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“Chris said, ‘See, you don’t need me at all.” Kim Thayil recalls Chris Cornell’s final hours
By Gary Graff Published
As he releases his new Soundgarden memoir, the guitarist shares painful memories of Cornell’s last show and offers an update on the band’s long-awaited final recordings

Roger McGuinn said Bob Dylan didn't recognize his own song when the Byrds performed it for him
By Andrew Daly Published
The Byrds' founder talked to us about the origins of folk-rock, the allure of 12-string Rickenbackers and his eternal love of folk music

“I said, ‘How come you didn't use these!?’” Steve Lukather says Eddie Van Halen’s unreleased recordings left him stunned
By Andrew Daly Published
Lukather says the unreleased recordings are completed performances by both Van Halen brothers — not scraps being pieced together after the fact

Todd Rundgren recalls taking over Badfinger’s ‘Straight Up’ after George Harrison abandoned the troubled sessions
By Gary Graff Published
Rundgren says Harrison left the album unfinished as Apple Records scrambled to salvage the project behind “Baby Blue” and “Day After Day.”

Alvin Lee's daughter tells how Gibson accidentally preserved his Woodstock guitar forever
By Joe Matera Published
After sending his legendary “Big Red” ES-335 in for a neck repair, the Ten Years After guitarist got back a very different instrument

“So close that our knees would touch.” David Lee Roth recalls his earliest writing sessions with Eddie Van Halen
By Christopher Scapelliti Published
The singer says Van Halen’s first hit songs were born in a tiny alcove where he and Eddie shared cigarettes, argued over riffs and worked shoulder-to-shoulder

How Alice Cooper spun a 1960s ballad into his own glam-rock anthem
By Christopher Scapelliti Published
As the lead track to 1973‘s ‘Billion Dollar Babies,‘ it served double duty as a dramatic opening number on the album‘s tour

Roger McGuinn and Keith Richards remember Gram Parsons, who laid a path for the ’70s California sound and died at 26
By Alan di Perna Last updated
Despite his tumultuous lifestyle, the country-rock pioneer delivered transcendent music with the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers and his own Fallen Angels

How Neil Diamond, a bag of weed and a twice-rejected song turned a pair of struggling young guitarists into global stars
By Joe Matera Published
As the Bellamy Brothers reveal, they were hurting for a hit when they befriended Diamond’s band. The rest is history

“They didn’t attack the record. They attacked me.” When Cher tried to disappear into a hard rock band called Black Rose
By Elizabeth Swann Published
At the height of her fame, Cher ditched the Vegas polish, recruited Allman Brothers guitarist Les Dudek, and tried to prove she could front a real rock group
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