Latest articles by Christopher Scapelliti
Pat Metheny on how a $100 guitar defined his career — and why he kept a toothbrush in it for decades
The jazz legend’s battered 1958 Gibson ES-175 bore an unlikely repair throughout the most important years of his career
“An owl meeting a bumblebee in mid-flight.” Ritchie Blackmore on crafting the perfect Deep Purple–era guitar tone
The legend reveals how Marshall, Fender and even a tape deck helped shape his famously heavy — but barely distorted — sound
Narada Michael Walden on the night he walked away from Tommy Bolin
The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Jeff Beck collaborator says Bolin’s addictions forced a heartbreaking decision, months before the guitarist’s death.
“Can you make it more green?” Jeff “Skunk” Baxter recalls his strangest studio sessions — from Steely Dan to Dolly Parton
The longtime Dan and Doobie Brothers guitarist recalls one-take solos, the $20 guitar behind a disco hit, and Parton’s request for “sparkles.”
How Elvis Costello, Whitney Houston and 10 seconds of film turned a failed song into the biggest payday of Nick Lowe’s career
”(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” went nowhere when released in 1974. Its reappearance decades later funded the pub-rock icon’s second act
oni Mitchell on the guitar she got from a Vietnam soldier — it vanished after she wrote and recorded her signature hits with it
Mitchell said her 1956 Martin D-28 helped create ‘Blue’ and her most beloved songs. Losing it changed her relationship with guitars forever.
Lucinda Williams on her post-stroke health and her new album’s “battle cry” for troubled times
The singer-songwriter opens up about her struggles with performance and the urgency at the heart of her latest collection of songs
Scotty Moore on the night Elvis Presley walked into Sun Records — and the session that launched the King’s career
As Baz Lurhmann’s new ‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’ comes to screens, we revisit Guitar Player’s classic interview with Presley’s first guitarist
Eddie Van Halen on the one guitarist he said out–Van Halened him
Ed's impressions of David Lee Roth’s new guitarist weren't entirely positive — he wondered if others saw him the same way
The King of Rockabilly on the gruesome onstage accident that nearly ended his career — and his life
Carl Perkins was friends with Elvis and inspired the Beatles. But in a split second, one of rock and roll’s pioneers was nearly silenced forever
Bonnie Raitt on learning her guitar work was the theme for the hit TV show ‘Baywatch’
Her signature slide work went from studio backing track to primetime beach anthem without her even knowing it
Bill Wyman on the $15 bass guitar that powered the Rolling Stones’ classic hits
Long before stadium tours and Platinum sales, a cheap Dallas Tuxedo was the bassist’s secret studio weapon
Ritchie Blackmore on Eric Clapton, show business and the anxiety he couldn’t outrun
Blackmore blamed his ruthlessness on insecurity — and the anxiety he couldn’t outrun
B.B. King on his trick for getting more sounds out of your guitar
The King offered invaluable advice that any guitarist can put to use
Johnny Cash on the true story behind his infamous signature song
The celebrated country icon spoke with us as he enjoyed a long-awaited — and much-deserved — career revival
Dr. John on the fight that nearly killed his guitar-playing dreams — and set him on a new path to music immortality
Years before he scored his 1973 hit, Mac Rebennack was in the wrong place at the wrong time — and changed his life forever
George Benson on fame, freedom — and why jazz only forgives you when you’re broke
"People love us when we’re starving,” noted Benson, who said performing may not pay, but it lets musicians stay true to their musical soul
Alice Cooper on his teen-rebellion anthem that won Bob Dylan’s stamp of approval
The song came at a turning point in Cooper’s profile, with icons like John Lennon praising his music
Jorma Kaukonen on how he forged the sound of psychedelic rock on Jefferson Airplane’s groundbreaking hit
Kaukonen was still making the transition from acoustic to electric guitar when he improvised his transformational solo
Guitar legend Link Wray on the hit that introduced distortion to rock and roll, inspired Jimmy Page to play guitar — and caused public outrage
Behind the 1958 guitar instrumental that changed rock and roll’s sonic landscape forever
George Harrison on the time Eric Clapton asked for a little help from his friend
The two guitarists were growing closer as friends and musicians when they leaned on the other for assistance
How a devastating childhood accident and chance encounters with legends helped Ry Cooder become one of guitar’s most influential stylists
The guitarist would help define the Rolling Stones’ late-‘60s shift to country rock and bring Cuban music to a global audience
Brian May says Queen will not perform in the U.S. “Everyone is thinking twice”
May’s comments come in the wake of ICE killings in Minnesota
