than of being right, than wrong" - and we laughed. Of course I remembered the show actually - Skunk always stood out in performances. And so many are memorable to me. Thanks Skunk!!! 🦨

[@glennandadriansrocktalk]

LOVE this!

[@Venetiababy1]

My favorite Doobies Song!

[@mrreemann3739]

One of the greatest mysteries of my generation. .what the hell is a China Grove???😂❤

[@paulbfields8284]

Jeff may be Skunk… but he never stunk up the stage… not once.. Such professionals only come once in a while..never thought I’d see the day Skunk would be referred to as Old School.. but in fact that term holds well with him.

[@FrankWhite-b5q]

Cool to see Skunk. Didn't see that voice coming out of that bass player!

[@MikeFloutier]

Love it, thank you! 🎸🍾❤️

[@blueeyedsoulman]

This guy is so appreciated by musicians. I do miss the steel guitar playing. That really was the icing on the cake back in the day. I had a pedal steel guitar and never got past the blues. I really wish I could play it better but it's a difficult instrument and hard to find a teacher. Maybe with KZbin it would be easier in this decade.

[@tixximmi1]

Sneaky Pete thinks so too. Where ever he is. :)

[@deadreckoning292]

I respectfully disagree. He’s totally appreciated to those who know.

[@ikkenhisatsu7170]

Holy smokes - he hasn't lost a step!

[@radioactive9861]

Jeff 'Skunk' Baxter...I can compress his 'three word name' to just one word....LEGEND!

[@stevepergantis1740]

Phenomenal

[@davidmitchell1239]

This is the first video I’ve seen of Skunk playing at this age. I’ve seen some video’s of him at this point and he looked feeble, that is until he started playing! I could only wish I was that feeble. What a baddass! Also, I have many similarities to Skunk, play guitar in a band, am a retired Intel Analyst, so we both have that going on .

[@stephenharris]

Brilliant.

[@macman3175]

Wow James it looks like you did have a blast there! Thanks talk soon,

[@innocentoctave]

The keyboard player is doing extraordinary work here.

[@samuelmorado70]

That's SIR Skunk Baxter.

[@greatunz67]

A far cry from how he played in his younger days, but nice to still have him around.

[@djizzah]

do it again my favorite solo of his steely dan

[@bevo65]

This is good stuff all around. Wow -- thanks, algorithm!

[@baselinesweb]

My kinda musician!!!

[@charlesallison6932]

Love the keyboard "fiddle"

[@rickbaker4571]

Steamer Lane Grove... I dig it...

[@Ubu987]

That's a band that is sparking on all plugs! Love the fake fiddle-playing!

[@jeffreyjacobs390]

China Grove BOOGIE style is fun and not going to replace the original for sure.

[@davemcclung3579]

Great jam version! Nice vocal work by the bass player too 🎉

[@stephenhensley5631]

That version blows me away !!! Baxter's playing is out of this world !!!!! Is he going to play in California ? and if he is I'm there, bet your bottom dollar .

[@jrbaltmd57]

He was one of the founding members of Steely Dan… him, Denny Diaz, David Palmer. Walter Becker, and Donald Fagen…. Classic seventies jazz/boogie, urban rock band. Katy Lied, Can’t Buy a Thrill & Countdown to Ecstasy, Journeyman Guitarist Extraordinaire. …

[@Freempg]

This was in San Juan Capistrano, California.

[@Crackerjack-toy]

@@Freempgwell the title shows this is in Va.

[@alexaalexa6524]

Love it!😀👏👏

[@stevenhamroff5261]

He does this all the time, every Show , Just a tease !

[@stevenhamroff5261]

I was wrong in NYC , 2 DAYS 2 SHOWS A NITE & HE ONLY PLAYED A TEASE... AT LEAST HE PLAYED A COUNTRY VERSION OF THE SONG !!

[@TullMorse]

Awesome! 👍

[@boycano8819]

Salute!!

[@texasflood3165]

Skunk.. you are the GOAT…

[@kdunger7895]

this is great

[@MusicMotivator]

wow!!! Smokin hot!!

[@vootee1]

TERRIFIC. THANKS FOR POSTING!! I am new to Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. Wonderful.

[@TheStevehow]

whole different level.

[@Bazzaland]

I've always felt "Takin' It To The Streets" was the all time best Doobies album. Lately I've been BLASTING "The Captain and Me" in my Silverado and gotta say........it gives "Takin" a legitimate run for it's money!

[@andyinoregon]

My wife and I played two albums obsessively in late 1973 -- The Doobie Brothers' "The Captain and Me" and Steely Dan's "Countdown To Ecstasy." Baxter played on both of them!

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

Minute by Minute, takin to the streets, livin on the fault line, captain and me are all equally great... songs? Pure as the driven snow, livin on the fault line, for someone special... the skunk years were my favorite years though

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

@@andyinoregon love steely too... there was never anyone like them before or after...

[@NoApologiesTeam]

Thanks for posting. That was really cool

[@DebChun-p6d]

Wow he still got it!

[@coldisle]

Great to see the incredible James Raymond on keys!

[@John2009R]

I was surprised see that was where the fiddle was coming from.

[@sideswiped6874]

nice jam!

[@sirgalahad3574]

Holy cow!

[@richardbutterfoss2353]

Thanks! RWB ❤🎉

[@realreally5927]

A true master

[@charlesbrowne5307]

Wonderful to see great players having fun with it all! Was it Zappa that asked" is there a place for humor in music"?

[@bastidface]

I can't believe I missed this.

[@stevenstabile4379]

One morning I was on the LIE going into the city to do a session (The Lord Is Good!!) and I just got on by around exit 63 and track was flowing and I look over next to me in a Mercedes 2 seater sports car and there was Jeff Baxter most likely on his way to NYC probably coming home from the Hamptons because it was a Monday morning around 8 am!!!

[@tonymarch5361]

yep...that cat is mad talented! Awesome adaptation

[@zekelucente9702]

I saw the Doobie Brothers at the Forum in maybe 1981. Incredible.

[@kaysmith5495]

He also played once with Spirit. They were great!

[@A70AMX]

He also played with the last formation of Ultimate Spinach

[@clarkt5439]

Skunk is the GOAT!!

[@custommusic2433]

2:23 that’s a cool little trick thank you! Ctrl C. 👍

[@CalifKid730]

Is that James Raymond on the keyboard?

[@DavidAlexander-di5nl]

legend

[@Lisztomania1]

Great

[@bluesky6361]

The Birchmere is in Alexandria, not Arlington.

[@yesterdaysnews1147]

F**k yeah GOAT

[@davidbrucemusicvideo]

Wow! I’m surprised how good this sounds! Then again, we’re dealing with the mind of Skunk…

[@timothysullivan4130]

One of my old girlfriends dated Jeff in the 60’s GREAT GUY GREATER guitarist 👏👏☝️☝️☝️

[@billmiller2646]

To still be able to pick it like that at his age is incredible. He hasn't lost anything. He's gained a lot !

[@timothysullivan4130]

@@billmiller2646 Couldn’t have said it better bill, he’s getting better the older he gets👍✌️😊

[@daze023]

Been there, done it all

[@deanl0]

The Doobies were rollin' down the highway at high speed when Jeff Baxter played🎸

[@georgesmith2680]

i saw David Crosby son what a good band !

[@soaringvulture]

Well, not my favorite version but man, what a player the Skunk is!

[@mickeyf3730]

Sounds a bit like Streamer Lane Breakdown, from Minute By Minute album

[@longalloway7851]

please release this, maybe this joy lessons loss of Toby Keith

[@spunbearing65]

Americas secret weapon----> Jeff Skunk Baxter!

[@texasbassranger]

LOL, when he waved off the band, I thought..."uh-ooooooh. Should have known since I saw him do that a few years back with Takin' it to the Streets. I've looked for that video on KZbin but haven't found it to date. Of course, it was ten years ago or so.

[@timoakes450]

Seen em all -saw Doobies back in77 in Manchester England -Jeff is and was the BEST guitar player Ihave ever see!!THat includes Beck/Clapton/Gibbons/Page/etc. thanks PS THANKS FOR THE"SKUNK WORK"

[@atatterson6992]

We all have our favs... but beats them four? Whatever it is you're smokin'... moderation bud, moderation.

[@Cream1968]

No shit……😂😂😂

[@betterdogbehaviornow581]

Baxter is much better than those 4 guitar players you mentioned…he did session work in all genres of music…Beck, Clapton, Gibbons, Page and yes Hendrix are way more famous and popular but there are loads of guitar players more skilled than they are/were. Those guys knew/know that. They may be better for you because you like the way they sound but many are more skilled. Check the KZbin video where Alice Cooper talks of Van Halen trying to get Cooper to get him a lesson with Glen Campbell. Why? Because Campbell was a truly great guitar player…better than Van Halen. Campbell was a session player for all genres of music from Sinatra to rock, folk and country… as was Baxter…Hendrix knew that there were many players better than him and he said it many times. Popularity doesn’t equate to skill. Check out old Jerry Reed, Brent Mason, Scotty Anderson, Albert Lee, Jack Pearson, Johnny Hiland, Lenny Breau, Chet, Tommy Emmanuel, Guthrie Trapp and Danny Gatton. These guys are truly skilled…beyond anything those popular stars can or could do…and Baxter could play with those guys.

[@atatterson6992]

@@betterdogbehaviornow581 yeah, Jimmy Page is just a hack...

[@Bingbing611]

The Birtchmere is in Alexandria Arlington doesn’t have a live music venue this nice 👍

[@larychinowsky3682]

Ugh. Will fix

[@NorsePJ]

I thought he was getting into the Elvis hit "See See Rider" there for a second when he re-started. The same riff. LOL!

[@larrybethune3909]

You gotta have Billy Strings sit in on that jam!

[@Steve-oj7nd]

Jeff had come a long way since Ultimate Spinach.

[@paulpustinger1817]

A Stratopicker!

[@tedspens]

Now do Smoke On The Water! ☺☺🎸🎸🎸🎶🎶🎶

[@marilynyoakum512]

Skunk Baxter’s work on ShowBusiness kids is his best ever

[@andyinoregon]

His live performance of "Showbiz Kids" on NBC's "The Midnight Special (aired on Aug. 31, 1973) was stunning, but the album version actually featured Rick Derringer on slide guitar. If you want to hear the best of Jeff Baxter from "Countdown To Ecstasy," listen to "The Boston Rag."

[@Venetiababy1]

I played Long Train Runnin 1,000 times..

[@dporper6390]

Sounds like "if the Outlaws wrote China Grove"😅

[@roberthudson4822]

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter for USSecDef.

[@stratcat9432]

While a damn good performance by the band instrumentally , I'm not sure if this great song actually works with the vocals. I'm not feeling it at all. To my ears, they sound stilted and behind the beat. But flame on, this is just my feeling.

[@jstewardjr]

Wow. Great version. I like it even better than the original!