Corky Laing “Any Idiot Can Play It… I Just Happen to Play It Better Than Anybody”: Leslie West Explains Why "Mississippi Queen" Is a Stone-Cold Classic Remembering the guitar legend on the anniversary of his passing with this insightful interview about how he made Mountain's 1970 breakthrough hit Here’s Why Leslie West is a Guitar Legend Like No Other With fans that ranged from Pete Townshend to Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen, the Mountain guitarist inspired players across the genres. Get The Pick NewsletterAll the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors LATEST ARTICLES1"I tuned the E string down to D and came up with this riff. I didn't really think anything of it." Roland Orzabal reveals how a chance guitar line on his detuned Fender Strat led to Tears for Fears' monster hit “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”2“Sometimes you are going to be so frustrated you'll hate the guitar. But all of this is just a part of learning." Jimi Hendrix explains his struggles with guitar in a 1968 Guitar Player interview3“They're perfectly situated between .010 and .011 sets — big enough to get great tone, but nimble enough to finesse those vocal bends guitar players are always going for." John Mayer's new signature Ernie Ball string set has unbelievably precise gauges 4Steve Stevens on Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and the 10 Albums That Made Him a Guitarist: “One guy knew ‘Black Dog,’ and the other guy knew 'Rock and Roll.’ I was in my first garage band and I couldn’t wait to play those songs.”5"I couldn’t plug my Telecaster into my amp because the lady upstairs always complained about noise!" The writer of Steppenwolf's “Born to Be Wild” reveals the song's secret history