Joe Satriani is one of the foremost "guitar shredders," a guitarist whose lightning speed virtuosity is matched by his vast theoretical knowledge and musical imagination. The New York six-string demon kicked around as a sideman for a long time before…

Steve Vai first came to public attention as Frank Zappa's "stunt guitarist" in the 1980s. Vai's incredible dexterity and musical acumen made him the thinking man's guitar hero. Striking out on his own, the fleet-fingered Vai released a series of solo…

Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen is considered one of the most technically proficient guitarists in rock history. Thought of by many as the king of shredding--the high-speed, ultra-precise style of metal guitar soloing--Malmsteen combines he…

Along with Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, guitar legend Jeff Beck first made his mark with English blues-rockers The Yardbirds in the 1960s. And like the others, he gained greater popularity after he left the band. One of rock's great instrumentalists,…

Van Halen rode the crest of 1970s riff-rock into 1980s abandon. Always able to produce a smile and a killer hook, their songs captured a West Coast attitude that combined Eddie Van Halen's guitar gymnastics and the high-energy antics of vocalist Davi…

They're known as the founding fathers of Southern rock, but the Allman Brothers were actually much more progressive than the musical school they inspired. They reclaimed the US-influenced blues-rock of Cream et al. and brought it back to America, add…

Getting his start with one of heavy metal monolith Black Sabbath, singer Ozzy Osbourne split from the band in 1979, and forged a highly successful solo career that quickly eclipsed his former outfit. While Osbourne's strange antics sometimes overshad…

While the 1980s Los Angeles rock scene will forever be associated with pretty-boy glam metal, it also spawned Guns N' Roses, one of the most in-your-face, streetwise, and controversial bands of the era. Axl Rose & company's roots lay in The Stones, A…

Over the course of four decades, Eric Clapton has carried the British blues legacy into the mainstream of pop music. From his mid-1960s days with the Yardbirds and John Mayall, through his years as guitar god with Cream and Blind Faith, and eventuall…

Of all the artists to emerge in the late 1960s, none inspired greater awe than Jimi Hendrix. After touring with numerous R&B bands, the guitarist moved to London in 1966 and assembled the Jimi Hendrix Experience. His U.S. return at the Monterey Pop F…

From their first Syd Barrett-led psych-pop record to their concept albums and elaborately presented live shows of the 1970s, these space-rock pioneers reached unprecedented heights of commercial and aesthetic success. Their '73 opus, DARK SIDE OF THE…

Initially inspired by the heavy rock of Led Zeppelin and Cream, Rush relied on Geddy Lee's high, Robert Plant-like vocals, Neil Peart's Carl Palmer-on-steroids drumming, and Alex Lifeson's guitar heroics for their explosive power-trio sound. As the 1…

b. 6 August 1946, Leeds, England. The professional regard for this Leeds guitarist is illustrated by the range of people with whom he has appeared, including Igginbottom and Ian Carr's Nucleus. The end of Holdsworth's time with Nucleus coincided with…

One of the longest running and most prolific of hard rock/proto-heavy-metal bands, Deep Purple appeared in the wake of the psychedelic era, sporting a harder sound than anything that had come before. The classic 1970s lineup (featuring virtuoso guita…

Without Cream, rock as we know it might sound very different today. The London-based band were only together for a brief couple years (1966-1968), but their success opened the door for subsequent generations of blues-rockers and power trios. The jazz…

Queen embodied 1970s glam rock--mixing heavy riffs and intricate vocal harmonies with a gender-bending image. Freddie Mercury's operatic voice and Brian May's guitar were multi-tracked ad infinitum to create pomp-rock in the grandest sense. In the '8…

Just as alternative rock was signaling the death knell for many of the guitar shredders of the late 80s a few instrumentalists were able to sneak in under the radar such as Gary Hoey -- who attracted some attention via his 1993 debut Animal Instinct …

Like the Band, Neil Young eschewed his Canadian roots to create a sound rooted in American folk and country, which he mixed with visionary, poetic rock in Buffalo Springfield and on his solo albums. He played the crucial fourth wheel role in Crosby, …

Throughout the 1970s, the Eagles couldn't lose. Each record was bigger than the last; each single seemed to play all summer long. At the forefront of the country-rock movement, the Eagles also typified so-called soft-rock and album rock. Their master…