The music of DR Feelgood is what you need to pick you up. One of the highlights of working Guitardoor is Myself Knowing what I know in the musical history and current scene, gets combined with Chris’s knowledge and our Guidance from Pete Feenstra. This means we all 3 are constantly teaching each other about bands we don’t know about. Chris just turned me on to Dr. Feelgood and Guitarist Wilko Johnson. These new gems of music we pass back and forth are priceless to us. I must say I have a new favorite on the list now. I Love this music.
Cover Photo Credit“Wilko Johnson” by SandMonster is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 
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DR FeelGood Most Popular Songs
Works Like Baby Jane, Going back home, She does it Right and so many others are quirky in the best of ways. Simple and catchy, yet not dumbed down to be popular. The Band knew how to write a fun body of music, accessible without compromising.
Milk and Alcohol.
Two minutes and 40 seconds of Genius. Every aspect of it is right. Groove, Melody, and a stinging to the point guitar lead. As a songwriter, I know the difficulty of writing a song that embodies everything you want in that short time period. They make it look easy. Brilliant!
Dr. Feelgood – Roxette
This was the first song I was privy to. It was at first a study in Guitarface and Wilko’s robot chicken moves. On the second viewing, I got it. His “Frailing” or “Clawhammer” Banjo approach to the guitar is something very familiar to me as a former Bluegrass player. I still today have to employ that when I drop the Plectrum and go to bare hands on. The idea of his style being Primarily based on that is amazingly innovative.
It’s also painful, literally. That speaks to the dedication of his playing down a different road. The song itself with a unique time signature Hint’s of Reggae and Blues structure in a straight-up Roots Rock number Knocks me out.
Dr. Feelgood Southend Kursaal (15 minutes of magic in the 4 songs)
!5 mins of Magic at Southend Kursaal. The Venue is Genuine History. Opened in 1894 and progressed to the world’s first True amusement park in 1910. The Landmark was at other times a Greyhound racing park. 1948 on its showcase was the Ballroom for musical events. By the 1970’s it was considered, THE place to play Rock N’ Roll and was host to Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, and AC/DC as well as Dr, Feelgood. Its functional beauty was a sight to behold. I encourage you to research the History on your own. It is one of the world’s most captivating stories and Venues.
Documentry The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson
Wilko was diagnosed in January of 2013 with inoperable pancreatic cancer. This documentary shows his inspirational view of Mortality. His guitar playing was unique and so was his view on living life for the first time in an awakened state of Mortality. Well worth your time if you have an interest in the human condition of life and death.
I personally think Dr. Feelgood picked up where the Yardbirds left off and added in their own Rock N Roll paint sets of sound. They have the Blues, The Rave ups, the Wonderful Harmonica, and vocals of Lee Brilleaux. On the other hand, there is no other band quite like them and the works and Legacy left is its own Testament to a simple and Hardworking Band whose works are beyond the recognition deserved. I can tell you they have one more fan today than they had yesterday. Five stars for the Sounds and tons of Love for Making us Truly “Feel Good”. If you are a guitar player and want to try out playing like Steve Wilko check out this video and thanks for reading and watching, please leave a comment, or share this on Facebook and Twitter to join the discussion.
Other People Playing in the Style of Doctor Feelgood Today
If you are a fan of Dr Feelgood, why not check out these works in the style of Dr Feelgood by our friends award winning songwriter/lyricist/promoter and author Pete Feenstra and former Wilko Johnson championed Feelgood Band main man, multi instrumentalist and indie artist John Simpson.
