Jesse Ed Davis | Fab forum

His unique guitar playing was a highlight of Walls and Bridges, and that's an understatement.  JED played a major role in setting that album apart from other albums in JL's solo canon.

So far as I know, their relationship began and ended with "the lost weekend."  Therefore, lots of controversy, including, according to May Pang, violence involving JED biting JL' and JL responding with a Coke bottle to JED's head that endangered his life, and of course JED as a source for the swill that Goldman the Cockroach served up in Lives of John Lennon.

JED died the same year that Goldman's "book" came out, in fact I think he was gone before the book hit the stores.

How much does anyone here know about the JED/JL relationship?  Did they part on good terms, or what?

The infamous JL attack on the sailor incident story that AG attributes to JED, who obviously wasn't there, has at least one major problem--both JL and JED were awash in booze and packing their noses to an extreme during this time…I think both men probably talked a lot of shit and did a lot of shit then, so, no, I don't believe the story.  The circumstances of its retelling and reporting are not credible.  AG knew that but his cynicism and greed won out over ethics…

My take is that yes, JL and JED had a tough relationship that led to beautiful music, and that AG exploited JED, who struggled with and eventually died from various addictions, for his own gain.

Well, the book was in the works for several years, so AG probably spoke with him long before '88. 

But you have a great point and I have every reason to believe it's true, that AG was looking for people to confirm the worst or at least say they'd heard about the worst.

That's what happens when one's motives are the worst.  AG was even more vicious with his portrayal of YO, which is saying a lot, because she's definitely in the top 5 most vilified female public figures on the planet.  But if she's really the greedy monster looking for every way she can to make $$ off JL, well then, she and AG are kindred spirits for sure.