Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

INSANE: 2 - The Real Truth

“That amp quite literally changed my life”: Damon Johnson explains why finding the right amp kickstarted his career

Back in 1990, Johnson bought a pricey but career-changing amp that he says “was worth every penny”

Guitar World

“He said, ‘I never want the band to go by the wayside and the music just disappear’”: Rickey Medlocke defends Lynyrd Skynyrd’s decision to continue with no original members

Medlocke says he and vocalist Johnny Van Zant are continuing with the blessing of the late Gary Rossington – and they’re not just a cover band

Guitar World

“Thin Lizzy prepared me for Skynyrd. They said, ‘You need to learn these songs note for note.’ I said, ‘I wouldn’t dream of doing it any other way’”: Damon Johnson on having one of rock’s most enviable resumés – and why Eddie Van Halen gifted him a guitar

From touring with Van Halen, to finding his own niche as a blood-and-guts player with some of rock’s biggest names

Guitar World

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

“I played note-for-note. Those albums are the soundtrack to people's lives. I wanted to hear them how it was supposed to be”: Damon Johnson on how he came to play with Thin Lizzy and Lynyrd Skynyrd – and his identical approach for both gigs

Johnson has been tasked with filling roles held by a string of iconic guitarists – and he's been determined to do the source material justice every time

Guitar World

“If the mini-humbucker had remained exclusive to Epiphone, it may have been a mere footnote. It developed a following because they ended up in Gibson guitars”: The mini-humbucker’s surprising history – and why it deserves more love

Often passed over in conversations about the greatest electric guitar pickups, the mini-humbucker has a unique tone of its own, its story inextricably linked to Epiphone and Gibson

Guitar World

The 10 greatest slide guitar moments in rock

From Johnny Winter to Led Zeppelin, here’s how a hit of slide guitar can lift a song to the heavens

Louder

In Memoriam: remembering the rock musicians we lost in 2023

Raising a toast to those musicians, producers, songwriters and artists who passed away in 2023

Louder

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Remembering the guitarists we lost in 2023

We had to say goodbye to a staggering number of guitar geniuses this year. We salute those players and their contributions to the instrument

Guitar World

3 Les Pauls, 2 vocalists and 1 broken string: Slash, Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes trade solos in a star-studded reprisal of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man at Haynes' Christmas Jam

The storming live take features three solos from three Gibson Les Paul players – and they all sound completely different

Guitar World

“As many times as I've heard this song this is the first time it made me tear up”: Listen to Dolly Parton's epic 10 minute 50 seconds version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird, featuring Ronnie Van Zant and one of Gary Rossington's final guitar solos

Rockstar is finally here, and Dolly Parton has out-done herself with her epic album-closing cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird

Louder

“Ronnie Van Zant’s widow wouldn’t allow Lynyrd Skynyrd to use his voice, but she said: ‘I’ll do it for Dolly’”: how Dolly Parton ended up covering Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird on her new album

Country star Dolly Parton cover of Free Bird also features one of the last appearances by late Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington

Louder

Gary Rossington shaped the sound of Southern rock with Lynyrd Skynyrd – and his guitar style influenced everyone from the Black Crowes to Metallica

Learn the distinctive pentatonic licks of the Les Paul-toting Southern rock master

Guitar World

"I mean, seriously, how much better does it get?" Dolly Parton on her version of The Beatles' iconic Let It Be, featuring Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Peter Frampton and Mick Fleetwood

Listen to Let It Be, the new single from Dolly Parton's eagerly awaited rock album Rockstar

Louder

Lynyrd Skynyrd release footage of Gary Rossington’s blazing final performance: “It is certainly bittersweet”

The Southern rock legend was captured playing Gimme Three Steps at the band’s 50th Anniversary show at The Ryman

Guitar World

Get all your
news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One news app.

Louder

Watch Gary Rossington's poignant final performance of Gimme Three Steps with Lynyrd Skynyrd

The performance was filmed at the historic Ryman Theater in Nashville, and comes from the upcoming cinema release The 50th Anniversary of Lynyrd Skynyrd

Guitar World

How Gary Rossington played through the pain to define the quintessential Southern rock sound with Lynyrd Skynyrd

We pay tribute to the ultimate survivor, who broke every bone in his body and still kept the music going with a style that inspired generations of players

Guitar World

Dolly Parton’s upcoming rock album will feature Peter Frampton, Richie Sambora, Warren Haynes, Gary Rossington and many more

The mammoth 30-track effort features nine originals and 21 rock anthem covers, and will also feature Ann Wilson, Paul McCartney, Joan Jett, Chris Stapleton, Melissa Etheridge and others

Louder

Dolly Parton details long-awaited, much-hyped, star-studded rock album

Dolly Parton's 30-song, 4LP Rockstar comes out in November and includes a stellar list of guest performers and versions of Free Bird, Purple Rain and We Are The Champions

Get all your
news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One news app.

Louder

Someone out there has the only recording of a one-off AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd studio jam and the world may never get to hear it

Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington once revealed there’s a version of Sweet Home Alabama with Aussie rockers AC/DC on it

Guitar World

Everything you need to know about Metallica's scorching new album – only in the new Guitar World

Plus! Samantha Fish & Jesse Dayton, Steel Panther, Paul Gilbert does Dio, Chris Holmes, the top 10 tools for every gig and tributes to Gary Rossington and David Lindley

Guitar World

Lynyrd Skynyrd will continue without Gary Rossington and honor tour dates with ZZ Top

“Gary was always the first to say how, ‘Skynyrd’s music is bigger than me or any one person,’” says Rossington’s widow

Louder

Metallica's 72 Seasons: the full story is told in the new issue of Classic Rock

Inside: a brand new Metallica interview, plus Gary Rossington, Ian Hunter, Def Leppard, Jethro Tull, DeWolff, Floor Jansen, Kansas, Richard Marx, Europe, Floor Jansen and more

Louder

Lynyrd Skynyrd are to continue touring without any original members, following the death of guitarist Gary Rossington

Southern Rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd are to carry on in the wake of the March 5 death of their final original member, Gary Rossington

Louder

Watch Slash and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons play Sweet Home Alabama at star-studded Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute

Lynyrd Skynyrd were honoured at the CMT Music Awards with an all-star performance also featuring Paul Rodgers, Peter Frampton, LeAnn Rimes and more

Guitar World

Watch Slash, Billy Gibbons and Warren Haynes play an all-star medley of Lynyrd Skynyrd classics in tribute to Gary Rossington

Gary Clark Jr. also paid tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan at the show with a blazing cover of The House Is Rockin’

1 2 3

People

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Organisations

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Places

Fourteen days free

Download the app

One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.