•  Joey Molland

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     Joey Molland

    The word “underrated” is belabored in music journalism, but Joey Molland was just that. As co-guitarist in Badfinger, he was part of a quartet signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records, yielding glorious AM hits like “Come and Get It,” “Day After Day,” and “No Matter What.” The foursome fell into obscurity and tragedy a few

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Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

It was 50 years ago today…

Vintage Guitar magazine Presents Greg Martin's Head Shop

This is a regular series of exclusive Vintage Guitar online articles where The Kentucky Headhunters’ Greg Martin looks back on influential albums and other musical moments. It was 50 years…

Brian May

Thinking Man's Guitarist

Brian May is indubitably one of the most talented and influential musicians of his generation. His songs and guitar riffs carved an important place in rock and roll history. Long…

Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka

Heavy Steps : Road Ready

“Rock and roll is a young man’s game.” Once upon a time, it was the genre’s calling card. A half-century later, though, young bands playing bombastic guitar rock often trod…

Bernie Marsden

1951-2023

Bernie Marsden, one of the founding guitarists of Whitesnake, co-writer of the band’s massive hit “Here I Go Again,” and noted guitar collector, died August 24. He was 72, and…

Mitch Easter

The Let's Active Leader's Solo Debut

Photo courtesy Mitch Easter. When “Southern rock” became synonymous with jangly power-pop instead of Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, Mitch Easter was a pivotal figure. The Winston-Salem native formed the…

VG Q&A: A Gilded ’63 Jazz Bass

Plus, Swappable Pickups, Bartell Guitars, and a Mystery Lap Steel

I am the third owner of a 1963 Jazz Bass with a neck stamp “7Jan63A,” pots dated that May, and serial number from that spring. It also has original gold…

Gary Moore

Remembering Phil Lynott

Moore with his signature model Gibson Les Paul. Photo: Rob Verhorst/Redferns Music Picture Library. Irish guitarist Gary Moore is a man in perpetual motion, onstage and in the studio. A…

The (Way) Back Beat: A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody

Fretted cheesecake advertising through the years, Part One

There are many ways for an advertiser to attract attention, and in the history of 19th- and 20th-century print hucksterisim there have been few stones left unturned in the battle…

Richie Kotzen

Solo and Salty

Richie Kotzen was one of those kids – always entertaining the family with song and dance, usually in a crazy costume. “I wanted long hair like a rocker, so I…

Martin Barre

Tull axe man solos agian

Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre’s new album, Stage Left, is his third solo effort, and not only does it contain great riffs and tones (every track but one is an…

Dick Taylor

From R&B Psychedelia With the Pretty Things

When the Pretty Things’ 50th anniversary was marked with Bouquets From A Cloudy Sky – a huge boxed set containing 11 CDs and other goodies – the cover of the…

John Leventhal

Ready to Rumble

“I’ve been lucky enough to make a career co-writing and producing records with great singers and lyricists, John Leventhal explains. “But I’ve always had all this other music in me.…

Dave Edmunds

Dave Edmunds

Full Solo Circle

The career of Welsh guitarist Dave Edmunds has included hits and collaborations with other notable musicians, including Rockpile, with bassist Nick Lowe. First, though, he drew notice in his home…

Name that Twang

The Guild-Duane Eddy Connection

The fledgling Guild company scored a coup when it signed Johnny Smith to an endorsement deal in 1956. Perched atop the jazz-guitar scene at the time, Smith helped Guild join…

Wata

Mega-Decibel Fuzz

Anyone who digs fuzzed-out hard rock with amps pushed to their limit should add Boris to their play list. Hailing from Tokyo, the group has been fed and guided by…

John Pizzarelli

From Stage to Seven-String

The John Pizzarelli Trio is back on the road supporting its latest album, Stage and Screen. Joined by Isaiah J. Thompson on piano and Michael Karn on double bass, Pizzarelli…

Elliot Easton

Elliot Easton

Shifting Gears Again

Not long after he released an instrumental album with an aggregation known as the Tiki Gods, veteran southpaw guitarist Elliot Easton abruptly put the project into stasis when an opportunity…

Paul Mehling

Fab Four Gypsy of Tone

One of the world’s foremost Djangophiles, Paul Mehling has for many years been at the forefront of Gypsy jazz in America. The new album by Hot Club of San Francisco…

Leigh Stephens

Blue Cheer Flashbacks

Blasting out of the San Francisco Bay area with an amped-to-the-heavens heavy blooze/hard rock style, Blue Cheer spewed forth a lo-fi garage sound that found the trio lobbing grenades on…

50 Years Ago Today

The Beatles Conquer America

Sunday, February 9, 1964, was the day that forever changed music and pop culture. “The Ed Sullivan Show” was one of the most popular television programs in the United States…

Warner Hodges

Warner Hodges

In And Out of Scorcherland

If your ear was at all tuned to “alt-country” (a.k.a. cowpunk) in the late ’80s or you were lucky enough to be informed of it in the years since, you’re…

Stephen Bruton

In the Spirt of the Ft. Worth Tradition

You’ve likely heard Stephen Bruton without knowing who he is. He has backed up luminaries like Kris Kristofferson and Bonnie Raitt, and appeared in numerous movies. While Bruton was raised…

Neil Giraldo

Neil Giraldo

Guitarist, Producer, Partner

Quiz time, guitarheads. What was the second video played on MTV? If you guessed “You Better Run” by Pat Benatar, you win. And, since there was no guitarist in the…

Dudley Taft

Dudley Taft

Raucous, Righteous Blues

With the recent release of his third solo album, Screamin’ in the Wind, guitarist Dudley Taft is serving notice that for all of his years of experience, his guitar playing…

Luther Dickinson

Luther Dickinson

Acoustic Odyssey

When Luther Dickinson isn’t writing and performing with the North Mississippi Allstars or on the road with The Black Crowes, he plays the acoustic guitar – and lots of it.…

Eric Gales

Journey to Love

The latest from Eric Gales features the production talents of Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, and a face-melting guitar duel, but there’s more to Gales than mesmerizing guitar; his artistry runs…

Fretprints: Jack Wilkins

Farewell to a Modern Jazz Master

Jazz guitar recently lost one of the great ones. Jack Wilkins, champion of modern traditionalism (or is it traditional modernism?) passed on May 5, leaving an unsurpassable legacy. An exponent…

B.J. Baartmans shares his “Cabin Fever”

The Space Age Travellers: Eclectic Instro B.J. Baartmans’ trio, The Space Age Travellers, defies genre labelling. Here, he uses his ’73 Fender Strat (tuned down a full step) with a…

Chris Thile

Thile's New Loar

Photo: Steven Stone. While Chris Thile may well be the best mandolin player in the world, he couldn’t care less. Other musicians might worry about their place in the hierarchy…

Henry Garza

Still Familia

The music created by Los Lonely Boys – brothers Henry, Jojo, and Ringo Garza – is an amalgam resulting from a deeply musical upbringing fostered by boundless influences. Combining elements…