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February 2026

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58 articles

February 21
- “I had a hard time choosing: Was I an actor or a musician, or could I be both?” Before the Oscar, before ‘The Big Lebowski,’ Jeff Bridges was ready to give his life to music. Then Hollywood intervened
February 20
- “We smoked a lot of pot together, so that was really helpful.” How Neil Diamond, a bag of weed and a twice-rejected song turned a pair of struggling young guitarists into global stars
- “I was still in this wailing mode. I was a kid on a mission.” Robbie Robertson on Eric Clapton, the power of subtlety and his ‘Last Waltz’ bronzed Stratocaster
- “I can sing. I’m not playing guitar right now; that’s going to have to come later.” Lucinda Williams on her post-stroke health and her new album’s “battle cry” for troubled times
- “We were all looking for something that would sell. Then along came Elvis.” Scotty Moore on the night Elvis Presley walked into Sun Records — and the session that launched the King’s career
February 19
- “Today that’s a Google search in two seconds. That would have saved me a lot of stress.” Jack White on his eight-year search for a piece of gear no one knew existed
- “These recordings were going to be the next Van Halen record.” Alex Van Halen on the new Van Halen album and Steve Lukather’s role in it
- “Bringing out the heavy hitters! Can’t wait to hear this.” Nita Strauss and Joe Satriani–approved shredder lands new gig alongside heavy metal star
February 18
- “Those first two days, we got along like brothers. Then it was like, ‘This isn’t happening.’” Nile Rodgers gave John Mayer “the most underrated rock and roll album of all time.” Days later, their collaboration fell apart
- “I hate the fact that I’m ever even slightly compared to them.” Pete Townshend on rivals, regrets — and what he really thought of Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin
- “It made me feel like, ‘Wow, is that how people perceive me?’” Eddie Van Halen on the one guitarist he said out–Van Halened him
February 17
- “Randy was trying to get backstage to meet him, but Eddie was bouncing off the walls in his underwear.” Kelly Garni sets the record straight on the rivalry between Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen
- “Jeff recorded things that are in my vault. It’s an album’s worth of stuff.” Jeff Beck drummer Narada Michael Walden reveals the guitarist left behind a previously unknown trove of tracks
- “The radio interference was so significant. There was nothing we could do.” Julian Lage says noise from cellphone towers made recording his guitars impossible. Just by luck, he had a fix
- “I talked about the very first thing I learned on guitar, and he said, ‘That's exactly what I learned first!’” Roger McGuinn on jamming with George Harrison, teaching Mike Bloomfield and confusing Bob Dylan
February 16
- “As soon as he saw ABBA, all in matching white fur coats, he went running over. Then he vomited.” John Lydon on the Sex Pistols’ obsession with Sweden’s purveyors of pop
- I didn’t expect much for guitarists in the Amazon Presidents’ Day sale, but these 6 deals are well worth checking out with big savings on Boss, Fender, D'Addario, and more
- Grab yourself some historic savings with the 5 best Presidents’ Day sales for guitar players, including hundreds slashed off Fender, Gibson, PRS, and more
- The price of golden-era guitar tone just plummeted with a staggering $600 saving on a Vintera II guitar at the official Fender Presidents' Day sale
February 15
- “Wiped the whole hand out. The end of this thumb was off. The fingers were just danglin’, hangin’ off.” The King of Rockabilly on the gruesome onstage accident that nearly ended his career — and his life
February 14
- “There are babes jumping up and down. I’m going, ‘That guy's copping my song.’ And then I realized it was me!” Bonnie Raitt on learning her guitar work was the theme for the hit TV show ‘Baywatch’
February 13
- “It’s the most amazing guitar. I’ve used it on nearly every single record.” Bill Wyman on the $15 bass guitar that powered the Rolling Stones’ classic hits — and became a priceless piece of rock and roll history
- “Zakk, why am I alive?” Zakk Wylde on his favorite untold Ozzy Osbourne story
- “He’s such a d*** that he’ll probably never get the credit he deserves.” Billy Corgan on the paradox of being Ritchie Blackmore
February 12
- “The engineer got really excited. He was like, ‘Wow, what’re you guys doing?!” Bernie Leadon dissects the Eagles’ biggest album of all time
- “I didn’t have the money, but I said, ‘I want it.’ Now it’s worth millions.” Andy Summers on the history-making $200 guitar behind the Police’s biggest hits
- “People started to boo. It taught us you can’t pander to other styles.” Al Jardine on the Beach Boys’ “lost album” and Brian Wilson’s strangest comeback
- Guitar Center pledges to make guitars cheap again this Presidents' Day, and with a staggering $900 off a Gibson Les Paul, they've got my vote
February 11
- “It’s blasphemous to put a whammy bar on a Les Paul? Screw you! I’ll do what I want.” Steve Vai on the radical guitar mods he learned from Frank Zappa — from a torched Jimi Hendrix Strat to the birth of the JEM
- “Tony's locked away with his bag of Quaaludes. Bill’s come to fire me, and he's got a can of Budweiser...” Ozzy Osbourne on cocaine, conflict and the bitter irony of being fired from Black Sabbath
- “One of your sound guys told me to turn down earlier.” Jack White on the priceless advice Prince gave him
- The Presidents' Day celebrations have arrived early at Musician's Friend with massive discounts of up to 60% off guitar gear, including some sweet deals on Fender, Epiphone, and Martin guitars
- “I’m terrible at fingerpicking. I'm even ashamed to try it. But I do know how to use a pick.” B.B. King on his trick for getting more sounds out of your guitar
February 10
- “The shop assistant said, ‘I could phone up Eric Clapton and he’d come and buy it.’” Robert Fripp on a briefcase of cash, a music store showdown and the ’59 Les Paul Custom that powered King Crimson’s most radical music.
- “I said, ‘I’ll only do it if we can get Glenn’s son. I wanted the blood.’” Don Henley on loss, legacy and the end of the Eagles
- “I thought, What would be the worst thing a criminal could do?” Johnny Cash on the true story behind his infamous signature song
February 9
- “This amp’s dynamics are off the charts.” We review Bartel Amplifiers’ Swingland 1x12 combo and find a low-watter that delivers high-wattage tone, response and feel
- Win tickets to see Warren Haynes perform on his “Winter of Warren” solo tour at Guitar Player Presents
February 8
- “I looked down and saw the second finger of my left hand dangling by a thread.” Dr. John on the fight that nearly killed his guitar-playing dreams — and set him on a new path to music immortality
February 7
- “I kicked him in the wrist as hard as I could. I know I broke it, because I used to wear these great big platform shoes onstage.” Lita Ford on the Runaways, rock and roll — and what happens to hecklers who get in her face
- “He said, ‘You S.O.B., you got to me on that Telecaster. You got that so cheap.’” Vince Gill on how he found the instrument he calls “the definitive guitar in my life”
February 6
- “The critics hate my records. They’ll review cats like Santana and Eric Clapton and give them more credit and recognition.” George Benson on fame, freedom — and why jazz only forgives you when you’re broke
- “Are you effing kidding me? He's one of the only guitarists that you can identify with one note.” As he releases ‘B.B. King’s Blues Summit 100,’ Joe Bonamassa relects on the most overlooked aspect of the King’s guitar genius
February 5
- “I went, ‘Oh no! If my dad sees this, he's gonna kill me!’” Geezer Butler on the Black Sabbath album cover that made him to leave home in fear for his life
- “Dylan loved it. It didn’t get better than that.” Alice Cooper on his teen-rebellion anthem that won Bob Dylan’s stamp of approval
- “People don’t realize how important they are and how they just changed the world.” Jack White on the difference between blues and rock guitarists
February 4
- “That is partly the reason, but he also had a bit of aggravation.” Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty on the other reason Eric Clapton left the group to join John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers
- “The pressure was on. I got really lucky.” Jorma Kaukonen on how he forged the sound of psychedelic rock on Jefferson Airplane’s groundbreaking hit
- “Our first two albums were dismal failures. So we doubled our efforts.” Scott Gorham on the power of harmony guitars and Thin Lizzy’s ‘Jailbreak’ success
February 3
- “I asked the organ grinder, ‘Can I borrow your monkey for a moment?’” Photographer Richard E. Aaron on how a late-night Lynyrd Skynyrd party and a Jack Daniel’s–chugging chimp made rock history
- “Please don’t turn into Yngwie Malmsteen or Joe Satriani!” Ian Anderson on how he nurtured the soloing talents of Jethro Tull’s new guitarist
- “We got the song in three takes, on one track, for 57 bucks. Isn’t God wonderful?” Guitar legend Link Wray on the hit that introduced distortion to rock and roll, inspired Jimmy Page to play guitar — and caused public outrage
- “They were not talking to each other at all.” How Steve Lillywhite made a Platinum album with the Rolling Stones in the midst of Keith Richards’ and Mick Jagger’s darkest moment
February 2
- “I wanted Eric for a bit of moral support. I think it was the same reason he asked me to play on that session.” George Harrison on the time Eric Clapton asked for a little help from his friend
- “When I did it, it sounded like a bunch of cats fighting.” Johnny Rzeznik on his number-one regret about the Goo Goo Dolls’ biggest hit song
- “We f**king love you, Ozzy!” Slash, Andrew Watt, Duff McKagan, Chad Smith and Post Malone honor Ozzy Osbourne with a show-stopping all-star performance of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” at the Grammys
February 1
- “He goes, ‘I play a little. I'm a hillbilly.’ Whips out his flatpick, man, and wailed on it.” How a devastating childhood accident and chance encounters with legends helped Ry Cooder become one of guitar’s most influential stylists
- “America is a dangerous place at the moment.” Brian May says Queen will not perform in the U.S. “Everyone is thinking twice”