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May 2026

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39 articles

May 14
- “It was beat to hell — but it was the best-playing guitar ever.” How a battered Jimi Hendrix Strat helped inspire My Chemical Romance’s change in direction
- “Pete actually dug me out of the hole.” Why Pete Townshend’s Crossroads debut means so much to Eric Clapton
- "If you want classic Fender tube tones, the Blues Junior IV remains among the cheapest ways of achieving them." We review the Fender Blues Junior IV tube amp
May 13
- “Joe took it really badly.” Aerosmith producer Jack Douglas, who died May 11, on the time Steve Hunter replaced Joe Perry on “Train Kept A Rollin’”
- “The faders were so clogged with cocaine they wouldn’t move.” Geezer Butler on the time Black Sabbath and the Eagles shared a studio
May 12
- “A straightforward tube combo hiding serious 21st-century tech.” We review the Supro Airwave 1x12 combo
- “They didn’t know what it was!” Ritchie Blackmore on the mysterious illness that took him out of Deep Purple — and brought in Christopher Cross
- “We did call him — he just didn’t answer.” Alex Van Halen explains why Michael Anthony was replaced by Wolfgang
- Win tickets to see Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, featuring “Mr. Jimmy” Sakurai
May 11
- “There are so many special memories within the walls — not to mention the rooftop.” Coming soon: A chance to stand where the Beatles played their last concert
- “She’d obviously done him to death.” Pete Townshend on the woman who preoccupied him and Jimmy Page at the Who’s “I Can’t Explain” session
- “What kind of idiot does that?” Eric Clapton hit by object thrown from crowd at Madrid show
May 10
- “What I learned at GIT.” Jennifer Batten delivers three must-know fusion licks
May 9
- “He was angry I’d given away a No. 1 hit.” Neil Diamond says he was fired five times before the Monkees scored a hit with his song “I’m a Believer”
May 8
- “It was such great stuff.” Steve Vai says he’s heard Eddie Van Halen’s unreleased recordings
- “I said, ‘Do you remember that guitar that went missing?’” Ronnie Wood says he took a bass guitar from a store to play with Jeff Beck
- “He told me it was the best record he ever made.” The last music Steve Cropper heard before he died was his own new album
- “We’re not Lady Gaga. We’re not Elton John. We’re two random dudes.” The story behind Angine de Poitrine, the viral masked microtonal duo
May 7
- “I was like, ‘Ed, you better stop smoking.’” Valerie Bertinelli recalls the night she met Eddie Van Halen — and the “tragic, scary” years that followed
- “Obviously, I thought I wasn’t drinking enough.” Joe Walsh on his secret to a long career — and life
- “I still get emotional talking about John and George.” Paul McCartney says the Beatles are haunting his new album
- “They were literally pushing each other out of the way.” Adrian Smith recalls Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris’s stage battles in Iron Maiden
May 6
- Win tickets to see Eric Johnson in Northern California at Guitar Player Presents
- “That's a form of abuse.” Sting says he won’t leave his $245 million fortune to his kids
- “It would lift me up so I could work that night.” Eric Clapton says Jeff Beck pulled him out of a late-career slump
- ”Multiplying anything by the number 64 makes it huge.” How many pickups is too many? This guitar has 64
- “You are Robert Smith from the Cure!” Mick Jagger recalls the unexpected moment that led to a Rolling Stones collaboration
May 5
- “There was a box of cocaine on every shelf.” Robben Ford recalls his wild all-night sessions with George Harrison
- “It’s sacrosanct.” St. Vincent says Larry Carlton’s Steely Dan guitar solo should always be played note-for-note
- “These songs are played a lot. They’re often not played well.” Guitar Center reveals the riffs customers play most — and “Stairway to Heaven” isn’t No. 1
May 4
- “It sounds like a terrible B-flick horror soundtrack.” Eddie Van Halen on the night he got drunk and wrecked Marvin Hamlisch’s piano
- “What am I gonna play on this song that’s got 18 Steve Vai guitar tracks on it?” Joe Satriani and Vai on the upcoming SatchVai album — and their plans for the group’s future
- “It felt like there were insects in my legs.” Peter Frampton recalls the moment he knew something was wrong
May 3
- “Look up!” Olivia Rodrigo reveals the hidden note Jack White left in her ‘SNL’ dressing room
- “12 of my guitars are stolen and I have to fly to Philadelphia and do a show.” Metalocalypse creator Brendon Small says he lost rare instruments gifted by Joe Satriani and Steve Vai
May 2
- “Even Clapton came out and gave me the thumbs up.” The day Ministry’s Al Jourgensen shut down a studio — while Eric Clapton was recording next door
May 1
- “It was like getting into a swimming pool with lead weights tied to your boot.” Mark Knopfler on his grueling 10-hour Steely Dan session that resulted in just seconds of music
- “I had already died. I wasn’t afraid of death anymore.” Melissa Etheridge says a “heroic dose” of cannabis led to a life-changing awakening
- “That was an uncomfortable spiral downward.” David Coverdale on Tommy Bolin replacing Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple