The following content is related to the July 2012 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.
Ask 10 guitar players who epitomized the sound of 20th-century blues guitar and you might get 10 different answers. Ask the same question about gospel guitar and the list is likely to shrink to one: Roebuck "Pops" Staples.
Despite the brilliance of sanctified guitarists like Blind Willie Johnson and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, nothing says amen quite like the sound of Pops strumming a deep, tremolo-heavy open chord.
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“I walk in and Hans has me sit down. And he goes, ‘Let’s just get down to business. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately’”: After his spiritual awakening, Tim Henson is ready for anything – heavy Polyphia, trippy solo records and A-list film collabs
“There’s amazing players like Josh Smith and Eric Gales, and I thought, ‘OK, I’ve been missing out. I’m learning the blues’”: Tosin Abasi said he wanted to release a blues album – is it still on the cards?
