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

Full House: Transcendent Jazz Masterpiece
Wes Montgomery is an iconic guitarist – a titan in the jazz genre. Boasting a style as unique and inimitable as Django Reinhardt or Jimi Hendrix, he burst upon the…
Return Of The Prodigy
The son of bluesman Johnny Otis, Shuggie Otis was born into a world of blues, R&B, nightclubs, and stages. As a guitar prodigy, he played in his father’s band, and…

Preaching Metal
Classic heavy metal will never fade as long as K.K. Downing remains one of its torchbearers. Sermons of the Sinner, the debut album by his new band, KK’s Priest, is…
If you’re making a list of beloved bands with a long string of hook-heavy hits, the Doobie Brothers will surely be on it. Their new album, Walk This Road, features the creative core of vocalist/guitarist Patrick Simmons, vocalist/guitarist Tom Johnston, multi-instrumentalist John McFee, and vocalist/keyboardist Michael McDonald. The news of Walk This Road generated significant
Season 03 Episode 10 In Episode 3.10 of “Buy That Guitar,” host Ram Tuli is joined by Robb Lawrence and Kim Shaheen. Robb’s experience in the vintage market spans from the golden age of electric-guitar innovation to the modern world. Beyond simply studying the history, he lived it, documented it, and played alongside giants who
A lifelong vintage-guitar nut who has had “a million guitars,” Jeremy Graf’s all-time favorite is this 1961 Stratocaster. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Graf was just seven when, for reasons he doesn’t remember, he asked for an Elvis Presley record. His mother obliged and brought home Elvis’ Golden Records, a compilation of ’50s hits. “That

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…

One-Man Band
New York-based guitarist Stephen Ulrich is known for the suspenseful “crime jazz” and surf-rock tones of his instrumental trio, Big Lazy, but he has a side career writing soundtrack music.…

Homage to Lowman Pauling
All but forgotten today, with his low-slung guitar, stylish rhythm licks, and tasty leads, Lowman Pauling was one of the great guitar heroes of the ’50s. Guitarist for the R&B…

Foreigner at 40
Somewhere in the world right now, a Foreigner song is playing on the radio. Literally. Thanks to nearly 20 mega-hit singles, 75 million units sold, and legions of fans, the…

Voice of a Guitar Great
It would seem contradictory to describe someone as both underrated and a virtuoso, but such is the case with Steve Winwood, particularly regarding his guitar playing. • The reaction of…

The Killer’s Axe Man
Playing behind the Killer, you wouldn’t want to hit a wrong note. Kenny Lovelace has picked his guitar with Jerry Lee Lewis for 47 years and counting, so he must…
The guitar universe was rocked on January 20 by the announcement of John Sykes’ death from cancer, at age 65. Forty years ago, the British guitarist rocked with high-volume bands like Thin Lizzy and Whitesnake, establishing himself before “shred” guitar had a name. Blazing on a Les Paul Custom, he was as fast as any
Despite their catalog-grade status, Supro amps have been used by several noteworthy guitarists. For many, the sturdy Thunderbolt is the preferred workhorse. It’s been a long time since Supro amps were any kind of secret find or hidden gem; players have long recognized the eccentric splendors of certain mid-sized examples, with their thumping tremolo and
George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacher founded Electro String in 1931 to manufacture what everyone would soon call “Rickenbacker” guitars. Success came early and their lap steels set standards of quality, performance, and tone. On the other hand, the company’s electric bass viols and violins excited segments of the industry but never sold well. Same for
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
Vintage Guitar is happy to offer the premier of the new music video by Grammy nominee Duke Robillard. “Lowdown” is the first single from his upcoming album, Blast Off!, set for release February 20 on Nola Blue Records. “When thinking about a powerful song to launch the album, I chose a hard-rocking Tom Waits tune
David Bowie was always creatively restless. The English musician decided to step away from the glam rock he’d recorded for a few albums concluding with 1974’s Diamond Dogs, which included a few songs with tinges of soul, R&B, and funk. On tour promoting the album, he played a handful of soul covers. Bowie had long

Jazz guitar is one of my main loves, whether it’s Eddie Lang’s work with Bing Crosby in the early ’30s or Rick McRae playing at an Austin restaurant next week.…
Kenny Burrell is a legend in the annals of jazz guitar history. Emerging from Detroit in the 1950’s with a background in organ trios, he has done just about everything…

Steve Stevens plays “77” Live from the dressing room at Wembley Arena just before a sold-out performance with Billy Idol, Steve Stevens uses his signature Ciari Guitars Ascender Premier in…

20 Albums In
On his 20th album, Something’s About to Change, Strat stalwart Robin Trower once again dives into the blues for a set of songs redolent of Albert and B.B. King. As…

Road Rules
If you’re making a list of beloved bands with a long string of hook-heavy hits, the Doobie Brothers will surely be on it. Their new album, Walk This Road, features…
Solo Tribute to Stevie Wonder
If such an award was given, Nashville-based guitarist Pete Huttlinger’s third solo album could be nominated for the “Most Unique and/or Obvious Album Title Pun,” as his Fingerpicking Wonder is…
Hell Revisited
The hottest thing going in genre-bending music during the past year has been the award-winning Hellecasters, whose first album on Mike Nesmith’s Rio Records Return of the Hellecasters raised a…

Mods and pedals need not apply! Watch Jared James Nichols tear it up on “Dorothy,” his ’52 Gibson Les Paul, running straight into his Blackstar JJN20 signature amp. The guitar…
Creativity and Chaos
Calling any player “the hardest working guitarist in the business” is rather like referring to one as the “best guitarist” – do it, and you’re just asking for trouble. But…
Bluegrass, Bass, and Back Agian
American music legend Chris Hillman is an accomplished guitarist. He has wielded a variety of stringed instruments in a number of notable bands, as exemplified by his tenure as a…

Mars, Pluto… And Styx
Styx’s 2017 album, The Mission, revived the band’s concept album in its chronicling of a flight to Mars, and represents the group’s first new material in nearly 15 years. The…
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…

Subcontinental Slide
Not many musicians can claim to have invented an entire style of music, but Indian guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya is one. He fused Indian classical with Hawaiian lap slide and steel,…

Sun Shine
Steve Lukather has been a busy professional guitarist for 45 of his 63 years, as a founding member of Toto, revered session musician who played on countless hits, and solo…

“Buy That Guitar” podcast with special guest John Majdalani Season 01 Episode 03 In Episode 3 of “Buy That Guitar,” presented by “Vintage Guitar” magazine, host Ram Tuli is joined…

Just for VG followers, a solo take on “Novo” Lari Basilio grabbed her signature Ibanez LB1 (dig the purple finish and gold hardware!) to play a fresh take on “Novo,”…

Pandemic Re-Think
Six Strings, the debut EP by 26-year-old Alex Hall, establishes the Georgia native as one of the new generation of guitar-slinging country vocalists. The work is different from the album…

Ep 76 of “Have Guitar Will Travel” features Troy Johnson, Scott Lindsey, and Brett Boyette of the band Nashvillains. The guys have written and produced music for feature films, television…

Melodious Coterie
Boxcars Among the vast papers, drawings, photographs, and tapes at Texas Tech’s Crossroads of Music Archive is a guitar beloved by the late Jesse “Guitar” Taylor. Known as “Dice,” it…

Plus, Precision Bass rests and an odd Galliano
I’ve never read why Jimi Hendrix played and set up a right-hand Strat to play left-handed. Surely, he could’ve found a lefty model. Does anybody know? – Garry Curry The…

To help denote the 45th anniversary of the release of Machine Head, we asked subscribers to Vintage Guitar’s electronic newsletter, “What are your three favorite Ritchie Blackmore songs, riffs, or…