Leslie West meets people's dreams and heartaches through his guitar, and that's where the legacy of this legend lies. His legacy continues as he returns to the stage on January 31st at B.B King's Bar.

West is more than a name or a career. He is a man that reaches people through music and his life experience, and they are intertwined. His song "Legend" in his album "Unusual Suspects" appears to highlight his life journey in a direct and powerful manner.

As I clicked play. Thoughts of Leslie West collide and resonate. I listened. Piano chords cascaded up and down in a gentle manner. A soulful introspective voice sings the first line, "Don't call me legend, I came here to play." Leslie West dropped out of high school to join a band launching a dream. "Don't call me legend. That's all I have to say." Leslie West plays the guitar. He has and still works with numerous acclaimed artists. "Now I begin to play. That's all I have to say . . ." In  2009, Leslie West married his love Jenni Maurer. "The wailing guitars makes a man feel all his scars." In 2011 his lower right leg was removed due to complications with diabetes.

As I spoke to him over the phone, we discussed his life how his wife pulled him through the agony of losing part of his right leg, how he possesses the drive to continue his quest for creating and performing music, and how it's the way people rise after they fall that counts because everyone encounters obstacles in life.

Here are some interesting facts about the man himself: