Players archive

June 2026

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19 articles

June 28
- “I forgot to turn it off.” Robert Smith on the studio blunder that accidentally changed one of the Cure’s biggest hits
June 24
- “His eyes got wide.” Leslie West knew Mountain was onto something after playing “Mississippi Queen” for Jimi Hendrix
June 19
- “They had strippers and crabs everywhere. People would start shooting at the stage.” Stevie Ray Vaughan talks his Number One Strat, Dumble amps, and craziest gigs
June 18
- “I wrote the lyrics without changing a word.” How John Lennon’s murder inspired one of Mark Knopfler’s most personal songs
June 17
- “He was facing jail time and needed a lawyer. I went out to his car and bought five guitars that day.” Lenny Kravitz on the desperate deal that gave him his number-one guitar
June 15
- “I won’t name any names... but I think those people missed my point.” Eddie Van Halen had a blunt critique of his imitators
June 13
- “Ozzy requested a remote switch so he could turn the pedalboard off from the next hotel room.” Randy Rhoads’ constant practice drove Ozzy Osbourne crazy. The solution? A tiny pedalboard designed to please them both
June 12
- “By that time, I’d been doing it for four years.” The overlooked indie-rock pioneer who played guitar with a violin bow long before Jimmy Page
June 11
- “I remember opening the case for the first time. I almost started crying.” The reason Alex Lifeson chose Gibson over PRS
June 10
- “He just made me feel like I couldn’t play.” Brian May thought he'd seen it all — until two guitar heroes proved him wrong
June 8
- “I didn’t have any gear with me.” How Bo Ramsey wound up on Lucinda Williams’ masterpiece
- “It’s the most misunderstood song I ever wrote. But some people said, ‘God! The audacity!’” Tom Petty on the song that defined him as a new kind of guitar-slinging American rocker
- “What the heck is a demo?” How Sylvester Stallone accidentally created one of rock’s biggest hits
June 7
- “Bob would come back the next day: ‘I think I bettered the lyrics. Let me try another third verse.’” Inside Bob Dylan’s secret weapon for recording a pair of masterpiece albums
June 6
- “It was his simplest stuff.” Sammy Hagar says fans are wrong about Eddie Van Halen’s best work
June 4
- “I think I want you to play with the Who now.” Peter Frampton on Pete Townshend’s career-saving invitation — and the silence that followed
- “You should be doing rap like Limp Bizkit.” Zakk Wylde recalls the career advice that backfired
June 1
- “It felt too good to believe, so I bought it.” How a $175 Rickenbacker made Peter Buck a lifelong Rick devotee
- “I’m always trying to increase the size of my paintbox.” Daniel Lanois turns studio accidents into songs on his new album, ‘Belladonna Nocturne’