Elvis Presley

Latest about Elvis Presley

(left to right) Mick Jagger, Elvis Presley, John Lennon
Mick Jagger says John Lennon talked him out of meeting Elvis Presley — and he still regrets it

By Phil Weller Published

The Rolling Stones frontman says Lennon’s disappointing encounter with Presley convinced him to stay away — a decision he still wishes he hadn’t made

Guitarists
Elvis Presley performs on stage with his brand new Martin D-28 acoustic guitar and Scotty Moore on the left on July 31, 1955 at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Florida.
Scotty Moore on the night Elvis Presley walked into Sun Records — and the session that launched the King’s career

By Douglas Green Published

As Baz Lurhmann’s new ‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’ comes to screens, we revisit Guitar Player’s classic interview with Presley’s first guitarist

Music
Scotty Moore (left) and Elvis Presley perform onstage at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Florida on July 31, 1955
Scotty Moore details the legendary Elvis Presley That’s All Right session

By Jackson Maxwell Published

Speaking to GP in 2009, Elvis Presley's original six-string sideman said the near-mythical session began somewhat inauspiciously

Guitarists
A vintage 1954 Gibson ES-295 electric guitar belonging to English musician Johnny Marr, photographed at his studio in Manchester, England, on April 30, 2018.
Overshadowed by the Les Paul, the Gibson ES-295 brought rock to concert stages in the hands of Scotty Moore

By Dave Hunter Published

As played by Danny Gatton, Geordie Walker and Johnny Marr, the ES-295 was Gibson’s 'other' gold-finished electric guitar

Guitars
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
“Sister Rosetta Tharpe inspired artists like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Chuck Berry, and helped give birth to rock and roll, soul, and electric blues”: A brief look back at the career of a perennially under-appreciated rock guitar pioneer

By Guitar Player Staff Published

With her impassioned voice and twanging double-stop licks, Tharpe imbued her religious tunes with elements of jazz, blues, and a joyful, hard-driving rhythm

Guitarists
Elvis Presley (left) and James Burton perform onstage
“Elvis loved the way we took his stuff and went into another dimension with it”: James Burton on his time with Elvis Presley, and the origins of “Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building”

By Jackson Maxwell Published

Burton – a major influence on classic rock guitar luminaries like Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Brian May – was held in very high regard by Presley

Guitarists
James Burton performing at Sala Apolo, Barcelona, September 22, 2012.
“Your Best Song Is Always yet to Come”: Telecaster Master James Burton Names Five Career-Defining Tracks

By Joel McIver Published

There’s only one electric instrument worth discussing, says the veteran guitarist behind Elvis, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison and Emmylou Harris

Music
Brian Setzer
“Rockabilly Is so Near and Dear to My Heart”: Brian Setzer Reveals the Legendary Artists and Guitar Gear That Helped Define His Signature Sound

By Joe Bosso Published

“I’ve always done what I’ve wanted, and it’s worked out,” says the Stray Cats frontman

Guitarists
Elvis Presley: the Sun Sessions
This Essential Album Is an Encyclopedic Source for How to Play Rockabilly Guitar

By Jim Campilongo Published

Elvis Presley’s ‘Sun Sessions’ is the sound of rockabilly’s accidental birth

Music
Scotty Moore
“It Was Just Like an Atomic Bomb Going Off”: Elvis Presley Guitarist Scotty Moore Recounts the Birth of Rock ‘n’ Roll

By Douglas Green Last updated

The pioneering guitar player reveals the seminal moments of his groundbreaking career in this incredible interview from the GP archives.

Guitarists
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