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Willie G. Moseley
Pop ’N Hiss: Taste
Breakout Blues
The ’60s may have been the most musically significant decade in the history of popular music, but very few countries were represented then or in the years that followed. Fronted by Van Morrison, Them emerged from Ireland mid-decade and became popular in Europe, but were little-known in the U.S. Their countrymen in Thin Lizzy didn’t…
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Willie G. Moseley
Pop ’N Hiss: Hot Tuna
Sonic Contrast
As lead guitarist and bassist for Jefferson Airplane, Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady were frontline in pop-music history, propelling the band’s loud, dense sound to iconic status on the San Francisco psychedelic scene and performing at Monterey Pop, Woodstock, and Altamont. So it seemed a contradiction when, just after playing for hundreds of thousands in…
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Willie G. Moseley
A Mick Ralphs Sampler – Definitive Listening
Curated by Vintage Guitar’s Willie G. Moseley, this playlist showcases the evolution of Mick Ralphs’ sound through various songs he wrote or co-wrote. Included are tracks from Mott the Hoople, which Ralphs sang, along with selections from Bad Company featuring all three lead vocalists: Rodgers, Howe, and Hart. Mott the Hoople “You Really Got Me”…
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Willie G. Moseley
Jeff Kollman
Validating Versatiltiy
A perusal of guitarist Jeff Kollman’s resumé forces a double take. Alongside decades of studio work and live gigs with artists like Chris Isaak, Lou Gramm, and Glenn Hughes are major projects that seem contradictory. For example, there’s his instrumental fusion/metal band, Cosmosquad, of which he says, “The music goes in directions that are unpredictable,…
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Willie G. Moseley
Joe Long’s “stack-knob” Fender Jazz Bass
If you’re a fan or aficionado of vintage instruments, odds are that any early-’60s Fender Jazz Bass catches your eye. And “lefty” versions are especially intriguing, given their rarity. The Jazz was Fender’s second electric bass, following the groundbreaking Precision, which was introduced in late 1951 and underwent three stylistic changes by the time the…
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Willie G. Moseley
Rick Derringer
Explore The Possibilities
Rick Derringer and his compadres in the McCoys smashed their way into the pantheon of rock and roll in the mid ’60s with the three-chord anthem “Hang On Sloopy,” a loping sing-a-long with an irresistible hook. But Derringer’s experience transcends a pop single to musical associations with Johnny and Edgar Winter, as well as his…
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Willie G. Moseley
Carvin DN440T
One of the few family-owned guitar/amplifier manufacturing enterprises remaining in the industry, Carvin was founded by Lowell Kiesel in 1946 and started by making pickups, then transitioned to building lap steels and other stringed instruments. Some of the company’s early guitars and basses used parts from other guitar makers, but as its direct-to-consumer concept caught…
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Willie G. Moseley
Pop ’N Hiss: Blue Cheer’s Vincebus Eruptum
Heavy-metal Genesis
Blue Cheer was arguably the most-notorious band to emerge from San Francisco’s psychedelic scene in the late ’60s, its decibel-drenched assault steamrolling the “peace and love” stereotype of the hippie movement. Founded by bassist/vocalist Dickie Peterson in 1966, the band took its name from a batch of LSD made by San Francisco chemist/acid king Owsley…
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Willie G. Moseley
The Basses of Paul Goddard
Southern Player Non-Pareil
In the late 1960s, Paul Goddard was a popular guitarist on the Atlanta music scene, as a studio player and backing shows by Lou Christie, Billy Joe Royal, and others. He later enjoyed a taste of fame as bassist for the Atlanta Rhythm Section, which he helped form in 1970. Influenced by progressive-rock bassists such…
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Willie G. Moseley
Bobby Koefer
Bobby Koefer, a revered steel-guitar player and early proponent of Fender musical instruments, died March 16 in Bend, Oregon, following a brief illness. He was 95. A self-taught musician, Koefer invented an unorthodox playing style with an unusual grip on the bar in his left hand and utilizing only a thumb pick on his right…
