Brian May – The Asteroidal Axeman

Brian May – The Asteroidal Axeman

Lots of rockers and actors have had asteroids named in their honor, but Brian May is no doubt the only true scientist of the bunch. The brainy guitarist/astrophysicist best known for his work with Queen turns 67 today. I could always recognize his distinctive style. He used his custom-built "Red Special" guitar to produce sounds that mimicked all kinds of instruments, such as trombones and piccolos. In 2012, readers of Guitar World magazine voted him the 2nd greatest guitarist of all time, and Rolling Stone pegged him at #26 in their list of Top 100 guitarists.

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Good Twins, Bad Twins: A Look at Rock’s Infamous Duos

Good Twins, Bad Twins: A Look at Rock’s Infamous Duos

What do Nerk Twins, Glimmer Twins, and Toxic Twins have in common? They're all pseudonyms for musical duos who, through some mystic alignment (or collision) of planets, came to front legendary rock bands. Today I'll take a look at the origin of these monikers and offer up a few of my own

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The Yardbirds’ Keith Relf: From Electric Blues to Electric Demise

The Yardbirds’ Keith Relf: From Electric Blues to Electric Demise

The 1960s electric blues band The Yardbirds was the premier rock-n-roll incubator, cultivating three of the world's most talented guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. But does anybody recall the name of the man who co-founded the British group and provided lead vocals and harmonica on its killer tracks, among them, "Heart Full of Soul," "For Your Love," and "Shapes of Things"? His name was Keith Relf, born 71 years ago today. He suffered one of the strangest deaths in rock history.

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Rockin’ Through the Irish Rye

Rockin’ Through the Irish Rye

When you think about Irish rockers, who comes to mind? Prickly, ginger-haired Van Morrison, in a near-transcendental state, wailing G.L.O.R.I.A? Bono in his wrap-around spaceman shades, righteously pouring out arena anthems with his U2 mates? Sinead O’Connor ripping up a picture of Pope John Paul II on “Saturday Night Live”? Well, there’s more to Ireland’s rock scene than that, boyo. On this St. Paddy’s Day, allow me to share a few of my favorite songs by several Irish artists who are lesser-known to American audiences.

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Many Shades of Pale

Many Shades of Pale

There have been more than 1,000 cover versions of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," the debut single by British progressive-rock band Procol Harum. The hauntingly beautiful song with its Bach-like melody and trippy lyrics was a perfect soundtrack for the Summer of Love. It hit the #1 one spot on the U.K. charts on June 8, 1967, and remained there for six weeks. In fact, it's one of fewer than 30 singles to have sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

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