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May 2026

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47 articles

May 31
- “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
- “I thought, That's my guitar! He told me, 'I bought it off some guy on the street for 350 bucks.'” How Lita Ford rediscovered her stolen B.C. Rich Mockingbird — and then let it go again
May 29
- “Nothing was planned. It was all a first take.” The “accidental” 1976 smash hit created by a virtuoso rock group and the most recorded guitarist in history
- “I looked down and saw the second finger of my left hand dangling by a thread.” Dr. John on the fight that nearly killed his guitar-playing dreams — and set him on a new path to music immortality
- “They said, ‘Play something dumb!’” The Journey single that became “the Biggest Song of All Time” thanks to TV, baseball and Bachman-Turner Overdrive
May 28
- “PRS disagrees with Fender’s assessment.” Fender’s war on Strat copyists just got bigger
- “We haven’t got a single.” Paul McCartney recalls how the Beatles gave the Rolling Stones their first hit
May 27
- "She has the guts to sit in that seat." Geddy Lee defends Rush's choice of Anika Nilles
- “You’ve got bad energy. I want you out of my studio.” Linda Perry says she threw Billy Corgan out of a Courtney Love session
May 26
- “The man shaving my balls didn’t tell me.” Robert Fripp says he’s still baffled by his bizarre hospital mystery
- “He was a very moody sort of guy. He would sit in the corner and not talk to anybody.” Jim McCarty recalls Eric Clapton’s “quite unhappy” time with the Yardbirds
May 25
- “You left your wax cylinders at home?” Jack White welcomes Stephen Colbert back to public-access TV
- “My plan was always to have it fixed up, but the loft burned out of our house.” Dolly Parton on the “little Martin” that launched her music career — and the country star behind her big break
- “He said, ‘I’m probably not gonna make it. Will you buy my Les Paul?’” Vince Gill tells how he came to own his prized 1959 Gibson Les Paul ’Burst
May 23
- “I kicked him in the wrist as hard as I could. I know I broke it, because I used to wear these great big platform shoes onstage.” Lita Ford on the Runaways, rock and roll — and what happens to hecklers who get in her face
May 22
- “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
- “I loved Tommy, but I couldn't be around the alcohol and drug thing too much.” Narada Michael Walden on the night he walked away from Tommy Bolin
- “I cried. I told myself I was gonna quit and go to design school.” John Mayer says his label didn’t hear any hits on his album. Then it sold five million copies
May 21
- “His voice was a whisper.” Adrian Belew on the last time he saw Frank Zappa
- “He put LSD in our coffee and never told us.” George Harrison rejected claims the Beatles were responsible for America’s drug culture
May 20
- “How are we going to get this home?!” Geddy Lee recalls the winter night he and Alex Lifeson bought his first bass amp
May 19
- “We would listen to that album nonstop.” Eric Clapton reveals the surprising pop influence behind Cream's sound
May 18
- “It was not a Randy-and-Ozzy thing.” Bob Daisley claims Ozzy Osbourne misrepresented his relationship with Randy Rhoads
May 16
- “They could squash you down very easily.” Ann Wilson on the sexism Heart faced breaking into the ’70s rock scene
May 15
- “I don’t think it’s a dirty song. It's something everybody does." Clarence Carter — famous for “Patches” and “Strokin’” — has died at age 90
- “He was like, ’This artist needs a guitar player.’” Grace Bowers got a text from Jimmy Jam — three days later, she was playing the Grammys with Chris Martin
May 14
- “It was beat to hell — but it was the best-playing guitar ever.” How a battered Jimi Hendrix Strat helped inspire My Chemical Romance’s change in direction
May 13
- “The faders were so clogged with cocaine they wouldn’t move.” Geezer Butler on the time Black Sabbath and the Eagles shared a studio
May 12
- “They didn’t know what it was!” Ritchie Blackmore on the mysterious illness that took him out of Deep Purple — and brought in Christopher Cross
- “We did call him — he just didn’t answer.” Alex Van Halen explains why Michael Anthony was replaced by Wolfgang
- Win tickets to see Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, featuring “Mr. Jimmy” Sakurai
May 11
- “There are so many special memories within the walls — not to mention the rooftop.” Coming soon: A chance to stand where the Beatles played their last concert
- “What kind of idiot does that?” Eric Clapton hit by object thrown from crowd at Madrid show
May 8
- “It was such great stuff.” Steve Vai says he’s heard Eddie Van Halen’s unreleased recordings
- “He told me it was the best record he ever made.” The last music Steve Cropper heard before he died was his own new album
May 7
- “I was like, ‘Ed, you better stop smoking.’” Valerie Bertinelli recalls the night she met Eddie Van Halen — and the “tragic, scary” years that followed
- “Obviously, I thought I wasn’t drinking enough.” Joe Walsh on his secret to a long career — and life
- “I still get emotional talking about John and George.” Paul McCartney says the Beatles are haunting his new album
May 6
- Win tickets to see Eric Johnson in Northern California at Guitar Player Presents
- “That's a form of abuse.” Sting says he won’t leave his $245 million fortune to his kids
- “It would lift me up so I could work that night.” Eric Clapton says Jeff Beck pulled him out of a late-career slump
- “You are Robert Smith from the Cure!” Mick Jagger recalls the unexpected moment that led to a Rolling Stones collaboration
May 5
- “There was a box of cocaine on every shelf.” Robben Ford recalls his wild all-night sessions with George Harrison
- “It’s sacrosanct.” St. Vincent says Larry Carlton’s Steely Dan guitar solo should always be played note-for-note
- “These songs are played a lot. They’re often not played well.” Guitar Center reveals the riffs customers play most — and “Stairway to Heaven” isn’t No. 1
May 4
- “It felt like there were insects in my legs.” Peter Frampton recalls the moment he knew something was wrong
May 3
- “Look up!” Olivia Rodrigo reveals the hidden note Jack White left in her ‘SNL’ dressing room