Latest articles by Christopher Scapelliti
“I thought it was just a little bit too simple.” Tom Petty almost gave away his biggest hit — five years after he wrote it
It took a persistent producer and a blunt comment from a studio assistant to convince him to dust off the gem and claim it for the Heartbreakers
The woman who found Paul McCartney’s bass guitar in her attic had no idea a global search for the instrument was going on
Cathy Guest discovered she had the bass after uploading a photo of it to Google Images
Punk originator Ross “The Boss” Friedman, who led the Dictators and Manowar, has died
The guitarist passed away March 26, one month after announcing he had been diagnosed with ALS
Talking Heads’ Tina Weymouth on Brian Eno and the studio moment that changed everything for her
By imagining her instrument as horn lines and later as tuned percussion, the Talking Heads bassist reshaped its role on ‘Remain in Light’
Andy Summers says the Police’s biggest riff is harder than most guitarists think
The guitarist explains why “Message in a Bottle” demands massive stretches — and how he turned Sting’s idea into the band’s signature sound.
“They said we were just girls ripping off riffs.” How the Donnas fought rock’s double standard
Long before Olivia Rodrigo or the Linda Lindas, the Donnas proved women could dominate hard rock. Guitarist Allison Robertson said the criticism only made them heavier
Motörhead’s Phil Campbell on the wild thing Lemmy recalled about his audition
The late guitarist first met Lemmy as a 12-year-old Hawkwind fan — but when he auditioned for Motörhead years later, the frontman remembered something very different.
Lucinda Williams reveals the surprising rock legends who turned out to be fans of her music
The singer, who is currently on tour with Heart, says she didn’t expect artists like Robert Plant, Joey Ramone and David Byrne to be listening to her
Joni Mitchell on why she invented her own guitar language from more than 50 tunings
Teachers told her to play the masters instead of writing songs, but she was determined to create the sounds she heard in her head
P.J. Harvey on why she stopped playing guitar onstage — and the real reason she chose her first pair of tour guitarists
Her first proper solo album in 1995 marked a turning point in the iconic performer’s approach to performance
How Elvis Costello and a Whitney Houston movie turned a failed song into a million-dollar payday
The pub-rock icon thought his tune had vanished for good — until a few seconds in ‘The Bodyguard’ changed everything.
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.”
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
