CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jimi Hendrix loved his playing so much that he asked him to perform at his birthday party. Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin and Frank Zappa were among his biggest admirers. He played in the James Gang and spent decades jamming alongside rock ‘n’ roll royalty.

But there was only one king – God almighty – to Glenn Schwartz. And the Cleveland rock legend saw his guitar as much an instrument of faith as a maker of music.

He often sang about heaven, the daily struggles on earth and the road to eternal salvation.

Schwartz is on his way: The beloved musician, who inspired generations of players and fans around the world over five-plus decades, died on Friday. He was 78.

Story by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer

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Photo by Bob Eville. Joe Walsh and Glenn Schwartz jamming at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Ca., in 2016

“I’m in denial,” said his longtime companion, Sally Moncol. “I was talking with Glenn on the phone in the morning and then he told me, ‘I’m out of breath and feel like I just ran a mile.’ Then he started slurring his words.”

Schwartz lived in Euclid with his brother and bass-playing bandmate, Gene Schwartz – who tried to help Glenn before calling 911.

“Gene called emergency and they came and took Glenn to Cleveland Clinic Euclid Hospital,” added Moncol. “He passed away soon after getting there. He had so many ups and downs in life, but it’s shocking to think he’s gone.”

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Photo courtesy of Gene Schwartz. Glenn Schwartz playing at La Cave, around 1967

Schwartz enjoyed many peaks and survived even more struggles in his life. As a juvenile, he loved hot rods, street racing and getting into trouble.

He also loved rock ‘n’ roll and learned gritty riffs playing along to 45s by bluesmen like Otis Rush. Schwartz could play cool, loose and bluesy. Or he could flip a switch and play tough – with the mania and a wicked vibrato that brought flair and intensity to the room. He was, after all, an emotional player, and his guitar was his emotional divining rod.

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Photo by Bob Eville. A recent photo of James Gang members: from left, Jimmy Fox, Dale Peters, Glenn Schwartz, Joe Walsh

After getting out of the military in 1967, Schwartz embarked on a life of rock ‘n’ roll.

“I was trying to put the James Gang together and was having problems finding a guitar player,” said James Gang drummer and founder Jimmy Fox. “So I was asked to audition for this nine-piece band. I wasn’t going to do it until I heard that Glenn was supposed to be there – he already had a reputation for being an amazing guitar player and I wanted to meet him.”

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Photo courtesy of Gene Schwartz. Glenn Schwartz around 1967, at La Cave

Fox was blown away by Schwartz soon after hearing him play.

“He had been stationed in Germany for three years and had so many different influences and was nothing like the other musicians in the area,” says Fox. “He was on par with the greatest guitar players in rock ‘n’ roll.”

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Photo by Bob Eville. Joe Walsh and Glenn Schwartz jamming at Coachella, 2016.

Schwartz, who was often called “The White Jimi Hendrix,” played in the James Gang for less than a year before moving to Los Angeles. He was replaced by his friend Joe Walsh. They remained close throughout.

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Columbia Records, courtesy of Bob Eville

By the end of ’67, Schwartz had co-founded the L.A.-based Pacific Gas & Electric – which scored a Top 20 hit, “Are You Ready,” in 1970. After some heady living in the hippie scene on the Sunset Strip, he quit the band and took a very different direction.

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Photo by Bob Eville. Glenn Schwartz jamming with friend Butch Armstrong.

“People were doing a lot of drugs out there and Glenn was an acid casualty,” says Moncol, who had attended some of the James Gang’s earliest shows at places like the old Mentor Hullaballoo. “So he quit the scene and turned to religion.”

Schwartz often confessed from the stage – in bars such Hoopples and the Beachland Ballroom, where he performed regularly – about the dark period in his life that led to a conversion to Christianity. Rather than introduce songs or do shout-outs to the bartenders, he would lament his days “backsliding” and doing drugs, stealing cars, “lying and cheating.” And he would punctuate every story with a warning about the possessive powers of Satan.

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Hidden Vision Records

Upon returning from California to Ohio in 1970, Schwartz found himself possessed by a cult. He spent seven years in the 1970s in the Church of the Risen Christ – an Orville-based religious group led by a charismatic fire-and-brimstone preacher, Larry Hill, who got his start trying to save street people, gang members and drug addicts.

The community numbered around 25. Members, including Schwartz, lived on a farm and were at the command and whims of Hill. They would wake up at 4 a.m. to work in the field for meager rations of food.

Schwartz’s guitar wizardry was a gift to the church. He was a featured member of its All Saved Freak Band, considered one of America’s first Christian rock groups. The band performed regularly in Kent and recorded albums that mixed blues, psychedelia and folk rock and fetch upwards of $150 on the collector market.

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Photo by Bob Eville. Schwartz performing in the Beachland Ballroom in 2012.

“The cult was built on terror and control and one day he finally decided he had to leave,” said Moncol. “He just walked out and hitchhiked his way back to Cleveland.”

All Saved Freak Band shows would feature Hill delivering fiery sermons about the treachery of the devil and the glory of salvation – themes that Schwartz later brought to his live shows in Cleveland.

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Photo by Bob Eville. Glenn Schwartz performing at Hoopples with Vernon Jones and Joe Walsh.

“There were times when Glenn would say things about women or tell people in the audience that they were going to hell,” says Cindy Barber, co-owner of the Beachland Ballroom. “He had gotten sucked into that cult and was beaten there, but Glenn really just wanted to play music and save souls.”

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Photo by Bob Eville. Glenn Schwartz, far left, with the James Gang.

“He had this sign full of biblical phrases and wore a work shirt with biblical phrases,” says Barber. “We became dear friends – he was a kind and gentle man.”

Regular gigs attracted blues fans and bar hounds, along with curiosity-seekers interested in hearing him preach from the stage and confront the audience.

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Photo by Bob Eville. Undated photo of Schwartz, center, in Las Vegas to perform a Pacific Gas & Electric set with the band's original drummer, Frank Cook, left, and his brother Gene Schwartz.

“It wasn’t an act – he would try to save souls no matter if he was playing a club or we were going shopping in a Giant Eagle,” said Moncol. “I know some people mocked him, but he never backed down. Glenn was a caring soul with a strong conviction.”

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Photo by Bob Eville. Schwartz with Auerbach, 2016.

One of the admiring regulars at his shows was Dan Auerbach,

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Photo by Bob Eville. From left, Dan Auerbach, Joe Walsh and Glenn Schwartz.

In 2016, the Black Keys guitarist even brought Schwartz and Walsh to Nashville to all record together in his studio with his band the Arcs.

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Photo by Bob Eville

The guitar trio also did an impromptu jam in the iconic Nashville bar Robert’s Western World.

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Photo by Bob Eville. From left, Glenn Schwartz, Joe Walsh and Gene Schwartz in Dan Auerbach's Nashville studio.

“One of my fondest memories is of him and his replacement in the James Gang, Joe Walsh, sitting closely, face-to-face, in an empty studio, delightedly trading fiery amazing licks back and forth with deep determination and great joy,” said Cleveland musician and arts activist Nick Amster, who attended the recording session. Schwartz played his final show ever at a birthday party for Amster at the Beachland Ballroom on Sept. 30.

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Photo by Bob Eville

That same year, Schwartz and Walsh joined Auerbach on stage to jam together at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California.

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Photo by Bob Eville. Joe Walsh, Glenn Schwartz and Dan Auerbach at Coachella, 2016.

“Glenn remained close friends with Joe Walsh,” said Bob Eville, a longtime friend who booked shows and assisted Schwartz. “Joe would make a point to see Glenn every time he came to Cleveland and would come down to Hoopples to jam with him.”

Eville met Schwartz 55 years ago when he was hanging out in the drag racing scene with Gene Schwartz, a noted racer. Their relationship expanded, with Eville helping Glenn Schwartz on a day-to-day basis.

“Glenn was very religious and didn’t appreciate what was going on in society,” says Eville. “So I tried to soften things a bit between him and the world because I didn’t want to see him miss out on some of the opportunities he had because of his great talents.”

As time went by, Schwartz increasingly came to see those talents in a different light.

“He would often tell me, ‘I don’t care about playing – it’s all about witnessing,’” said Moncol. “He played his guitar in service to God.”

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Photo by Bob Eville. Glenn Schwartz with his son Bob and brother Gene Schwartz visiting a landmark on the Sunset Strip for the Whiskey A Go Go, the iconic club where Schwartz played many times in the 1960s.

In recent years, Schwartz became less fiery with the between-song banter. It reflected a more contemplative, philosophical side as he plowed ahead with health issues.

“Glenn didn’t watch TV or follow the news, but he felt that the world is in a lot of trouble,” says Moncol. “As he got older and his back and legs and body hurt more and more, he became less and less afraid of death.”

“We’re all sad and shocked that he’s gone,” adds Moncol. “But he’s happy now in heaven.”

Schwartz is survived by his sons, Robert and Glenn Jr., and his brother Gene. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Brickman Bros. Funeral Home in Willoughby. Visiting hours are 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Wednesday. There will be a one-hour service at 10 a.m. Thursday. Schwartz in will be interred immediately following the service at Lake View Cemetery.

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