• Classics: Norman Harris

    Artists

    Classics: Norman Harris

    Rare Pioneer

    As a teenager who just wanted to play music, Norm Harris lived with the reality that he and his band weren’t going to be millionaires anytime soon. So he did what musicians do – side-hustled. But when most were manning the counter at a music shop or serving tables, Harris was up at the crack

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Outlaws

Rising Tides

By the mid ’70s, Southern rock emerged as one of the most-exciting and successful genres in pop music, thanks to the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Another important early…

Kenny Brown

Mississippi Slide

The Black Keys’ latest album, Delta Kream, is a collection of blues standards from the Mississippi Hill Country. Drummer Patrick Carney and guitarist Dan Auerbach expanded their duo with a…

Pete Anderson

Disciple of the Hook

Detroit native Pete Anderson made a name for himself in the ’80s, playing a ton of twang while Dwight Yoakam sang. In the last 20 years, though, he has become…

June Millington

Rock-Guitar Hero

Fanny, the legendary all-girl quartet from the early ’70s, kicked to the curb the notion of “they play good… for girls.” Acknowledgement was slow to come for their musical excellence…

Michael Wilton

Michael Wilton

Rebuilding the Queensrÿche Brand

The highly publicized firing of singer Geoff Tate from the band Queensrÿche has divided fans and spawned two touring bands using the name; Tate assembled a group of well-known sidemen,…

Paul Quinn

Relentless Persistence

For Paul Quinn, music begins and ends with the blues. The soft-spoken guitarist began playing by listening to British blues icons and helped make Saxon one of Europe’s biggest heavy-metal…

Beat Portraits: Burns Volume 2

The Black Bison Leads the Herd

In early 2009, VG columnist Peter Stuart Kohman turned his focus on Burns, the pioneering British guitar builder. We’ve compiled the first three installments for a special edition of VG…

Lee Ritenour

Lee Ritenour has forged a path as a preeminent session player in the kaleidoscopic Los Angeles studio scene, and a respected solo player. He has been active for decades, and…

Tomas Janzon

From Stockholm With Love

On Tomas Janzon’s Nomadic, the Stockholm transplant based in New York channels his inner Wes Montgomery to unveil fresh compositions with clever harmonic twists, all supported by lush hollowbody tones…

Eric Johnson

Getting Up Close With Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson’s latest release, Up Close, is his most lively studio project to date. With a looser vibe and the luxurious tones we’ve come to expect from Johnson, it gets…

2025 August Issue on Spotify

This month, we feature Rick Derringer, Kid Ramos, Booker T and The M.G.’s, Steve Stevens, Phil Manzanera, Doug Aldrich, Kenny Burrell, Eric Johanson, Gary Moore, and more! Spotify is free…

Prodigal Sunburst

Joe Walsh Reunites with a ’59 Les Paul Standard

A master of delivering crystal-clear musical messages with an off-kilter wit, whether talking, singing, picking, or sliding on guitar, everything Joe Walsh does brings an undeniable charisma. For decades, Walsh…

Mo Foster

Michael Ralph “Mo” Foster, British bass stalwart who played with Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, and others, died July 3. He was 78 and battled cancer of…

Rick Derringer

Different Directions

For all of his decades of experience as a guitarist, producer, and singer, Rick Derringer recently took his avocation in yet other musical directions. Among the classic instruments Derringer played…

Lloyd Loar

An Alternative View

The Master Model instruments created at Gibson in the early 1920s are famous for their sound and build. Credit for their design is often laid at the feet of “acoustic…

Adam Levy’s Wistful Elegance

Vintage ES-335 on “And They All Sang” Famous for supplying charismatic guitar parts while backing Nora Jones and Tracy Chapman, Adam Levy’s latest solo album, “Spry,” is music laden with…

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…

John Ellis

John Ellis, proprietor of Ellis Guitars, died January 6 in Temple, Texas. He was 75. Ellis was born near Amarillo before his family moved to California when he was a…

T.M. Stevens

Thomas Michael (T.M.) Stevens, a world-renowned bassist whose career saw him back artists in a range of styles, died March 10 after suffering with dementia for several years. He was…

Tommy Emmanuel

The Song’s the Thing

Tommy Emmanuel cautions against using “the V word” – virtuoso – when describing his work. “I want to make musical statements that stand the test of time,” he said. “I…

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…

Howard Roberts

Howard Roberts and the Black Guitar

Webster’s Dictionary defines genius as “…a person gifted with extraordinary powers of intellect, imagination or invention.” The definition could as easily be applied to describe Howard Roberts – virtuoso guitarist,…

Grace Bowers

Truth of Youth

The word “prodigy” is overused in the music biz, but Grace Bowers is a real-deal young funkster. Just 18 years old, she melds R&B, feisty blues-rock, and gospel flavors on…

Tommy Emmanuel

The Song’s the Thing

Tommy Emmanuel cautions against using “the V word” – virtuoso – when describing his work. “I want to make musical statements that stand the test of time,” he said. “I…

Greg V

Tailgate Troubadour

Greg V.’s Tailgate Troubadour is an outstanding album that crawls under your skin and sticks with you. But it wasn’t really meant to be. “It was basically a deluxe business…

Charlie Gracie

Rock’s Unsung Pioneer

“…as I went from London to Liverpool to Manchester to Birmingham to Scotland, in the audience were all these young kids coming up – the Stones, the Beatles, Joe Cocker,…

Leslie West

Leslie West

Still Climbing!

Leslie West is renowned for his iconic tone and revered as a forefather of classic rock. A true survivor, he’s adjusting after a life-saving leg amputation, but forging ahead and…

Letritia Kandle

and the Magnificent Grand Letar

Run down the list of early electric-guitar innovators and an all-male group typically comes to mind – Les Paul, Alvino Rey, Charlie Christian, Merle Travis, and the like. However, Letritia…

Classics: February 2024

Sean Slade’s 1964 SG Junior

They might not seem to have a ton in common aside from first names. J Mascis, Dinosaur Jr.’s co-founder and guitarist developed a style equal parts guitar heroics and left-side-of-the-dial…

Johnny A.

On the fast track

When VG first caught up with guitarist Johnny A. in 2001, his instrumental release, Sometime Tuesday Morning, was perking ears all over the place. Before he signed to Steve Vai’s…