ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MARCH 28, 2007 By Steve Newton A few days before attending last Friday’s (March 23) Eric Clapton/Robert Cray show, I came across a timely TV broadcast of Taylor Hackford’s 1986 concert documentary, Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ‘N’ Roll. Both Clapton and Cray are featured in it, the former performing the … Continue reading Eric Clapton gets shown up by Doyle Bramhall II in Vancouver
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON AUG. 27, 2008 By Steve Newton In their recent autobiographies, famed British rockers Ronnie Wood and Eric Clapton hazily recall how one of their main pastimes while on tour—apart from getting wasted and rattling groupies—was cruising pawnshops and secondhand stores for cool guitars. When blues-rock virtuoso Joe Bonamassa calls from a tour … Continue reading Joe Bonamassa has 200 guitars, says he’s “okay for guitars”
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON DEC. 14, 2011 By Steve Newton When blues-guitar great Hubert Sumlin passed away on December 4 at the age of 80, it didn’t take long for the condolences and accolades to hit cyberspace. Within hours, ace picker Joe Bonamassa had tweeted his heartfelt sentiments, saying what a huge effect the “extraordinary” musician … Continue reading Joe Bonamassa says “a good bashing” is due after Rolling Stone’s lame Greatest Guitarists list
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 16, 1992 By Steve Newton Few guitarists have had to deal with the kind of expectations put on Jake E. Lee when he took over Randy Rhoads’ guitar spot in the Ozzy Osbourne band. Rhoads’ tragic death in a 1982 plane crash stunned the rock world and didn’t make things easy … Continue reading Badlands’ Jake E. Lee says that hearing Eddie Van Halen got him back into playing hard rock again
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON FEB. 19, 2004 By Steve Newton Chicago blues great Buddy Guy has played the Commodore Ballroom many times during his 45-year career, but the next time he visits the historic venue he won’t be sporting his trademark black Strat with the big white polka dots. For the first time here, the guitar … Continue reading Buddy Guy dedicated his Blues Singer album to John Lee Hooker
