Features archive

May 2025

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13 articles

May 17
- “John Lennon would use my name every now and then for clout, as if I was the fastest gun.” Eric Clapton on his friendship with George Harrison and the shocking time he was nearly asked to join the Beatles
May 16
- “I hear from people who want ‘Spirit in the Sky’ played at their funeral.” Norman Greenbaum tells how a Telecaster with a built-in fuzz helped him create a psychedelic hit about Jesus that even John Lennon liked
- "I stumbled upon the idea of using toy ray guns and putting them up to the pickups of my guitar." Steve Stevens explains the shocking techniques that made Billy Idol's 'Rebel Yell' a milestone for guitar sound design
- “I was like, Is this the last picture of Gene Simmons in makeup?'" John 5 shares his photo of Gene Simmons' final time in full Kiss makeup as he begins tours of his Kiss memorabilia museum
May 15
- I watched 'Becoming Led Zeppelin.' Here's how it shows acoustic guitar's vital role in Jimmy Page's heavy-metal musical vision
May 12
- “I’m just standing there strumming a chord. And the audience looks at me and goes, ‘How does he produce that noise?’” Pete Townshend on the Who's real lead guitar player
May 11
- “Those aren’t the words. It’s ‘I can’t hide.’ ” How a misheard John Lennon lyric led Bob Dylan to meet the Beatles and change both their destinies
May 9
- “That rhythm guitar is Freddie. I don't think I played any of that.” Brian May said Freddie Mercury edged him out of this chart-topping Queen hit
- “It was just Joe playing some chords and me struggling through this riff.” Steve Vai and Joe Satriani tell how a 50-year-old riff inspired the creation of the SatchVai Band in a new in-depth video interview
May 8
- “George started freaking out. He said, ‘I feel like I’m dying.’ And then, Peter Fonda said, ‘Oh, I know what it’s like to be dead.’” Byrds founder Roger McGuinn on the origins of John Lennon’s trippiest track
May 7
- "You’d be surprised what you can plug a guitar into." Lita Ford weighs in on what's more important — your guitar or your amp
May 2
- “We turned the Marshall up all the way, with the wah-wah and the midrange setting, and said, ‘That’s it. That’s the sound.’” In a rare interview, Barry Goudreau talks creating Boston’s smash debut and his ongoing rift with Tom Scholz
May 1
- “Les would be over the moon knowing his studio exists again.” Les Paul invented modern recording. Now his studio is back up and running. Can recordings from the vault be far behind?