Latest articles by Joe Matera
“They said I couldn’t follow ‘American Pie.’ I heard two years of this crap.” Don McLean on proving his critics wrong
He was told he’d be a one-hit wonder, but the tunesmith is going strong — and still holding the keys to his empire
Gary Lucas on Captain Beefheart, Lou Reed, Jeff Buckley, Bruce Springsteen and Chris Cornell
From co-writing "Grace" with Buckley to his sessions with Chris Cornell, the journeyman virtuoso looks back on five decades of wild studio sessions and untamed rock history
“The nighttime defenses are down”: Inside Bob Dylan’s secret weapon for recording masterpiece albums
Legendary producer Daniel Lanois reveals why Dylan insisted on tracking vocals in the dead of night on ‘Oh Mercy’ and ‘Time Out of Mind’ — two albums behind his late-career renaissance
“I’m always trying to increase the size of my paintbox.” Daniel Lanois turns studio accidents into songs on his new album, ‘Belladonna Nocturne’
The producer behind U2, Brian Eno and Peter Gabriel explains how he builds music from fragments, repurposes discarded ideas, and treats the studio itself as an instrument
The “accidental” 1976 smash hit created by a virtuoso rock group and the most recorded guitarist in history
Louie Shelton and the founding members of Toto didn’t think the song had “a chance in hell” of succeeding. A DJ proved them wrong
Alvin Lee's daughter tells how Gibson accidentally preserved his Woodstock guitar forever
After sending his legendary “Big Red” ES-335 in for a neck repair, the Ten Years After guitarist got back a very different instrument
How Neil Diamond, a bag of weed and a twice-rejected song turned a pair of struggling young guitarists into global stars
As the Bellamy Brothers reveal, they were hurting for a hit when they befriended Diamond’s band. The rest is history
“We both laughed when he said that — but he was right.” Gary Moore on how Bob Daisley steered him toward a blues reinvention
A casual remark from Daisley helped the hard-rock guitarist remake his career with ‘Still Got the Blues’
Inside Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera and the “devilish experiment” that became 801, rock’s strangest supergroup
Eno clashed with the technically minded musicians, but the result was one of rock’s greatest — and most beloved — live albums
“There were about 15 people in the audience — and about 10 when they finished.” Chris Spedding on discovering the Sex Pistols and landing them their record deal
The session guitarist recalls taking the young band into a London studio in 1976 to cut the demos that led to the birth of punk rock
He jammed with Prince and Miles Davis — until one deceptive meeting put an end to everything
Prince could have anything... except the guitarist he wanted most
Steve Howe reveals the accident that nearly destroyed the guitar behind Yes’s best-loved songs
For more than two decades, the guitarist kept quiet about the trauma that befell his treasured 1964 Gibson ES-175
Micki Free says Prince really did school Eddie Murphy on the basketball court
The Shalamar guitarist was there the night the Purple One stunned Eddie Murphy and Charlie Murphy — and confirms the legendary Chappelle’s Show story was no joke
Barbra Streisand recorded over 30 takes of “The Way We Were.” Nothing worked. Then the bassist tried something different
Session legend Carol Kaye says the song came alive the moment she ignored the written part
John Lydon on the Sex Pistols’ obsession with ABBA
Punk mocked pop’s excesses, but Sid Vicious adored ABBA — and wasn’t afraid to show it.
Session guitar legend Dean Parks on his historic hit recordings with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, and B.B. King
His classic licks can be heard across some of the artists’ biggest albums of the 1970s and ’80s
Steely Dan’s key guitarist on what happened behind his hit tracks with Walter Becker and Donald Fagen
The ace says he never knew the outcome of a session. ”They would never tell you whether what you played would be kept or not.”
Tim Renwick on his highs and lows with Eric Clapton, David Bowie and Al Stewart
After getting passed up for Bowie‘s Spiders From Mars band, Renwick built a solid career as a journeyman guitarist to the stars
Tim Renwick recalls Pink Floyd‘s wild rise from high school rockers to prog-rock gurus
Renwick, who has played with Eric Clapton, David Bowie and many others, was there from Floyd's start to Gilmour‘s and Waters' solo careers
Rock royalty's favorite sideman recalls his days with Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Roger Waters and Bill Wyman
From Hendrix‘s earliest U.K. gigs to Clapton‘s Crossroads, Andy Fairweather Low has seen and played with the best of them
The guitarist behind the 1960s pop hitmakers who sold more records than the Beatles and Rolling Stones combined
Louie Shelton played on the original recordings for the Monkees, establishing the sound that would help them become one of America's biggest pop groups
Randy Bachman on the obscure jazz guitar genius whose influence runs through the music of the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Bachman met Lenny Breau when they were teens in Winnipeg and continues to honor the late guitarist's legacy with a deep archive of unreleased gems
Randy Bachman on the rehearsal mistake that led him to became the the guitarist for Canada's biggest American hitmakers
As Bachman and Guess Who frontman Burton Cummings prepare to return to the road next year, the guitarist recalls how it all began
