Guitar heroes. You know ’em, you love ’em, you play along with their solos on a tennis racquet.

But you may or may not know what their voice actually sounds like. Some string-slingers are also blessed with a fine singing voice (your Eric Clapton, your Jimi Hendrix) and therefore have the freedom to express themselves both instrumentally as well as vocally.

Other guitarists might not be so lucky (your Eddie Van Halen, your Jimmy Page). They must rely on someone else’s voice to represent them and that can often lead to conflict. But sometimes the music gods find your perfect match.

When last we saw Robin Trower he was busy guitaring for Procol Harum and skipping the light fandango. A co-founder of the group, he’d been playing with the other members for over a decade. After the band’s first couple of records, Trower began writing and started to contribute two or three songs per album, but by 1971 he felt the need for more creative freedom.

Shortly after leaving Procol Harum, Trower met the man who would become his surrogate voice for the rest of the 1970s, bassist and singer James Dewar. In 1973, they officially formed the Robin Trower Band, a power trio with Reg Isidore on drums. Their first album didn’t shake the world, but their second, titled Bridge of Sighs (named after a horse, not the 400-year-old Italian bridge that criminals crossed before their incarceration) went Top 10 in the US in 1974 and sold half a million copies.

Trower had the first line of the title track stuck in his head for years before he finally completed the lyrics. Dewar then added his soulful vocal and a classic rock radio staple was born. He would go on to sing for Trower on seven more albums (nine in total). Alas, neither had the same kind of success when apart as they did together.

So cross the bridge, and sigh… with Robin Trower.