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June 2026

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87 articles

June 30
- “I took the wrong pill.” Paul McCartney on John Lennon’s accidental acid trip during a nighttime recording session — and how the Beatles hid the evidence from George Martin
- Win tickets to see blues-rock prodigy Taj Farrant perform at Guitar Player Presents in Northern California
- “Of course, he doesn’t think about it. It’s totally natural to him.” Joe Satriani says Sammy Hagar has him beat when it comes to one aspect of guitar playing
June 29
- “I didn’t really know Prince to be that accomplished as a guitarist.” Billy Gibbons says one unforgettable solo changed his mind — then Prince invited him to talk guitar until dawn
- “When things get to a certain volume, everything sounds out of tune to me.” Paul Gilbert reveals the bizarre effect hearing loss has on his live shows
- “Kids come up to me and say, ‘I didn’t know anything about you until I read what Eric Clapton said.’ That gives me a big lift.” Buddy Guy on the endorsement that helped him more than any record company
- Missed out on the Prime Day deals? Here are 26 guitar gear deals that are still live right now
June 28
- “I forgot to turn it off.” Robert Smith on the studio blunder that accidentally changed one of the Cure’s biggest hits
June 27
- “He had just played his heart out. None of it was recorded because the stupid tape ran out.” Ritchie Blackmore says a “brilliant” performance was lost during the making of Rainbow’s epic “Stargazer”
June 26
- “Angus is still wearing those stupid shorts. The band is definitely stuck in a rut.” Pete Townshend on the one thing that has kept Angus Young and AC/DC from evolving
- “We were very lucky that tape was rolling that night.” Robin Trower had no idea Swedish Radio was recording him. The lucky break led to one of the greatest live albums of the ’70s
- “George started freaking out. He said, ‘I feel like I’m dying.’ And then, Peter Fonda said, ‘Oh, I know what it’s like to be dead.’” Byrds founder Roger McGuinn on the origins of John Lennon’s trippiest Beatles track
June 25
- “It would have been great for the Beatles to cover.” George Harrison wanted the Fabs to record this song in 1963. Twenty-four years later, it gave him one of the biggest hits of his career
- “It’s the hottest, burning, high-passion piece I’ve ever heard in my life.” Brian May names the guitar solo he considers the greatest in the world
- “Paul said that in the more than 300 songs he and John wrote, he could remember only one time when they got stuck.” Paul McCartney guitarist Brian Ray talks the Beatles’ creative process
June 24
- “I found out later from Pattie, his wife, that there definitely was a rivalry.” Jeff Beck believed Eric Clapton was jealous of his success. Then Clapton paid him the ultimate compliment
- I never play a gig without these 8 essential tools – build your own guitar first aid kit from just $8.99 in the Prime Day sales
- “His eyes got wide.” Leslie West knew Mountain was onto something after playing “Mississippi Queen” for Jimi Hendrix
- “So they decide to get a guy to lay behind Bob’s amp.” Bob Dylan couldn’t understand one crucial thing about guitars and film making
June 23
- “You got a lot of nerve.” Billy Gibbons played “Purple Haze” onstage while opening for Jimi Hendrix. The guitar legend’s response changed everything for the future ZZ Top leader
- “But Dave, Ed’s still alive!” Joe Satriani reveals David Lee Roth wanted him in a Van Halen tribute band in the ’90s — while Eddie and the group were still making music
June 22
- “People like Yngwie Malmsteen should be forgotten as soon as possible.” Johnny Marr on shredders, guitar heroes — and why he’s selling nearly 100 of his guitars dating back to the Smiths
- “This was one of the greatest guitar safaris of my life.” Joe Bonamassa on the missteps and dumb luck that led him to track down Terry Reid’s 1952 Telecaster
- “Let’s break down the overdrive category to define, dissect and demystify each effect in the group.” Everything you need to know about fuzz, overdrive, distortion and boost pedals
- “Many of those affected do not have the financial and legal means.” Retail giant Thomann sues Fender over cease-and-desist as it takes on fight for smaller manufacturers
June 21
- “They said I couldn’t follow ‘American Pie.’ Then ‘Vincent’ was #1. I heard two years of this crap.” Don McLean on proving his critics wrong — and why there are 24 different vocal takes on “American Pie”
- “He felt bad, we felt terrible.” Micky Dolenz on the worst tour match-up in rock history: the time Jimi Hendrix opened for the Monkees
June 20
- “Henry was on the floor, laughing. He did it on purpose.” Suzi Quatro thought she’d blown her first big scene on the TV hit ‘Happy Days.’ Then she saw Henry Winkler backstage
June 19
- “They had strippers and crabs everywhere. People would start shooting at the stage.” Stevie Ray Vaughan talks his Number One Strat, Dumble amps, and craziest gigs
- “My own son didn’t know who I was until he could turn 21 and get into the blues clubs. He said, ‘Dad, I didn’t know you could play like that!’” As he approaches 90, guitar legend Buddy Guy prepares to return to the road with the BG90 tour
- “We get along great as long as we’re not trying to make music together.” Stewart Copeland on why he and Sting are still friends despite a $2 million royalties lawsuit
June 18
- “Who’s that girl playing the resonator guitars?” Billy Gibbons called Norman’s Rare Guitars looking for a young musician he'd seen online in the shop’s videos
- “I wrote the lyrics without changing a word.” How John Lennon’s murder inspired one of Mark Knopfler’s most personal songs
- “I spent my life trying to impress him.” Gregg Allman’s heartbreaking admission about his brother Duane reveals the complicated brotherhood behind the legendary Allman Brothers Band
June 17
- “He was facing jail time and needed a lawyer. I went out to his car and bought five guitars that day.” Lenny Kravitz on the desperate deal that gave him his number-one guitar
- “I’m not letting anyone push me around anymore. You’re either in it with me or not.” Grace Bowers returns to YouTube with a powerful statement of defiance
- “I was trying to do a solo and he came in like, ‘It’s all BS!’” Samantha Fish says Luther Dickinson gave her the single best advice about guitar solos — and it’s the reason people cheer for them
- “I have to confess to a certain sort of jealousy.” David Gilmour reveals the guitarist whose career he envies most
June 16
- “That’s why he sounded like that — and that’s why we couldn’t crack the code!” Joe Walsh on Jimi Hendrix and the simple reason his sound and style were a mystery to his guitar-playing contemporaries
- “He threw an ashtray against the wall and said, ‘That’s the drum solo, man!’” Gary Lucas on Captain Beefheart’s paranoia, Lou Reed’s hypocrisy, Jeff Buckley’s genius and Bruce Springsteen’s generosity
- “I was dealing cards at illegal blackjack games to make money.” How a guitar-playing bodybuilder with no musical experience helped Alice Cooper resurrect his career in the shred-metal '80s
June 15
- Win tickets to see Charo in concert in Northern California
- Flatpickers rejoice! Molly Tuttle puts her fingerprint on a pair of signature Martins. We review the Martin D-18 and D-X2E Molly Tuttle acoustics
- “I won’t name any names... but I think those people missed my point.” Eddie Van Halen had a blunt critique of his imitators
- “I had to kick him off the tour. He forced my hand.” Marcus King tried to help Brent Hinds after he left Mastodon. It all fell apart on tour
June 14
- “If he was that tuned into me and missed that point, then he missed the whole point.” Eric Clapton on the one thing Eddie Van Halen didn’t understand about playing the blues
- “Oh my god — I ruined my guitar!” Brian Setzer on the night a stunt went wrong and destroyed the rockabilly star’s beloved ’59 Gretsch
- “For a minute he thought, ‘They just both died tonight.’” Gregg Allman nearly died the same night Duane was killed, a new documentary reveals
June 13
- "It was tense... then he waved his magic wand." Andy Summers reveals the Beatles connection that saved the Police's biggest album
- “Every guitar that had been in Jamaica had to be pulled apart and rebuilt because of what the humidity there did to the electronics.” Pedal legend Roger Mayer reveals how he perfected Bob Marley's guitar tone for 'Exodus,' his global breakthrough
June 12
- “I had no idea what the phrase meant.” John Fogerty shares the origins of “Proud Mary” at the Songwriters Hall of Fame awards
- “I love my legacy, but I don’t want to live in it.” As he drops the latest Dirty Knobs album, Mike Campbell opens up about his studio secrets, channeling Jimmy Page, and what “terrifies” him about the Heartbreakers’ catalog
- “I realized, ‘You're a one-hit wonder. You've only got five minutes to do the next step or it'll be over for you.’” John Fogerty on the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit he wrote in 20 minutes to save his career
- “When I first heard Van Halen’s version of ‘You Really Got Me,’ I laughed. It really misses the point of the whole meaning of the song.” Dave Davies on Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page and the Kinks’ power revolution
- “By that time, I’d been doing it for four years.” The overlooked indie-rock pioneer who played guitar with a violin bow long before Jimmy Page
June 11
- “It’s like a fossil in a tar pit.” Brad Paisley reveals the unbelievable discovery hiding inside his 1968 Fender Telecaster
- “I remember opening the case for the first time. I almost started crying.” The reason Alex Lifeson chose Gibson over PRS
- “He finally stumbles out to the microphone, and he just starts crying.” Tommy Lee recalls Mötley Crüe and Ozzy's notorious 1984 tour, which ended with the singer's onstage breakdown
June 10
- “I think it sounds lousy. I had to finish the whole record myself, because otherwise there were just these drunks and junkies.” Mick Jagger says he isn’t a fan of the Rolling Stones’ most celebrated album
- DADGAD for Dummies: You already know 50 percent of this tuning
- Warm-Up Time: 11 Guitar Exercises That Will Help You Play Even Better
- “He just made me feel like I couldn’t play.” Brian May thought he'd seen it all — until two guitar heroes proved him wrong
June 9
- “I go for the solo, and 65,000 people sang that solo back to me.” Simon McBride explains why some Deep Purple guitar parts are untouchable
- “I was cutting stems on flowers, and the knife flipped.” Phoebe Bridgers reveals how a gruesome gardening accident made her a more inventive guitar player
- “We had two kinds of blues: one that was forbidden, and one that wasn’t.” James “Blood” Ulmer, guitarist who redefined blues through free jazz and harmolodic theory, dies at 86
June 8
- “Chuck Berry, he wrote the lyrics, baby!” Inside Bruce Springsteen’s star-studded 250th anniversary jam
- “I didn’t have any gear with me.” How Bo Ramsey wound up on Lucinda Williams’ masterpiece
- “It’s the most misunderstood song I ever wrote. But some people said, ‘God! The audacity!’” Tom Petty on the song that defined him as a new kind of guitar-slinging American rocker
- “What the heck is a demo?” How Sylvester Stallone accidentally created one of rock’s biggest hits
June 7
- “Bob would come back the next day: ‘I think I bettered the lyrics. Let me try another third verse.’” Inside Bob Dylan’s secret weapon for recording a pair of masterpiece albums
- “I gave him 1,600 bucks and my guitar. It was all the money I had in the world.” Vince Gill on the guitar that launched his career
June 6
- “It was his simplest stuff.” Sammy Hagar says fans are wrong about Eddie Van Halen’s best work
June 5
- “Chris said, ‘See, you don’t need me at all.” Kim Thayil recalls Chris Cornell’s final hours
- “Polished sound quality and thoughtful design with a focus on accessibility and ease of use.” We review Solid State Logic’s SSL 1 portable USB-C audio interface
- “Lack of use, plus three bouts of COVID, probably phased out the plectrum for me.” Mark Knopfler tells why he’s ditched the pick in favor of fingerpicking
- “I can gauge his reaction.” Paul McCartney says he still talks to John Lennon while writing songs
June 4
- “I said, ‘I don’t know, Dad. They think I’m weird.” Lzzy Hale reveals how Alice Cooper helped her find herself
- “I think I want you to play with the Who now.” Peter Frampton on Pete Townshend’s career-saving invitation — and the silence that followed
- “You should be doing rap like Limp Bizkit.” Zakk Wylde recalls the career advice that backfired
June 3
- “I can’t stand Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing. He ruined rock guitar.” Jesus and Mary Chain’s William Reid takes aim at Van Halen’s influence
- “If Jesus Christ walked into a room, everyone would pull out their phone.” Chrissie Hynde rips fans who film concerts
- “I have the dubious distinction.” Steve Farris sang “Honky Tonk Women” with Kiss — and was fired almost immediately
June 2
- “I would dress up as cool as I could and try to learn his stuff.” How a tossed-out Jimi Hendrix album inspired Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar journey
- “We’ve got a table full of junk. John says, ‘What’s all this then?’” How John Lennon created one of the Beatles’ strangest sounds in just five minutes
June 1
- “It felt too good to believe, so I bought it.” How a $175 Rickenbacker made Peter Buck a lifelong Rick devotee
- “I’m always trying to increase the size of my paintbox.” Daniel Lanois turns studio accidents into songs on his new album, ‘Belladonna Nocturne’
- “We were the first heavy metal band.” Roger Daltrey claims the Who invented metal before Black Sabbath