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September 2025

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62 articles

September 30
- “We still respected each other, but we never got on. We just couldn't be in the same room.” Ritchie Blackmore on why Deep Purple couldn't survive with him and Ian Gillan onboard
- “It's the most important thing. It makes the song heavy.” Ozzy Osbourne told Andrew Watt what every great rock song needs
- “My Foggy Strat gets all the fun of exploring the unknown ground.” Ana Popovic on how her custom Fender axe inspired the guitar-dance fusion on her new album, ‘Dance to the Rhythm’
September 29
- “I said, ‘My god, Pete, it sounds like 50 Marshall stacks!’” Pete Townshend’s guitar secrets revealed by the Who’s substitute guitarist
- “I cried for two years. I blamed myself.” Don McLean on the “unspeakable” death that haunted the writing of his iconic acoustic hit “American Pie”
- “It was such a serene, peaceful moment at a time when we were dealing with something that was very painful and difficult.” Alex Lifeson on the song he wrote for Rush drummer Neil Peart
September 28
- “Everything was normal.” Ozzy Osbourne was fine the day before his death says his close friend and producer Andrew Watt
September 27
- “If I chicken out this time, I cop out to myself too.” After quitting John Mayall and Cream, Eric Clapton thought his legendary band would last “a long time.” They fell apart after one album
September 26
- “I'd never thought of us in those terms at all." David Gilmour says Pink Floyd wasn’t prog rock and names the prog guitarist who can “really do their stuff”
- “It's never that easy to play, even after all these years.” Brian May on the Queen song that requires him to “keep my wits about me”
- "Ace had a minor fall in his studio, resulting in a trip to the hospital." Ace Frehley takes a spill forcing him to cancel show — the latest in his long history of falls
September 25
- “It was like a scene from a horror film.” Eric Idle recalls the violent attack on George Harrison that left him hospitalized and contributed to the former Beatles’ death two years later
- “Eddie ended up playing half the show with gloves with the fingertips cut out. It was the craziest thing ever.” Watch Eddie Van Halen perform in a blizzard as Sammy Hagar unearths never-seen video clip
- “When you actually hear the backing tracks of the Beatles without their voices, they’re flippin’ lousy.” The time Pete Townshend trashed the Beatles on television
- “There was this terrible smell of fuel, and all we could see was fire.” Sharon Osbourne recalls Randy Rhoads and the fiery plane crash that claimed the guitarist’s life on Ozzy Osbourne’s 1982 tour
September 24
- “I went to his studio one time, and he was making the weirdest freaking sounds I’ve ever heard.” Producer Mark Ronson on why Paul McCartney deserves a fresh look for his work in the Beatles and as a solo artist
- “Lindsey may go down in history as one of the ‘greats’ in guitar playing.” Stevie Nicks predicts Lindsey Buckingham will become a guitar hero in a letter written before they joined Fleetwood Mac
- “I'm signing records and this guy comes up...” Bryan Adams wanted his "Summer of '69" Les Paul back. More than 15 years after he sold it, this happened
September 23
- “Everyone in the shop agreed this guitar holds up to any Strat we have, even the vintage ones.” Why a mid-priced and “ugly” Mexican Strat is causing a stir at Norman’s Rare Guitars
- “It just died in the Eagles’ vault.” “Hotel California” took Don Felder and Joe Walsh to a new peak as guitarists. Felder says his follow-up song would have taken them to even greater heights
- “There are a lot of guys who can play that. But I don't.” David Gilmour says he never learned to play one of his most iconic Pink Floyd guitar solos. Here’s why
September 21
- “About three in the morning, there's a knock on the door. And John was there and he had Paul with him." David Bowie on how he almost got former Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney back together in 1974
September 20
- “He smashes the guitar to smithereens and walks right over to me. He’s right in my face and says, ‘What the eff are you doing?’” Pete Townshend’s substitute guitarist reveals the highs and lows of his time in the Who
September 19
- “I got nervous, thinking to myself, ‘God, I can’t possibly follow that.’” Tom Petty played with George Harrison and Bob Dylan. But Crosby, Stills & Nash was the one act that left him literally shaking
- “Bob's like, ‘No way, that's not how I'm doing it tonight.’” Rita Coolidge says Bob Dylan’s quirky habit confused everyone during the making of his worldwide hit “Knockin’ on Heaven's Door”
- “Even if I played okay, even if I played a nice solo or whatever, if anyone looked at me onstage they thought, It isn’t Randy.” Behind Bernie Tormé’s whirlwind gig with Ozzy Osbourne after Randy Rhoads’ death
September 18
- “He’s on fire, the real thing. I wish I could be like that.” Eric Clapton on the one guitarist who mastered the “difficult” art of modern blues. They’re no longer speaking
- “He wanted something as a full stop to the whole Pink Floyd thing.” Polly Samson on helping David Gilmour put Pink Floyd to rest — and the awkward silences that gave their last album its most powerful moment
- “He's got what looks like a syringe and wants to see how I'm gonna react. And the fact that I don't react really kind of wigged him out." Richie Kotzen on being Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist for one hot minute in 1995
September 17
- “Floyd came into town, ran out of money, and ended up staying in our house.” Alice Cooper on living with Pink Floyd, mind-reading with Syd Barrett — and the pot-laced brownies that scored them a coveted gig
- “I heard about this kid who had a guitar. That was a lot of money in those days.” George Harrison said a loan from his mom helped him buy his first guitar, setting him on the path to the Beatles
- “I was asleep. He walked into my bedroom and said, ‘Darling, I think this is a hit.’” Nile Rodgers says David Bowie wrote his 1983 funk hit featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan on a 12-string acoustic strung with only six strings
September 16
- "What a wedding band!" Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith and Tool's Justin Chancellor form a surprise supergroup with Nicko McBrain for a one-off performance of a Jeff Beck classic
September 15
- “I was gonna be a folk singer, so I didn't need this anymore.” Neil Young tells how Randy Bachman helped him track down his long-lost Gretsch. Now he’s playing it in concert
- “He gets to the Zs and says, ‘I have Frank Zappa’s phone number.’ And I went, ‘You have what!?’” Steve Vai on the theft that got him Frank Zappa’s number — and the job that changed his life
September 14
- “That was when his songs started speaking to what the freak on the street was experiencing.” The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia on the classic Bob Dylan song that made him a convert
September 12
- Win tickets to see former Police guitarist Andy Summers live at GP Presents in San Francisco
- “He’d say, ‘That’s really the most dreadful noise I’ve ever heard.’ And I’d say, ‘That’s what I want!’” Jeff Beck and former Beatles producer George Martin made a jazz-fusion classic. It's getting a new look
- “It's what a male stripper would do.” Darkness guitarist Justin Hawkins joins his brother Dan to trash talk the VMAs’ Yungblud–Aerosmith Ozzy Osbourne tribute
September 11
- “My style evolved from me consciously trying to play bass and rhythm guitar at the same time” How Eddie Van Halen and Metallica's Kirk Hammett pushed Primus bassist Les Claypool to his musical destiny
- “Probably the only good thing that ever came from my drinking.” Marcus King didn't realize he bought a gem of a vintage guitar until this happened
- “Completely erased, gone forever. Done.” David Gilmour reveals how his guitar solo for a Pink Floyd classic was wiped out of existence
September 10
- “He said, ‘Yeah, what are you gonna do about it? You’re a girl. You don’t have the money to fight this.’” Rita Coolidge says Eric Clapton owes her a writing credit for one of the most celebrated songs in rock
September 9
- Get more Guitar Player stories in your day with these two easy steps
- “Cynical and nauseating.” Nuno Bettencourt, Joe Perry and Steven Tyler paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne. Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins called it “another nail in the coffin of rock n' roll”
- “You were the only guitar player that said no to me”: A young Nuno Bettencourt believed he would replace Randy Rhoads in Ozzy's band. When the time came, he turned it down
September 8
- “They gave themselves credit, stuck it on an album and never paid me. It was a little bit disappointing.” John Lennon looked to Frank Zappa for career guidance. Zappa said the former Beatles guitarist got considerably more
- “An illegitimate attempt." New details emerge in Police lawsuit brought by Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland against Sting for over $2 million in royalties
September 6
- “Bob turned around like, ‘What the eff are you doing back there? I'm trying to talk up here!’” Mike Campbell on the time he broke his guitar in two onstage with Bob Dylan with just one wrong move
September 5
- “All the Beatles and all the Stones were there. I thought, This is a bit unusual!” Former Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour on his early adventures seeing — and mixing sound for — his idol, Jimi Hendrix
- “I think it’s important to keep reinforcing these things, especially to rock players.” Rick Beato on guitar’s forgotten greats and his upcoming performance at GP Presents. Here’s how to win tickets to see him
- “Someone said, ‘Guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein.’ That was probably the biggest error in music history.” George Harrison reveals the Beatles' early struggles in a newly discovered interview
September 4
- “I’ve got a trove of stuff already. That’s what’s keeping me busy at the moment.” Former Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour reveals he’s at work on a new album and offers a timeline for its release
- “I'd sooner have the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, George's album, and Ringo's movies than 'Let It Be' or 'Abbey Road.'” John Lennon said the Beatles wrote better music after the band broke up. Here's why
- “When they told me it was the biggest record ever, I got scared.” Peter Frampton tells Warren Haynes about the “very difficult period” brought about by the monster success of ‘Frampton Comes Alive!’
September 3
- “It’s one of the best rock songs ever.” Brian May says the spirit of Queen’s Freddie Mercury lives on in these modern glam rockers. Now he’s helped them remake their breakthrough hit
- “I couldn't play it because of my accident.” Tony Iommi on the guitar he was fated to abandon — and why his Gibson SG was perfect for Black Sabbath
September 2
- “It has such a great story behind it. There's lots of provenance to this guitar.” Mark Knopfler borrowed this 12-string electric for 50 years and played it on some famous songs with Dire Straits. Now it could be yours
- “I plugged my guitar in, and it was instant feedback.” John McLaughlin on his “disaster” jam session with Jimi Hendrix
September 1
- A mind-blowing $3,525 off an exotic Breedlove acoustic is the biggest saving you'll see this Labour Day, but here are 3 guitars you'll actually buy
- “Son, I play a six-string.” This rock and roll legend led Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on a trainwreck performance before a nationally televised audience
- I have no more space at home for another Gibson, but with up to $450 off at Musician's Friend this Labor Day, I can't resist adding another to the collection