By Steve Newton British guitar hero Bernie Marsden turned 72 today, so I figured now was as good a time as any to ask God to bless his solo on Whitesnake’s “Fool For Your Lovin’”. In previous blogs I’ve asked God to bless exquisite guitar solos by Scott Gorham on Thin Lizzy’s “Romeo and the Lonely Girl”, Donald … Continue reading God bless Bernie Marsden’s guitar solo on Whitesnake’s “Fool For Your Lovin’”
By Steve Newton I really appreciate rock music, and I’m very thankful to the musicians whose talent has given me such joy over the years. Sometimes, when I hear something that really turns my crank–like a particularly awesome guitar solo–I even ask God to bless it. In previous blogs I’ve asked Him to bless exquisite … Continue reading God bless Ian Paice’s drumming on Deep Purple’s “Burn”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 27, 2019 By Steve Newton On the phone from his home in Nashville, Steve Cropper sounds happy and full of life. He talks a lot and ends most of his sentences with a chuckle, as you might expect from a guy who’s spent the last 60-or-so years of his life doing … Continue reading Steve Cropper’s musical career has been touched by tragedy but his killer guitar licks endure
By Steve Newton I really, really enjoy guitar solos sometimes. When a geetar player hits just the right notes with just the right feel, it’s almost like a religious experience for me. That’s why I’ve asked God to bless exquisite guitar solos by Scott Gorham on Thin Lizzy’s “Romeo and the Lonely Girl”, Donald “Buck … Continue reading God bless Hughie Thomasson’s guitar solo on the Outlaws’ “Hurry Sundown”
Geez, even Jimi knew Johnny ruled. By Steve Newton Back in September of 2010 Gibson.com posted what it felt were the 50 greatest guitar solos of all time, and boy did they ever blow it. Most conspicuous by his absence is Texas blues-rock legend Johnny Winter. I for one am getting sick and tired of … Continue reading Gibson picked the top 50 guitar solos of all time, and boy did they ever blow it
Steve Newton It was one of the biggest thrills of my 37 years of rock writing to chat with Steve Cropper for the first time in 2019. He’s recorded and performed with many of the world’s finest musicians, and is widely regarded as one of the top guitarists of all time. So I was kinda … Continue reading Steve Cropper says that he knows his limitations as a guitar player
By Steve Newton Aw crap! I interviewed guitar legend Steve Cropper today and forgot to thank him for the guitar solo he did back in ’75 on “Stone Cold Sober”, a killer tune he cowrote with Rod Stewart for the Atlantic Crossing album. As the weird kids say on social media these days, that solo is … Continue reading God bless Steve Cropper’s guitar solo on Rod Stewart’s “Stone Cold Sober”
By Steve Newton I interviewed guitar legend Steve Cropper last week, in advance of his gig with Dave Mason in Vancouver this Wednesday, and man was I psyched about that. You just can’t find musicians with more cred than Crop. So of course I had to ask the 77-year-old fretmaster my standard question for players … Continue reading Steve Cropper says that his favourite living guitarist isn’t Clapton, Beck, or Page–it’s Feliciano
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JAN. 4, 2007 By Steve Newton The world is full of wicked blues guitarists, but few are as downright tasty as 26-year-old Sean Costello. He started playing at the age of nine, shortly after moving from Philadelphia to Atlanta, absorbing the skills of the sharpest pickers around. “Hubert Sumlin … Continue reading Sean Costello played lead guitar on Susan Tedeschi’s debut album while still in high school
By Steve Newton Steve Cropper was recently added to the Dave Mason Band tour, which is totally awesome, and not just because he’ll now be appearing with Mason at Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre next Thursday (March 21). It’s also totally awesome because three days ago I got to interview the guitar legend for the first time … Continue reading Steve Cropper recalls almost working with the Beatles in Memphis, before Brian Epstein pulled the plug
By Steve Newton As most readers of Ear of Newt have probly figured out by now, I’m something of a guitar freak. I just love the sound of a guitar, especially when it’s in the hands of someone really, really good. (I also spell the word probably as “probly” because that’s how it sounds to me, … Continue reading God bless Chuck Leavell’s piano solo on the Allman Brothers’ “Southbound”
By Steve Newton I first heard Snowy White when he became the coguitarist in one of my favourite all-time bands, Thin Lizzy. He shared the six-string duties with Scott Gorham on the early-’80s albums Chinatown and Renegade, which weren’t my fave Lizzy discs. And I’d actually preferred the guitar-work of previous Lizzy pickers Gary Moore, … Continue reading God bless Snowy White’s guitar licks on his live version of Peter Green’s “Slabo Day”
By Steve Newton I freakin’ love guitar solos, where some talented artist carefully chooses the perfect notes and uses vibrato and tremolo and all that other technical shit to come up with something that’ll stick with me for decades and be there whenever I want to retrieve it, replay it in my head, and holler: … Continue reading God bless Scott Gorham’s 60-second guitar solo on Thin Lizzy’s “Romeo and the Lonely Girl”
