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August 2026

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82 articles

August 23
- Did John Lennon and Paul McCartney last meet in 1978 over a pizza in New York City? “I recall Paul asking John, ‘Are you making any music these days?’"
- “I loved Tommy, but I couldn't be around the alcohol and drug thing too much.” Narada Michael Walden on the night he walked away from Tommy Bolin
- Dolly Parton reveals the health issues she’s been battling: “My immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack”
August 22
- Former White Stripes drummer Meg White and friend targeted in tabloid stalking error: “They had no idea they were being stalked”
- Behind Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green’s life-changing acid trip: “They gave him a bad tab of acid. He was never the same person again”
August 21
- Adrian Belew on the last time he saw Frank Zappa: “His voice was a whisper”
- Taylor Ben Harper Gold Label 512e Special Edition grand concert review: “I’d put it down and pick it right back up again.”
- Peter Hook on Joy Division, New Order and the basslines that made him a legend: “How did I manage that?”
- “For decades, he has given us unforgettable music.” Chris Spedding is battling lymphoma — and a GoFundMe has been launched to support the guitar legend
- “The man shaving my balls didn’t tell me.” Robert Fripp says he’s still baffled by his bizarre hospital mystery
- See Jimi Hendrix in newly unearthed Woodstock video footage shot from the stage
August 20
- Brad Gillis says Billy Gibbons had some bad news after a bizarre backstage accident with a scorpion: “Those are the most poisonous”
- Vivian Campbell says his cancer has returned after treatment, but he’s not giving up: “There’s only been one time that I felt it was going to kill me”
- Buddy Guy just turned 90 but he still remembers the guitar lesson that changed everything: “He told me, ‘I can’t teach you that!’”
- Ritchie Blackmore on why Deep Purple couldn’t survive with him and Ian Gillan onboard: “We just couldn’t be in the same room”
August 19
- Ritchie Blackmore on the anxiety he couldn’t outrun: “Why can’t I just play the guitar? It’s all I want to do”
- Billy Gibbons remembers late ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard: “Frank didn’t mind being beardless. After all, he had the name”
- The Beatles song George Harrison didn’t think was any good: “It might not be a song at all”
- Phoebe Bridgers forced to cancel Lost Weekend tour dates after requiring urgent surgery: “I got appendicitis for my birthday!”
- Simon McBride defends Ritchie Blackmore after Deep Purple jam: “I just said to Ritchie, ‘I’ll be your rhythm guitar player today. Just do your thing.’”
- The Beatles’ new UMG partnership recalls their greatest business mistake: Behind the blunder that cost them millions
- Guitar Center and Sweetwater bring your dream guitar closer than ever with massive savings on Fender, Jackson, EVH, and Gretsch - and that includes $200 off the Fender American Pro II Telecaster
August 18
- Behind the Beatles’ Abbey Road cover with Paul McCartney and its designer: “I thought, I’ve got to do this and get it out on Wednesday?”
- When George Harrison, Bob Dylan and a host of stars recorded in Dave Stewart’s kitchen: “He walked around the corner to see George trying to teach Dylan how to play ‘Taxman’”
- Jeff Beck’s guitar was stolen before the Wired sessions — Jan Hammer remembers what happened next. “When he opened the guitar case, it was empty.”
- “There's a knock on the door. John was there and he had Paul with him." David Bowie on how he almost got former Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney back together in 1974
August 17
- “That song is literally about my band breaking up.” John Fogerty on the Creedence Clearwater Revival single that predicted their downfall — and ultimately became their biggest hit
- “He dipped the silver tube into a bag of white powder and shoved it up my snout.” Chrissie Hynde on her unforgettable first meeting with Lemmy — and the one band he truly loved
- Ritchie Blackmore recalls when George Harrison jammed with Deep Purple: “He said to me very politely, ‘Can I get onstage with you and use your guitar?’”
- “There was a deadly silence for what seemed like ages.” Ralph McTell scored a hit with his classic “Streets of London.” It only took him 10 years — and three recordings
August 16
- “Here’s how to make your guitar sing…” Larry McCray on why blues guitarists and gospel singers are important to his soloing style — and how you can do it
- “I connected Jack with Bob Seger, and — click, click — he has a big hit and makes a fortune.” The Randy Bachman connection behind Seger’s breakthrough hit, “Night Moves”
August 15
- EXCLUSIVE: Ritchie Blackmore reveals the story behind his emotional Deep Purple reunion. “I think we realized it could be the last time we see each other”
August 14
- “Freddie and David locked horns.” Brian May and John Deacon reveal what really happened when Queen met David Bowie for “Under Pressure”
- “Oh my god, I love ABBA.” How a secret obsession with Sweden’s pop royalty derailed Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow
- “We’ve always been drawn to the darker side of things.” Banned by Charley Crockett, embraced by Jack White, Twin Temple unpack the roots of their satanic doo-wop
August 13
- “He’s one of the best I’ve ever heard. No question.” Mark Knopfler on the guitarist who blew him away
- “I’m really retracing my steps back to John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.” Eric Clapton said he spent 30 years “meandering” back to the path he left in 1965
- “Can I state here that I hate the Police?” Ritchie Blackmore says the band helped bring Deep Purple back together
- “This is the high-water mark for me.” Joe Bonamassa and Martin announce two new Bonamassa signature acoustics
- Ritchie Blackmore plays “Smoke on the Water” as he reunites with Deep Purple for the first time in 33 years
August 12
- “It’s such a brilliant answer.” Johnny Marr reveals how Paul McCartney helped him come to terms with the Smiths’ breakup
- Brian May proves “We actually don’t need AI” with appallingly bad Meta attempt at Queen album cover: “So this is the kind of intelligence that will soon be ruling the world?”
- “You can’t all play Gibson Les Pauls at the same time.” Don Felder on why the Eagles never stuck to just one guitar
- Ritchie Blackmore to reunite with Deep Purple for first time in 33 years. “It’ll be good to see the old guys again”
- “I just plain stole it.” The group that pinched an iconic riff from the Who to make two of the 1970s’ greatest power-pop hits
August 11
- Warren Haynes on the guitarists who changed his life: “He was millions of people’s first guitar hero”
- “What happened with Kurt Cobain was the worst example.” Chris Cornell said “punk rock guilt” contributed to the Nirvana guitarist’s suicide
- Billy Strings says his mother made the cover of his new album just before she died: “It was the last thing she touched”
- “A lovely modern version of my ol’ fave — and the one I'd take to the stage now.” We review Taylor’s Next Generation 514ce Builder’s Edition
August 10
- “You can call the police or do whatever you’re going to do to me, but I’m taking it.” How Bob Weir stole one of his favorite guitars from George Benson
- “Why shouldn’t women play the guitar and write songs?” How Suzanne Vega broke barriers for women singer-songwriters — and became the “mother of the MP3”
- John wrote it, Ringo sang it and Paul played guitar. Behind the recording the Beatles refused to release. Said George Harrison, “It’s the most weird song”
- Eric Clapton and Duane Allman found a connection that went beyond guitar: “They were like two old, sage black blues guys talking it over”
August 9
- “She wasn’t feeling very good those days. The longer it went on, the worse it got.” The long road to Lucinda Williams’ breakthrough album — and the creative partnership that didn’t survive it.
August 8
- Lindsey Buckingham says he and Stevie Nicks are “talking all the time now” — and hints that “quite a few things will reveal themselves” next year
- Randy Bachman spent seven years writing “Takin’ Care of Business.” It finally came together at one nearly disastrous show. “I said, ‘Play these three chords and follow me!’”
August 7
- “He was my soulmate guitarist, and we were in sync musically. Sad we lost him. Such a tragedy.” Paul Rodgers on playing with Paul Kossoff, Mick Ralphs, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Steve Cropper, Slash and Joe Bonamassa
- Dolly Parton is receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award — but her story began with a tiny Martin guitar
- Robert Plant lost at chess to a teen fan who didn’t realize he was playing his idol. “He’s one of my favorite music artists!”
- How Marty Stuart bought Clarence White’s legendary B-Bender Telecaster for just $1,450. “She said, ‘That’s what you really want, isn’t it?’”
August 6
- “And in comes this thin, 98-pound, translucent dude.” The guitar legend who launched David Bowie and John Lennon to the top of the charts, got high with Paul McCartney and talked back to Chuck Berry
- David Lee Roth recalls the night Tony Iommi thought he’d kidnapped Ozzy Osbourne: “What did you do to Ozzy?!”
- Tony Iommi’s new bassist thought she’d lost the gig on day one. “Could we get a quick photo together, in case I never see you again?”
- Joe Bonamassa reveals one of the most-played guitars in his 600-plus collection: “It’s basically a Gibson Les Paul jammed into a Fender Telecaster”
- Joe Bonamassa says toxic guitar culture has gone too far: “It caused this guy to go into therapy”
August 5
- Todd Rundgren on the Jimi Hendrix album that changed everything: “This was the first real Jimi Hendrix album”
- David Lee Roth’s Skyscraper drove Billy Sheehan out. ”The whole atmosphere changed“
- Song of the Day: The Journey single that became The Biggest Song of All Time. “They said, ‘Play something dumb!’”
- The Eric Clapton album David Gilmour says every guitarist should study. “Eventually, you will find your own style from that”
August 4
- “Come on, get a move on!” John McLaughlin recalls the night Ginger Baker started throwing drumsticks at Jack Bruce
- Chrissie Hynde on James Honeyman-Scott’s tragic loss. “I am guilty”
- Eddie Van Halen on the guitarist who out–Van Halened him. “It made me feel like, ‘Wow, is that how people perceive me?’”
- “It was a little lame. I kicked him out of that.” How Phil Collins reignited Eric Clapton’s legendary career
August 3
- Tony Iommi reveals Ozzy Osbourne’s final text to him. “It was a hell of a shock, really”
- “It’s tragic the way he died. He made the blues accessible to a lot of guys like me.” Bob Dylan and Jorma Kaukonen on the 1960s guitar icon who led an electric blues revolution and died alone and unknown
- Richie Sambora on how the Bon Jovi partnership fell apart: “If anybody told Jon the truth, it was me”
- Eddie Van Halen's studio-used Kramer guitars are up for auction — with his cigarette butts still tucked beneath the strings: “Definitely and extensively used by Eddie in the studio”
August 2
- “He’s on fire, the real thing. I wish I could be like that.” Eric Clapton on the one guitarist who mastered the “difficult” art of modern blues. They’re no longer speaking
- “He’s one of the greatest there is, not just in blues but anything. He’s an alien.” Samantha Fish names the five guitar players she says will keep the blues alive
August 1
- Win tickets to see ZZ Top & Cheap Trick in Northern California at Guitar Player Presents
- Song of the Day: “Luka” by Suzanne Vega. “It’s a small song about an abused boy. I didn’t really see it hitting the charts or anything”