Tony Maiden rocks a Gibson Byrdland onstage with Chaka Khan at the Colonie Coliseum in Latham,
New York, in the early 1980s. Photo by Al Quaglieri
TONY MAIDEN
To the general public, the name Tony Maiden
may not be as well known as other funk guitar icons. But mention the songs “Tell Me
Something Good,” “Once You Get Started,”
or “Ain’t Nobody,” and you’ll start to see the
lightbulbs come on. In 1974, Maiden joined
Rufus—which featured Chaka Kahn and
was one of the biggest-selling bands of the
1970s—and went to work adding beautifully
arranged funkiness to Rags to Rufus. Maiden
was a very soulful singer who could go
toe-to-toe with Kahn, and his guitar brought a
funkiness that worked seamlessly with Khan’s
soaring, jazz-influenced vocals.
Rufus was about great songs, vibe, pocket,
and cleverly orchestrated arrangements. Dig
the skanky, choked chord pattern on the intro
to “You’ve Got The Love” on the live album
Stompin’ at the Savoy, or the sultry, sliding
double-stops on “Sweet Thing” (the latter of
which was co-written by Maiden and Kahn
for the album Rufus Featuring Chaka Kahn).
Maiden’s guitar parts—which he played on
everything from a Gibson ES- 175 to an
ES-345, Les Pauls, and a Fender Mustang
(though recently he’s been playing rosewood
Telecasters)—are a compositional marvel. His
sublime rhythm work mixed melodic chording
with delicious R&B lines, and tasteful effect
use (check out his bluesy talk box work on
live versions of “Tell Me Something Good”).
But his guitar solos were impressive, too. In
all, his playing style was a master class in the
elements and techniques necessary to create
imaginative parts with soul and finesse.
