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BIZARRE: 13 | Mind Blowing Facts

David Gilmour tells all, plus Slipknot and Joe Bonamassa's ode to Eric Clapton's Fender years – only in the new Guitar World

Also starring Mike Campbell, Madonna's metalhead guitarist, the man who built Prince's axes, Grace Bowers, Justin Hayward, Les Dudek, the Music Man Axis reviewed and more

Guitar World

“That beautiful thick Irish accent could melt anyone’s heart. And the lady ended up selling the guitar to Rory for $50!” How Rory Gallagher’s sweet talk secured him his bargain ’61 Kay Value Leader – with a little help from Eric Clapton

This vibey early ’60s electric looked too pricey to buy, even with the help ofblues musician John Hammond Jr– but Rory’s charm secured it in a New York minute, as his brother Donal explains

Guitar World

“The Allman Brothers were unbelievable. When Duane came to the studio to play on Layla, I was so taken with him that I started ignoring my own band”: How the 1970s became the greatest decade for rock guitar

As big beasts like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple dominated the era, players such as Steve Howe and Brian May transformed the landscape and the guitar hero cult grew, producing its GOAT by the dawn of the ‘80s

Guitar World

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“John Mayall’s ability to nurture blues guitar prodigies is comparable to Yoda’s knack for training hot Jedi prospects”: From Eric Clapton to Peter Green, Mick Taylor and more – a guide to blues legend John Mayall’s ’60s guitarists

The Bluesbreakers remained a unique force in British blues throughout the decade, thanks to its late leader’s unfailing ability to pick breathtaking bandmates

Guitar World

“Mike’s ’59 Les Paul was sitting on a stand. I thought, ‘What are the chances of this happening again?’ After the song, he turned around and goes, ‘What are you doing?’” When Les Dudek guested with Mike Bloomfield (without him knowing)

Caught up in the music and the moment, the veteran guitarist – who played on Allman Brothers Band's Ramblin' Man and Jessica – ran onto the stage while Bloomfield was at the keys, none the wiser

Guitar World

“Bearing in mind the colossal success of The Police, isn’t it odd that no-one has ever surfaced to say, ‘By the way, I modded that guitar?’” Investigating the mystery mods of Andy Summers’ mongrel Telecaster

Plenty of modded or self-built guitars have powered the careers of big players. But the origins of one heavily used guitar remain a mystery… Guitarist puts grizzled detective Dave Burrluck on the case...

Guitar World

“The boutique amp market thrives and exists as it does today largely thanks to Mike Soldano”: From Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai to Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler, the Soldano SLO-100 changed the sound of shred and blues alike

The SLO-100 made its bones in the hard-rock and shred scenes and yet found its true calling as the amp of choice for Clapton, Knopfler, et al. What makes it such an enduring, versatile model?

Guitar World

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“Why are the single-pickup models of particular interest? Well, they really can sound better”: The Gibson ES-330T might have been the “runt of the litter”, but its unusually positioned P-90 pickup offers a unique experience among Gibson hollowbodies

This single-P-90 variant walked in the shadows of the humbucker-toting 335 and its late-’50s ES siblings, yet its straightforward charm continues to endure some 65 years on

Guitar World

"The sun will rise and fall, and BB King will play the blues": The incredible life of BB King

BB King was the greatest bluesman the world has ever seen. We look back at his life, with a little help from his friends

Louder

Will Jennings obituary

American lyricist who enjoyed huge success with Up Where We Belong and My Heart Will Go On

The Guardian - UK

“It was a bit of a number for me to have to dare to tell George Harrison not to play guitar. It was like an insult”: Paul McCartney turned down George Harrison's proposed guitar parts for Hey Jude

Guitar World

“He taught me that it was OK to play the music you wanted to play. He was my mentor and a surrogate father, too”: Why John Mayall was the godfather of British blues guitar

Best known for his Bluesbreakers band, which launched the careers of Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor, Mayall was a gifted pianist, guitarist and harmonica player

Guitar World

Eric Clapton slams the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a "frat boys club"

Guitar God Eric Clapton says he was suckered into getting involved with the "establishment" Rock Hall

Louder

“I had a little too much Jack Daniels and went to sleep. Early the next morning, I woke up to Eric and George playing ukuleles at the foot of my bed”: Session pro George Terry recalls the first time he met a Beatle

Terry was Clapton's guitarist in the 1970s, and through Slowhand he was able to meet a particularly famous face

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“We got a bang on the door and it was Eric's security. That was embarrassing – he might have thought it was me making this racket”: That time Ritchie Blackmore disturbed Eric Clapton by cranking Marshalls in a hotel at 3am

Blackmore decided to protest some noisy hotel maintenance with some equally noisy guitar antics. Unfortunately, Slowhand was in the room next door…

Guitar World

“When I came back into Lynyrd Skynyrd, I knew that Free Bird was going to be my lead. I was the drummer in Muscle Shoals when we cut the original. I watched Allen. I knew the licks”: Rickey Medlocke unpacks his history with Skynyrd – and that guitar solo

Veteran guitarist (and former drummer) reveals how essential Damon Johnson has become, the secret to sounding like the late original guitarists, and the unfinished songs co-written with Gary Rossington

Guitar World

“The playing is fiery, the lines are emotionally powerful and the melodic ideas and phrasing are perfect”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to his favorite guitar player of all time

JoBo digs out a vintage Beano Burst lookalike to break down the licks of Eric Clapton during his “Gibson years”

MusicRadar

"If you wake us up again tomorrow we will bring all our amplification into a room and play at 3 o'clock in the morning": When Ritchie Blackmore had an "embarrassing" encounter with Eric Clapton

"Believe it or not, Eric was in the next room to where we were"

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Guitar World

“I never liked the idea of getting lessons from a guitar player, and thought it would be more useful to learn from someone who didn’t play the guitar at all”: Lo-fi guitar hero Mk.gee on why he decided to learn guitar basics from an upright bassist

Rather than developing a clear-cut guitar technique, Mk.gee wanted to learn how to use the guitar as a tool for experimentation

MusicRadar

“It’s the one and only time I've written a song about a bass player”: Paul Carrack on what Ace’s How Long? is really all about, and playing with Roxy Music, Squeeze, Eric Clapton and Mike and the Mechanics

“I've never had any tuition whatsoever,” says the multi-instrumentalist. “Never had any musical education. I've learned by ear”

The Guardian - UK

Will Jennings, Oscar-winning lyricist of My Heart Will Go On, dies aged 80

Songwriter wrote No 1 hits for Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow, as well as iconic ballads such as Up Where We Belong and Tears in Heaven

Guitar World

“Someone dosed Eric Clapton with LSD, and I had to take over”: George Terry says he had to step up during Clapton's bad nights on the road in the ’70s – but it wasn’t always the guitar hero’s fault

The session pro and former Clapton sideman has been reflecting on life on tour and in the studio with the guitar icon in the 1970s

Guitar World

“More proof of the rude health guitar music is in right now”: August 2024 Guitar World editors' picks

Our rundown of the finest fretboard cuts from the past four weeks is here – and with it comes new efforts from fast-rising guitar stars, a potentially generational indie rock group, Eric Clapton's favorite contemporary player and much more

Louder

A beginner's guide to Taj Mahal in 10 essential videos

Highlights from the career of the man formerly known as Henry Saint Clair Fredericks

Louder

"London was implicated in the collusion of a fat music industry bloated on cocaine and bereft of direction": How London lost its lustre

There was a time when all rock and pop roads led to London; you couldn't move without tripping over an icon or a star. Those days are long gone

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