Latest articles by Gary Graff
“Keith, your guitars only have five strings!” Brian Setzer recalls the day Keith Richards handed him his Les Paul
The Stray Cats guitarist adds that he’s picked up a couple of new guitars — and they’re not Gretsches
“They advertise it as a safe tonic to give you energy — and it’s not.” Brian Setzer on the “health drink” that sent him to rehab
The Stray Cats guitarist explains how an over-the-counter tonic derailed the group’s last tour
“I kept Cozy in the band because he would bring stacks and stacks of English chocolates...”
Rainbow’s new nine-disc ‘Temple of the King’ box arrived with a rare invitation to debrief the elusive virtuoso.
Keith Richards had a priceless response when he caught his band watching the Fab Four
The Rolling Stones guitarist delivered a one-line reminder of who he was — and where he’d been
Steve Stevens showed up to rehearse with Eddie Van Halen — and instantly knew he’d made a mistake
The Billy Idol guitarist recalls his first jam at Eddie Van Halen’s home — and the gear friendship that followed from it
Melissa Etheridge walked into a guitar shop — and nobody knew who she was
What she learned on her visit helped her become her band’s lead guitarist after years of playing acoustics
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.
Why Bill Frisell bought Robert Quine’s blue Telecaster after his death
Frisell recalls his friendship with Quine, the New York City jam session that led to the guitar’s purchase, and the modifications that made it his own.
Steve Stevens on the time Mick Jagger was mistaken for a session bassist
Jagger dropped in on a Billy Idol studio date hoping to interest Stevens in a new guitar company created by his brother
“The guitar is like this magic wand.” Bill Frisell on imagination, collaboration and the guitar guiding his new album
The jazz great speaks with us about creative humility, turning 75 and why ‘In My Dreams’ is about collective conversation — not guitar heroics
Steve Stevens on smashed guitars, being pushed offstage — and what he discovered watching Billy Idol’s new documentary
As ‘Billy Idol Should Be Dead’ hits theaters, the New York native talks highlights from his long career with the British rocker
Jeff Beck drummer Narada Michael Walden reveals the guitarist left behind a previously unknown trove of unreleased tracks
The jazz-fusion drummer recalls Beck’s “lost confidence” in the years after they collaborated on ‘Wired’
Bernie Leadon dissects the Eagles’ biggest album of all time
“It’s really simple, and simple’s good,” the group’s co-founder says, “if you want to reach people and make it memorable”
Al Jardine on the Beach Boys’ “lost album” and Brian Wilson’s strangest comeback
As ‘We Gotta Groove’ highlights a polarizing, two-year period in the group‘s history, the long-running guitarist reflects on a band in transition
Vince Gill on how he found the instrument he calls “the definitive guitar in my life”
Gill also talks about the “daunting” task of filling in for an ailing Joe Walsh on a recent Eagles gig
Jim McCarty recalls Eric Clapton’s “quite unhappy” time with the Yardbirds
The Yardbirds drummer tells GP Clapton thought the group was selling out when it chose to record “For Your Love.” It turned out to be their first hit
The show that ended David Bowie’s touring career — and the song that became his last hit
Earl Slick recalls working with the artist in his final years on tracks highlighted in the new David Bowie box set, 'I Can’t Give Everything Away'
The Journey single that became “the Biggest Song of All Time” thanks to TV, baseball and Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Read one of Guitar Player's top stories of 2025
George Thorogood on his Live Aid performances with Bo Diddley and Albert Collins, and the two actors who made his day
Read one of Guitar Player's top stories of 2025
John Lennon played it on repeat. Frank Sinatra called it the best song of the 1970s. How a simple C9 chord inspired a timeless top-10 hit
“It was a spiritual download that just flowed through me”: guitarist Graeham Goble explains how learning this extended chord unlocked LRB's “pinnacle song” in half an hour
Paul Rodgers on playing with Paul Kossoff, Mick Ralphs, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Brian May, Steve Cropper, Slash and Joe Bonamassa
“I don't really know the secret of how guitarists create their own unique sounds,” Rodgers tells us, “but I know a good guitar sound when I hear it”
Rik Emmett talks Triumph’s rocky career and triumphant return as the band announces a 50th anniversary reunion tour with Phil X
The road show kicks off April 22 in Ontario and continues in the U.S. starting May 13
Jefferson Airplane’s Jorma Kaukonen on Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and other giants of San Francisco’s psychedelic rock scene
The cofounder of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna has just released 'Wabash Avenue,' a collection of his rediscovered live recordings from 1965
