Hey, Jimi: Where Ya Going with that Guitar in Your Hand?

Hey, Jimi: Where Ya Going with that Guitar in Your Hand?

Cutting your teeth...honing your skills...paying your dues...(and, my favorite)...making your bones.Whatever you want to call it, Jimi Hendrix did it all in the days prior to achieving eternal super stardom as the greatest rock guitarist of all time. He played for years in backup bands for such American artists as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, the Isley Brothers and Joey Dee and the Starlighters. He also spent an evening playing backup for English crooner Engelbert Humperdinck and once toured with The Monkees as an opening act. Perhaps more than any other musician in rock history, Jimi Hendrix loved to play. It didn't matter what, where, when, or with whom.

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José Feliciano: Singing Out, in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave

José Feliciano: Singing Out, in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave

I generally consider someone a true artist if he or she has the courage to produce straight-from-the-soul work that is so provocative it's likely to offend the masses, incite controversy, and, ideally, inspire people to open their minds and question long-held beliefs. When you think of such artists, Puerto Rican singer/songwriter José Feliciano doesn't immediately spring to mind. Yet, he made an artistic statement 46 years ago this month that was viewed with such contention that it nearly ended his career. His offense? He performed a soulful, Latin jazz version of "The Star Spangled Banner" to kick off the fifth game of the 1968 World Series, a matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers in the Motor City.

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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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Heartstrings: B.B. and Lucille, Albert and Lucy, and Stevie Ray and his First Wife

Heartstrings: B.B. and Lucille, Albert and Lucy, and Stevie Ray and his First Wife

Guitarists love the ladies, especially those with long necks, shapely bodies, and melodic voices. Here are three love stories about legendary bluesmen and the instruments they adored.

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Remembering Phil Lynott, an Overlooked Artist

Remembering Phil Lynott, an Overlooked Artist

Here's what you probably don't know about Thin Lizzy, a band most Americans consider a 2-hit wonder: they were the first Irish or English group to feature a bi-racial artist as frontman; and they employed both Catholic and Protestant musicians from both sides of the Irish border during the height of the ethnic/nationalist conflicts of the 1970s. Phil Lynott, the band's singer, songwriter, and bassist died 28 years ago today at age 37 from alcohol abuse. He formed the group in Dublin in 1969 and wrote their two mid-'70s hits, "Jailbreak" and "The Boys are Back in Town." With their powerful double lead guitar harmony sound, Thin Lizzy is revered by some as the best hard rock band to emerge from Ireland. So, what's the story about those boys who came back to town?

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