“I said, ‘I don’t know, Dad. They think I’m weird.” Lzzy Hale reveals how Alice Cooper helped her find herself

An awkward sleepover, a classic Cooper album and some advice from her father helped the future Halestorm star realize that fitting in wasn’t the point

* This article was originally published here

“I can’t stand Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing. He ruined rock guitar.” Jesus and Mary Chain’s William Reid takes aim at Van Halen’s influence

The alt-rock pioneer says Van Halen led generations of guitarists to prioritize speed and technique over memorable musical ideas.

* This article was originally published here

“I would dress up as cool as I could and try to learn his stuff.” How a tossed-out Jimi Hendrix album inspired Stevie Ray Vaughan’s guitar journey

His brother Jimmie found the album behind a Dallas blues club. The discovery would shape his tone and technique, and create a blues giant for a new generation

* This article was originally published here

“It felt too good to believe, so I bought it.” How a $175 Rickenbacker made Peter Buck a lifelong Rick devotee

The R.E.M. guitarist was looking for a cheap replacement after his Telecaster was stolen. What he found instead helped shape the sound of American alternative rock

* This article was originally published here

“He said, ‘Yeah, what are you gonna do about it? You’re a girl. You don’t have the money to fight this.’” Rita Coolidge says Eric Clapton owes her a writing credit for one of the most celebrated songs in rock

The Grammy-winning singer helped pen the piano coda that closes "Layla," but was never credited despite her pleas to the guitarist

* This article was originally published here

“I said, ‘How come you didn't use these!?’” Steve Lukather says Eddie Van Halen’s unreleased recordings left him stunned

Lukather says the unreleased recordings are completed performances by both Van Halen brothers — not scraps being pieced together after the fact

* This article was originally published here

“Nothing was planned. It was all a first take.” The “accidental” 1976 smash hit created by a virtuoso rock group and the most recorded guitarist in history

Louie Shelton and the founding members of Toto didn’t think the song had “a chance in hell” of succeeding. A DJ proved them wrong

* This article was originally published here