Guitar Player

With 38% off one of our favorite headphone amps plus a super affordable FRFR, you can't afford to miss Positive Grid's Sparktober sale

To help guitarists practice silently without compromising on high-definition amp models and effects, Positive Grid has ...
Guitar Player

What Paul McCartney taught Brian Ray about playing the Beatles’ songs: "One time in rehearsal I made a mistake in the chorus”

When Brian Ray joined Paul McCartney’s band in 2002, he was tasked with learning more than 40 songs — in one week.
Guitar Player

Fans want Keanu Reeves to induct Peter Hook into the Rock Hall after “Love Will Tear Us Apart” tribute

The Dogstar bass guitarist introduced his hero onstage in San Francisco before Hook dedicated the Joy Division classic to ...
Guitar Player

Todd Rundgren takes aim at Taylor Swift: “There’s an argument to be made that she ruined music”

Todd Rundgren has never been shy about taking aim at pop music, but his latest target is one of the biggest stars in the ...
Guitar Player

Rick Nielsen on the origin of his Hamer five-neck guitar: “I wanted a 12-string and a fretless, and one that sounded like a Stratocaster and one that sounded like a Junior”

The Cheap Trick guitarist’s custom 2004 Hamer is going to auction for the first time. But the story of its 1981 predecessor ...
Guitar Player

Bay City Rollers founding guitarist Neil Henderson dies at 73: “His memory will live on”

Neil Henderson, the Scottish guitarist who played with the Bay City Rollers during the band’s formative years, has died at 73 ...
Guitar Player

How a simple guitar hook inspired Tears for Fears’ biggest hit: “I tuned the E string down to D and came up with this riff”

Tears for Fears guitarist Roland Orzabal says he wasn't convinced about the hit potential of "Everybody Wants to Rule the ...
Guitar Player

Dolly Parton wrote “9 to 5” with her fingernails: “I have a credit on the back of the album that says, ‘Nails by Dolly!’”

On Dolly Parton Day, we revisit how the country icon was stuck on the 9 to 5 set without her guitar — and turned her ...
Guitar Player

Steve Howe recalls his strangest guest sessions, from Lou Reed to Ella Fitzgerald: “There were people like Mick Jagger standing there”

The Yes guitarist looks back on the unexpected recording dates that put him in studios with Reed, Queen and other unlikely ...
Guitar Player

In a brand-new interview, Ritchie Blackmore says Deep Purple reunion was like coming back from war: “Everybody thought I was dead. And there I was — I was aliv…

The legendary guitarist reflects on his surprise return to the stage with his former bandmates after 33 years and the ...
Guitar Player

Jeff “Skunk” Baxter says guitarists need to master these two tricks: “I only give two lessons”

Jeff “Skunk” Baxter has played on hundreds of recordings as a member of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, as well as in his long career as a session musician. He has two essential pieces of advice ...
Guitar Player

Johnny Marr on the “magic” of writing the Smiths’ songs with Morrissey

Nearly 40 years after leaving the band, Marr looks back on the creative partnership behind The Queen Is Dead and reveals how their early songwriting sessions worked When you purchase through links on ...