Latest articles by Alan di Perna
How Chuck Berry wrote Johnny B. Goode, and created the first rock and roll guitar hero
In his 1958 masterpiece, Berry created the ultimate rock-and-roll folk hero in just a few snappy verses
Behind the scenes of Blizzard of Ozz, the album that launched Ozzy Osbourne's solo career and made Randy Rhoads a guitar god
Producer Max Norman details the recording of Ozzy's solo debut, and explains why “Randy was the sort of guy you didn’t argue with – you just tried to keep up”
Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl: "Through Kurt, I saw the beauty of minimalism and the importance of music that's stripped down. That's more powerful"
In this 1997 GW interview, Grohl discusses how Nirvana shaped his songwriting approach, the impact of Taylor Hawkins, and a then-new song of his called Everlong
The story of Randy Rhoads’ long-lost Jackson RR3 prototype – and why it is now going up for auction
Built for the late Ozzy Osbourne guitarist in 1982, only to be completed after his death, the prototype RR3 presents the metal guitar and the Jackson brand at a crucial stage of their evolution, and now its owner, Sean Michael Clegg, is putting it up for sale
Pete Townshend: "I was at an art school where the course was dedicated to breaking the rules, and I just drafted that into my work as a guitar player"
In this candid 1994 GW interview, The Who's six-string creative mastermind discusses his time with Page and Hendrix, Marshall stacks, his aggressive playing style, and more
Remembering the Creation’s trailblazing guitarist Eddie Phillips, pioneer of the bowed guitar and feedback whisperer
With British Invasion record producer Shel Talmy, we unpack the legacy of the Creation. A fractious, brilliant band, who in Phillips had a guitar player with a groundbreaking style
"Everybody was going flat out": Keith Richards on the trials and tribulations that formed The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main St.
In this classic GW interview, Keef tells all about the Stones' pioneering double-album masterpiece. From the recording setup to the debauchery to the stories behind classics like Happy and Tumbling Dice
"All we ever wanted to do in this band is kick people's ass": The Smashing Pumpkins on '80s Marshalls, epic guitar arrangements and their essential pedals
In this 1995 GW interview, Billy Corgan and James Iha discuss the gear that powered their sprawling, double-disc masterpiece, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Remembering Michael Nesmith (1942-2021)
A trailblazer for pop culture, film producer and alt-rock inspiration, the former Monkee was a polymath whose career was guided by his gift for songwriting
Paul Pigat: “I took a little lesson from AC/DC on the solos for this record: to make the solo completely different from the rest of the song”
The Canadian guitarist walks through the retro-rock techniques and tones that inform his unique rockabilly style on Cousin Harley’s new album, Let’s Go!
The story of Africa’s guitar god Dr. Nico, the Congolese innovator admired by Jimi Hendrix
By the time ‘Clapton is God’ graffiti was appearing on London walls, Africa had found a new deity of guitar, and his name was Nicolas Kasanda wa Mikalay
How Todd Mosby's Imrat Guitar lets him combine western harmony with Indian melodies for a thrilling hybrid sound
Mosby’s Imrat guitar is an electric guitar with both playing and drone strings, and a sitar-like resonance
Dhani Harrison on the incredible story of his father George's All Things Must Pass album
“You need a rhythm guitar player and you get Eric Clapton. How amazing is that?”
The life and times of Jamaican guitar legend Ernest Ranglin
The king of ska guitar, Ranglin helped define the island's sound and took it global
Leslie West: "I wanted the biggest tone, and vibrato like somebody who plays violin in a 100-piece orchestra"
The life and times of a titanic presence in hard rock and a trailblazer for tone
Quicksilver Messenger Service's John Cipollina: the life and times of an unsung guitar innovator
A bold, original and unheralded stylist, Cipollina's playing anticipated the future of rock
The life and times of Frank Zappa – composer, satirist and towering giant of the electric guitar
Looking back at the career of the one-of-a-kind musician and guitar visionary
Keith Richards reveals his 10 all-time favorite Rolling Stones riffs and the stories behind them
How the guitar used to record Gimme Shelter disintegrated immediately after the song's completion, and other incredible stories
Why The Byrds' Roger McGuinn is one of rock's greatest guitar heroes
In general, Roger McGuinn has gotten more love from the rock critic fraternity than from the guitar community. Maybe it’s time to turn that perception around
The genius of Andy Gill: paying tribute to the post-punk pioneer who influenced a generation of guitarists
The Gang of Four guitarist inspired big names from U2 and Franz Ferdinand to Tom Morello. We take a look at his diverse and storied career
The inside story of The Beatles' turbulent break-up - and what came next
50 years on, we dig deep into the unraveling of the most commercially successful band of all time, and the subsequent solo careers of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison
"He was our spiritual leader": A tribute to the life and career of AC/DC's Malcolm Young
Young's influence and contribution to rock music continue to loom large
Guitar's biggest names tell us what really happened at Woodstock
Carlos Santana, Stephen Stills, Pete Townshend and more recall the trials and tribulations behind their era-defining performances
