Harvey “The Snake” Mandel, also known as the Sustain King, is an American blues rock guitarist known for his innovative approach to electric guitar playing and legendary licks. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayall before starting a solo career. Mandel was valued so highly by his peers for his innovative guitar work that he came within inches of joining the Rolling Stones as a replacement guitarist after Mick Taylor quit in 1974. His guitar work can be heard on two songs from the Stones’s 1976 album “Black and Blue”: “Hot Stuff” and “Memory Motel.
