“Billy had already played half a solo. The producer said, ‘Can you play the other half?’ I said, ‘Can’t you give him a whole solo and me a whole solo?’” Brian May explains why he was reluctant to share a solo with Billy Gibbons – and what changed his mind

Left-Brian May of Queen + Adam Lambert performs on stage at Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena on July 2, 2017 in Vancouver, Canada; Right-Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top performs at Toyota Pavilion at Concord on September 19, 2024 in Concord, California
(Image credit: Left-Andrew Chin/Getty Images; Right-Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images)

Steve Cropper's 2021 record, Fire It Up, may be a tough act to follow considering it was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category.

However, with Friendlytown, recently released under the moniker Steve Cropper and the Midnight Hour, Booker T. & the M.G.'s founding member managed to one-up himself, recruiting Billy Gibbons and Brian May for a proper guitar extravaganza.

The collaborative spirit extended to the solos, as the two guitar icons shared one on the track Too Much Stress.

“That was an interesting situation because Billy had already played half a solo. Jon [Tiven, the album's producer] said to me, ‘Can you play the other half?’” May tells Guitarist.

“I said, ‘Jon, look, can’t you give him a whole solo and me a whole solo?’ Jon said, ‘No, this is the way it’s going to be.’ I said, ‘Oh God, all right.’ But I listened and thought, ‘Actually, this probably does make sense.’”

Steve Cropper &The Midnight Hour (feat. Brian May) - "Too Much Stress" - YouTube Steve Cropper &The Midnight Hour (feat. Brian May) -
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May goes on to call Gibbons “the coolest guitar player on the planet”. Despite tending to play “very little,” his playing style resonated with May and perfectly complemented the Queen guitarist’s more flamboyant approach.

“He’s not showing off or trying to prove a point. He’s just playing from his heart – so I did the same thing,” May explains. “I took over where he left off and did my half of the solo, and it was a very rare thing.”

This solo nearly didn’t come to be, however. May initially passed on the project, telling Tiven he was dealing with “too much stress” – an encounter that ultimately inspired the song title.

For more from Steve Cropper, Brian May, and Billy Gibbons, plus new interviews with Martin Barre and Joe Perry, pick up issue 517 of Guitarist at Magazines Direct.

Janelle Borg

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.

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