'BLUES' (2005)
1. T-Bone Walker
2. B.B. King
3. Stevie Ray Vaughan
4. Robert Johnson
5. Albert King
6. Eric Clapton
7. Buddy Guy
8. Muddy Waters
9. Otis Rush
10. Johnny Winter
11. Peter Green
12. Ronnie Earl
13. Freddie King
14. Mike Bloomfield
15. Earl Hooker
16. Elmore James
17. Albert Collins
18. Hubert Sumlin
19. Duane Allman
20. John Lee Hooker
21. Son House
22. Robert Cray
23. Jimmie Vaughan
24. Billy Gibbons
25. Lonnie Johnson

26. Roy Buchanan
27. Duke Robillard
28. Clarence"Gatemouth"Brown
29. Blind Lemon Jefferson
30. Charley Patton
31. Ry Cooder
32. Lonnie Mack
33. Warren Haynes
34. Son Seals
35. Robert Nighthawk
36. Gary Moore
37. Luther Allison
38. Mississippi Fred McDowell
39. Robben Ford
40. Roy Rogers
41. Jimmy Thackery
42. Lonnie Brooks
43. Keb Mo
44. Mick Taylor
45. Lightnin' Hopkins
46. Corey Harris
47. Steve Cropper
48. Taj Mahal
49. Blind Willie Johnson
50. Shuggie Otis

The above lists are with courtesy of Digital Dream Door Site
They are not compiled by myself. They have a page for your comments ~ which I am sure you have many!

"YOUR CHOICES"

I agree, there are too many overlooked or under-rated musicians, the young musicians growing in the shadows of the greats and not to forget the session players and
the soloists who don't get the media attention of many band musicians.
If not on the above list ... Email your choice.

MICHAEL LEE FIRKINS

American electric guitar player whose sound fuses bluegrass, country, blues, and jazz elements into his distorted rock sound. He is noted amongst guitarists for his prolific use of hybrid picking at high speeds. He started playing guitar at aged eight. Mainly self taught, he also took lessons at an Omaha music store. In 1985, he started touring the country in cover bands. As Michael continued to enhance his chops, he recorded a 5-song demo of instrumental guitar tunes, the demo was sent to Shrapnel Records, resulting in a record contract and subsequent release in 1990, of his self-titled debut album. This well-received album also landed Michael the top spot in the category of “Best New Talent” in a readers' poll in Guitar Player magazine that year. He was also hailed as “One of the Most Influential Players of the Next Ten Years” by Guitar for the Practicing Musician. Michael's music was also popular in Europe, as he won the Edison Award, which is the equivalent of a Grammy in Holland. His sound went on to incorporate even more diverse music styles, specifically jazz, as shown in a cover of Duke Ellington's “The Mooche” on his third album, Chapter Eleven. In 1997, he recorded Decomposition, an album composed of covers, paying tribute to some of his earlier influences, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Winter, and Jimi Hendrix. In the early 2000s, Michael teamed up with fellow virtuoso guitarist Gabriel Moses for the side project titled "Dose Amigos".
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REX CARROLL

American guitarist and a trained neo-classical shredder with the soul and heart of a true bluesman, but he is maybe best known for his work in the Christian metal band Whitecross, Rex is also the leader and guitarist of other bands like Fierce Heart, King James and The Rex Carroll Band and filled in and did all the guitar work on Eden's 1994 album "Fan The Flame". In Whitecross, he is not only the lead guitarist, but is also the primary songwriter. In 1989 Whitecross was the first American rock band to perform in Guatemala City. Also with Whitecross, Rex has completed six world tours, and won two Dove Awards for "Metal Album of the Year" in 1990 and 1992. In June 2004, he placed third in the North American Rock Guitar Competition sponsored by Guitar Player magazine and WNED/New York. Max also holds a Bachelors degree in classical guitar performance from Northern Illinois University. In 2010, Rex participated in a tribute album titled Mister Bolin’s Late Night Revival, a compilation of 17 previously unreleased tracks written by guitar legend Tommy Bolin prior to his death in 1976. The CD includes other artists such as HiFi Superstar, Doogie White, Eric Martin, Troy Luccketta, Jeff Pilson, Randy Jackson, Rachel Barton, Derek St. Holmes, Kimberley Dahme, and The 77’s
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JEFF SCHEETZ

American guitarist who continues to record and travel the world with guitars and his self titled band. He started playing the guitar while at school in 1980. In 1988 he set about recording a demo that was later released as the instrumental album 'Warp Speed'. His first official album 'Woodpecker Stomp' was released in 1990 and the title track became the first instrumental ever to break into the top 10 of the CCM rock charts. Jeff's playing impressed guitar manufacturer Yamaha so much they offered him a high profile job as one of their clinicians. The role took him to guitar shows all over the States. His first project with a vocalist came on the 1996 album 'Disengage' by Christian band Sign Of The Times which he produced, played guitar on, and composed most of the songs. The most recent offering by the Jeff Scheetz Band is possibly the guitar maestro's finest work to date, released in 2009, 'Behind The Mask' featuring the winning combination of Jeff's amazing and powerful guitar work, with Matt Waddill's gritty vocals.
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ANDY. TIMMONS

American guitarist born in Evansville, Indiana; he has played in the bands Danger Danger, touring the world opening for Kiss and Alice Cooper, and selling over a million records worldwide, recording five between 1989 and 2001; Pawn Kings and Andy Timmons Band. He has also released several solo albums and has worked as a session guitarist. As a session player, he has been featured on CDs by drummer Simon Phillips, a live CD with Olivia Newton-John, two albums by Kip Winger, recording sessions for Paula Abdul and Paul Stanley, and radio and television jingles. He has also played alongside Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, Eric Johnson, Steve Morse, Mike Stern, Ace Frehley, Ted Nugent, and Pierre Bensusan, as well as some of his favorite 1960s singing stars such as the Beach Boys, Lesley Gore, and Gordon Waller.
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BRAD GILLIS

American guitarist raised in San Francisco, he joined Bay Area funk rockers Rubicon in the late '70s, recording 2 albums, before teaming up with two of his Rubicon bandmates, singer/bassist Jack Blades and singer/drummer Kelly Keagy, to form a more hard rock-based outfit, Night Ranger in 1982. Also that year he played with the Ozzie Osbourne Band and recorded "Speak of the Devil" with Ozzie. With his band Night Ranger, Brad has recorded 10 albums to date, the most recent being Somewhere in California in 2011. The band's first five albums sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. They continued to tour and remains very popular in Asian countries, especially Japan. Brad also enjoys a solo career releasing several albums and has played with artists including Vicious Rumors, Fiona, and Derek Sherinian
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STEVIE SALA

Apache Indian guitarist, known for his work on George Clinton's albums, his collaborations with Koshi Inaba of B'z and Hardware, and was in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, providing the fingerwork for George Carlin's guitar solo. He has worked with many music giants, including Steve Vai, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, Sass Jordan, T.M. Stevens, Justin Timberlake, among others. In 1992, he recorded the album Third Eye Open with one-off power trio Hardware, consisting of Bootsy Collins on bass guitar, Buddy Miles on drums, and himself on guitar. In 1993, Stevie became music director for Terence Trent D'Arby and toured with Duran Duran. That same year, he released Stevie Salas Electric Pow Wow, a cover album featuring celebrity guests playing covers of songs that Salas was influenced by growing up, to much critical acclaim. Then in 1994, he released Back From the Living. In Japan, his single "Tell Your Story Walkin" became a Top-Ten hit. During this time he also produced and co-wrote the album Rats by Sass Jordan. In 1995, he produced and self-released the album 12 Hits and a Bump with Bernard Fowler of the Rolling Stones under the name Nicklebag, after which he released his fourth solo album Alter Native, followed in 1998 by The Sometimes Almost Never Was. In 1999, he retired after a final performance at the Fuji Rock Festival. But after a personal tragedy, in 2001 Mick Jagger asked him to play lead guitar for his tour, and that year he released Shapeshifter: The Fall and Rise of Stevie No-Wonder. In 2003, he released The Soulblasters of the Universe, and in 2006, he released Be What It Is. More recently he has recorded with Jordin Sparks, Justin Timberlake, and released his latest album Jam Power in 2010. He also helps create studio bands for American Idol and continues to tour in Europe and Japan.
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STEFFEN SCHAKINGER

Danish guitarist Steffen was already making his mark on the Danish music scene by the time he entered the Danish Conservatory of Music. He played with bands both in Denmark and abroad, developing a discipline which resulted in a stable musical development, allowing instrumental skills and creativity to flourish in unison. One of those bands was the rock trio Merzy, which was known for wild and outrageous performances. In between touring and playing TV and Radio shows, Steffen sang some of the lead vocals in the band Gracelands and got major airplay on the Danish radio stations with the songs "Electrified", ”Climbing Into Space” and ”Supersonic View”. By 1998, Merzy had released 4 albums and countless singles, Steffen left the band and started playing a lot of theatre shows, as a musician as well as a performer, singing and playing various instruments. As a freelance musician he is still doing theatre shows, plays with symphony orchestras as well as recording workshops and masterclasses. He is currently involved with the award-winning theatre OIM (Odense International Music Theatre). As a studio musician, he has recorded numerous albums with different artists and has composed all sorts of music for Danish television shows and commercials. Still his focus was on the growth and development of his guitar playing and he eventually decided to make a solo album in 2008, “ElectriGuitartistry”, of which he was the sole composer. Here he could play his true style, not having to compromise with producers and other band members.
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ANDRES SEGOVI

A virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Andalucia. He is widely considered to be the "Father of Classical Guitar" and one of the finest classical guitarists of the 20th century, and one of the founders of what is now considered "Classical Guitar". He is credited for his modern-romantic repertoire, mainly through works dedicated to him by modern composers, but he also created his own transcriptions of classical works that were originally for other instruments. He is remembered for his expressive performances: his wide palette of tone, and his distinctive often instantly recognizable musical personality in tone, phrasing and style. After World War II, Andrés began to record more frequently and perform regular tours of Europe and the U.S., a schedule he would maintain for the next thirty years. In 1954, Joaquín Rodrigo dedicated Fantasía para un gentilhombre/Fantasy for a Gentleman to him and Andrés won the 1958 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance, Instrumentalist for his recording Segovia Golden Jubilee. In recognition of his contributions to music and the arts, Andrés was ennobled on June 24th 1981 by King Juan Carlos I, who gave him the hereditary title of Marquis of Salobreña.
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ANDY KIMBEL

American finger style guitarist, Andy Kimbel is a master of the guitar. He plays with emotion and energy that jumps out at you whether he is gently plucking away at a slower ballad or moving his fingers at a lightning pace on an energetic blues or even Celtic selection. His hit “Red Hot Blues”, charted No 4 on indie blues charts. As a touring solo performer, Andy has played major Festivals, Special Events, Folk and Blues venues, Colleges, and has been featured many times on Radio and TV shows, where audiences continue to appreciate his music and what he does with the guitar, re-inventing traditional folk and blues standards or his own material on the fly, show after show. His ability to improvise is pretty remarkable, when he gets into the “zone” he takes off and then lands having taken his material in different directions fitting the tone or mood of the venue and audience. He also hosts guitar workshops or “Master Classes” for all levels in conjunction with some of his shows.
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THEODORE "TED" GREENE

American fingerstyle jazz guitarist, teacher and music columnist; in the 1960s he was a member of a blues rock group called Bluesberry Jam along with future Canned Heat drummer Fito de la Parra. They shared billings with The Doors, Iron Butterfly, Sweetwater, Alice Cooper, Sons of Champlin, Poco, Blues Image and Joe Cocker. He was well known to guitarists due to his role as a music educator, which included private teaching, seminars at the Guitar Institute of Technology, columns for Guitar Player magazine, and his series of instructional books on guitar harmony, chord melody and single-note soloing. Later he would make occasional live appearances at clubs in the San Fernando Valley, usually playing a Fender Telecaster. Ted recorded one album "Solo Guitar" in 1977, and he also helped Fender design a 1952 Telecaster vintage reissue, their first such reissue, by making reference to his collection of old Telecasters, Broadcasters and Nocasters.
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MIKE CAMPESE

American guitarist and composer known for being a member of the multi-platinum group Trans-Siberian Orchestra since 2004, as well as his solo career. He appeared on the Jason Becker tribute CD "Warmth In The Wilderness", and his music was featured in the movie, "Vampire Assassins". Mike has been featured in magazines such as Guitar One, Guitar World and Guitar Player and is a Columnist for these publications. He also writes many online guitar columns on sites such as Guitar Nine, Premier Guitar and Shred Academy Mike has released 7 solo CD's under his name, his second album "Full Circle" was featured on National Public Radio stations across the country and was on regular rotation. Mike tours with his trio and as a solo artist and has opened and performed with many national acts such as The B-52's the Spin Doctors, KC and The Sunshine Band, Dokken, Sebastian Bach, Lou Reed, Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Schenker, the members of Yes and Asia, Kip Winger and many more. He has also performed on the Cruefest 2 tour, which featured Motley Crue, Godsmack, Drowning Pool, Theory of a Deadman, Rev Theory and more.
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NEIL ZAZA

American melodic instrumental guitarist born in Cleveland, Ohio; he has become known for his technical accuracy and adaptation of classical works by Bach and Mozart into his own blend of neo-classical, melodic, guitar instrumentals. In 1987 prior to his solo career, Neil formed the rock band Zaza which toured U.S. and released two albums "Just Get It" and "Party With The Big Boys". He released his debut solo album "Two Hands One Heart" in 1992. After his second solo album, Niel was a guest soloist with The Hartford Symphony Orchestra, performing “1492” and a guitar interpretation of “West Side Story”. He has also shared the stage with notable guitarists such as Joe Satriani and Michael Angelo Batio. He holds an annual concert called One Silent Night at the Palace Theater in Cleveland with the backing of the 60 piece Cleveland Rock Orchestra and features his adaptation of popular Christmas songs to his melodic style. Neil released his ninth studio album "212" February 12th 2011.
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DANN HUFF

American guitarist, session musician, singer-songwriter and producer. He began his career as part of the original Christian rock band White Heart and later in the melodic Hard Rock band Giant. He has since then been active as a session guitarist and producer in both rock music and country music. In the 1980s he has played guitar on albums for Michael Jackson, Scritti Politti, Whitesnake, Roger Hodgson, Steven Curtis Chapman, George Benson, Olivia Newton-John, Toby Keith, Billy Joel, Joe Cocker, Smokey Robinson, Celine Dion, Bryan Ferry, Boz Scaggs, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers and so many more. Since the 1990s Dann has been working as a producer for various bands and artists some of which include Keith Urban, Faith Hill, Megadeth, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, Suzy Bogguss, Kathy Mattea, Lonestar, Jewel Kilcher, Rascal Flatts and Martina McBride. He has won several awards including the Musician of the Year award in 2001 and 2004 at the Country Music Association Awards and the Producer of the Year award in 2006 and 2009 at the Academy of Country Music.
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TONY McPHEE

English blues guitarist, and founder and life long member of The Groundhogs, born in Redlands House, Lincolnshire. Originally a skiffle enthusiast, he gravitated toward the blues during the early 60s. His first group was the Dollarbills, a pop band featuring John Cruickshank on vocals, Pete Cruickshank on bass, and Dave Boorman on drums. He quickly steered toward blues, most notably the sound of John Lee Hooker, and with the addition of Bob Hall on piano, the group changed its name to the Groundhogs, in recognition of Hooker's "Ground Hog Blues". They backed Champion Jack Dupree and John Lee Hooker on UK concerts in the mid 1960s, evolving into a blues-rock trio that produced three UK Top 10 hits in the UK Albums Chart in the early 1970s. Tony has also released many solo acoustic blues records, as well as duets with Jo Ann Kelly. He is often credited as 'Tony (TS) McPhee'. He was dubbed TS by the producer Mike Vernon in the mid 1960s. As well as the Groundhogs, Tony has played with Herbal Mixture, John Dummer's Blues Band, Tony McPhee's Terraplane, Tony McPhee's Turbo and the Tony McPhee Band.
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BILL NELSON

English guitarist, songwriter and experimental musician, his first recordings were with a three-piece band called Global Village, who cut three covers for an EP and dissolved in 1968. His debut solo album Northern Dream drew attention from Peel on his national BBC Radio 1 programme in the UK, and this eventually led to his new band Be-Bop Deluxe signing to EMI debuting with the album Axe Victim in 1974. This was followed by 5 studio albums 1978, and Bill was acclaimed as one of the finest guitarists in British rock at the time, and the music showed that, with his distinctive tones adorning most tracks. Stylistically, the songs took elements from progressive rock, glam rock and hard guitar rock. Ships in the Night was their most successful single in the UK and US. He then formed Red Noise but eventually settled into a career as a solo musician, recording albums in the early electropop vein such as The Love That Whirls and Quit Dreaming and Get On the Beam. In 1981 he and his manager Mark Rye formed the Cocteau Records label, for many years this label handled the majority of Bill's output, which often included multiple albums per year. An annual event known as 'Nelsonica' is held every year in Yorkshire, at which Bill makes a rare public performance. He has recently released the first part of an autobiography.
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STOCHELO ROSENBERG

Dutch musician Stochelo Rosenberg is a Sinti-Gypsy jazz guitarist who plays in the Jazz manouche style of Django Reinhardt and leads the Rosenberg Trio. The Rosenberg trio consists of the three cousins Stochelo, Nonnie, and Nous'che Rosenberg. Born in a gypsy camp he has played music since his childhood days and the three cousins played in churches and Gypsy-camps all over Europe, before they formed The Rosenberg Trio in the late 1980's. Maestro Stéphane Grappelli, who, after seing and hearing them for the first time, immediatly invited them to play with him, taking them worldwide, across Europe, and also to celebrate his 85th birthday at New York's Carnegie Hall... This Friendship was not to end until Stéphane's death, and they recorded together on Stéphane's birthday album "85 and still swinging", on the Rosenberg Trio's "Caravan" - 1994 and on Manhattan Transfer's 1997 album "Swing". Stochelo was awarded the "Golden guitar" by Guitarist Magazine in 1992, and over the years has collaborated with many musicans, bands and orchestras, live or in studio, including Bireli Lagrene's Gipsy Project and his wonderful series of albums with french Guitarist Romane.
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CHRIS DAIR

British blues guitarist, Chris was inspired to play the guitar at an early age by Manitas De Plata who triggered a passion for guitar and a love of flamenco guitar. At age 14 he developed a love for blues and gigged in London at venues like Ronnie Scotts with John Mayall, John McVie and George Melly. As a young lead guitarist Chris jammed and or played with many of the R&B and rock legends of our time, including Rory Gallagher, Jimmy Paige, Ginger Baker, the late Paul Kossof, Captain Beefheart, Dick Stubbs-Juicy Lucy, Linda Lewis-Ferris Wheel, Dave Davies-The Kinks, Roy Wood-Wizard, Mickey Finn-T-Rex, Mark Knopfler, Led Zeppelin, Peter Green, Jeff Beck. Most unforgettably with the great blues legend Bukka White. More recently Noel Redding-Jimi Hendrix Experience and John Coughlan-Status Quo. He has also composed for the film/media industry: Bermuda Cablevision; French Films; Nickelodeon; E!; Romanian General and Broadcasting; Singaporean Films; USA Television and Cable; Guinness World Records-USA; Intimate Portraits-Cable TV USA; The Vibe, Brian Waddell-USA; The Surf Show-USA; True Hollywood Story-USA; Australasia (Apra) Films; ITV; Channel 4; Planet Television; London Weekend TV; Central TV. Chris's latest 14 track solo album, to date, "Crossroad To Freedom" was released June 6th 2011.
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DRINK SMALL

In the world of blues music, Bishopville’s Drink Small is known as the Blues Doctor. He is one of the genre’s true pioneers who paved the way for all blues musicians after him with his signature guitar licks and vocal style. He cut his first record in 1956, and his performances at blues festivals, concert halls, nightclubs and lounges have become legendary, according to Charleston Blues Musician Shrimp City Slim. His records may suddenly shift from a solo acoustic blues-guitar track to a smooth soul ballad with horns to who-knows-what. He can be gruff and rough, clean and modern, or light and bouncy, altering his voice and guitar to suit the mood. Rated one of America's top gospel guitarists before he turned to blues in the late '50s, the South Carolina "Blues Doctor" for years had only one 45 on the market, Sharp, 1959. His discography has recently begun to grow considerably, finally revealing the extent of his songwriting and performing talents. He has written two songs about his hometown: “Bishopville is My Hometown” and “Bishopville Women”. On stage at his 78th birthday gig, February 2011, Drink was honored with special presentations by the South Carolina General Assembly presented by State Rep. Grady Brown, D-Bishopville, and the Lee County Arts Council presented by President Robin Drayton Brunson.
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STEVE HOWE

English guitarist, known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes. He has also been a member of The Syndicats, Bodast, Tomorrow, Asia and GTR, as well as having released around 20 solo albums as of September 2010. He played his first show with Yes at the Lyceum on July 7th 1970 and was pictured with the group on the non-Europe jacket of their second album, Time and a Word, which was released in August, although it was Banks who had actually played on the recording. Beginning with The Yes Album, Steve's electric and acoustic guitars, combined with Jon Anderson's vocals, Chris Squire's bass, and Tony Kaye's keyboards were seen as an essential part of the band's early sound. He continued with the band until Yes officially split up on 18 April 1981, although he has played with them many times since and recored 15 Yes albums between 1971 to 2011. In 1981, Steve, John Wetton, Carl Palmer and Geoff Downes formed the band Asia, but after two popular albums and a few hit singles, Howe left the band. In 1985, he formed the supergroup GTR with Steve Hackett. Their only album, GTR, went gold. Steve's solo career started in October 1975, when he released Beginnings, his first solo album. It featured Yes band members Alan White, Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz and reached No 63 in the US and No 22 in the UK charts. Steve released his last solo album of 20, to date, Homebrew 4 in 2010. He has also guested with the likes of Queen, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Lou Reed, Dream Theater among others. Steve was voted "Best Overall Guitarist" in Guitar Player magazine five years in a row from 1977–1981 and was inducted into Guitar Player's "Gallery of Greats" in 1981. The only other two guitarists to win the "Best Overall Guitarist" category for the "Gallery Of Greats" are Steve Morse and Eric Johnson.
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HANK MARVIN

English guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows. The group, which primarily performed instrumentals, was formed as a backing band for vocalist Cliff Richard. Hank has a distinctive guitar sound and appearance, primarily using a clean sound with very distinctive echo and vibrato giving a dreamy effect. Born Brian Robson Rankin in Newcastle upon Tyne, he joined The Drifters in 1958, who soon changed their name to the Shadows. They have a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. As well as playing with The Shadows, Hank has had a successful solo career. He has been willing to experiment with styles and material, doing some purely instrumental albums, some with only vocals "All Alone With Friends", one with only acoustic guitars and one with a guitar orchestra "The Hank Marvin Guitar Syndicate". In 1970, Marvin and Bruce Welch formed Marvin, Welch & Farrar, a vocal harmony trio which failed to appeal to many Shadows fans or to contemporary music fans. They reverted to being The Shadows in 1973, for the Rockin' with Curly Leads album. As a writer, he was solely responsible for "Driftin'", "Geronimo", "Spider Juice", "I want you to Want Me" for The Shadows, and "The Day I Met Marie". As co-writer with Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett, and John Rostill, he wrote other hits, mainly for Cliff Richard, including "I Could Easily Fall in Love with You" and "In the Country". Hank has guested on dozens of albums and while his Shadows colleagues Bruce Welch and Brian Bennett accepted the honour of an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to music, Hank declined, citing "personal reasons".
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ALLEN COLLINS

American guitarist he joined up with Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington, along with Bob Burns and Larry Junstrom, so came the birth of Lynyrd Skynyrd in the summer of 1964. Allen and lead singer Ronnie co-wrote many of the biggest Skynyrd hits, including "Free Bird", "Gimme Three Steps", and "That Smell". The band received national success beginning in 1973 while opening for The Who on their Quadrophenia tour. The Skynyrd plane crashed into a forest in Mississippi killing three band members, including Ronnie. Allen was seriously injured in the crash, suffering two broken vertebrae in his neck and severe damage to his right arm. While amputation was recommended, his father refused and Allen eventually recovered. During the early 80s, he continued to perform on stage in The Rossington-Collins Band releasing two albums "Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere" and "This Is the Way". In 1980, his wife suddenly died of a hemorrhage, Allen began a downward spiral, using drugs and alcohol to assuage his grief. Missed concerts and conflicts within the band resulted in disbanding in 1982, but the start of the Allen Collins Band, which released one album, "Here, There & Back" in 1983. A 1986 drunk-driving accident killed Allen's girlfriend and left him paralyzed from the waist down, and with limited use of his arms and hands, tragically he never play guitar onstage again. All remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited to perform in 1987, but due to his injuries Allen served as musical director.
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ELVIN BISHOP

American blues and rock and roll guitarist, born in Glendale, California and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old. In 1963, he joined Butterfield's blues band, with whom he remained for five years. In 1968 he went solo and formed the Elvin Bishop Group, also performing with Bloomfield and Al Kooper on their album titled The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper. In March 1971, The Elvin Bishop Group and The Allman Brothers Band co-billed a series of concerts at the Fillmore East. He joined The Allman Brothers Band onstage for a rendition of his own song, "Drunken Hearted Boy". Over the years, Elvin has recorded with many blues artists including Clifton Chenier and John Lee Hooker. In late 1975, he played guitar on Bo Diddley's The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll album, and in '95, he toured with B.B. King. In 2005, he released his first new CD in 5 years, Gettin' My Groove Back, followed in 2008 by The Blues Roles On. He was supported by B. B. King, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Kim Wilson, George Thorogood, James Cotton, Tommy Castro, John Nemeth and Angela Strehli. The album was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. In 2010, Elvin released Red Dog Speaks.
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SCOTT McKEON

Born in '86 Scott McKeon picked up his first guitar at the age of four, he has devoted himself to the mastery of his craft and can now be considered to be one of the most gifted and naturally talented guitarist, singer-songwriters emerging on the UK blues rock scene. At the age of just seven he made his debut on national TV, and has since appeared on many TV shows and regional news programs. The 1998 winner of Guitarist Magazine’s “Young Guitarist of the Year” title, Scott is already listed as one of the 27 best blues guitar players in the world on Google. One of the tracks from his debut album "Can’t Take No More" was used on a Impulse viral ad. By the time he was 20 years old, Scott had graced the stage of the legendary Antones, and shared performance space with Buddy Guy, Sonny Landreth , Johnny Winter , and the North Mississippi Allstars to name a few . He shared performance space with Eric Clapton at Hyde Park Calling in 2008, as well as playing the Montreal Jazz festival and making US TV appearances. In 2009 he worked in Nashville, opened for Derek Trucks and the Arc Angels and made his first performance at the Royal Albert Hall supporting Joe Bonamassa. 2010 saw Scott touring with Glenn Hughs and the release of his second album "Trouble" to rave reviews, and a well worth addition for your CD collection.
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APRIL LAWTON

American guitar virtuoso, singer and composer who came to notice in the early to mid 1970s as a member of the rock band Ramatam, which also included former Iron Butterfly guitarist Mike Pinera and the former Jimi Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell. April was hailed as the female Jimi Hendrix by many, and her style was a mix of Jeff Beck, Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Alan Holdsworth. She stayed with Ramatam for two studio albums, their self-titled debut and "In April Came the Dawning of the Red Suns". April left after the second album, to form her solo project called the April Lawton Band, which dissolved in the late 1970s. April then disappeared from the music scene to concentrate on painting and graphic design. Although during the 1990s she recorded some demos for a future album, but sadly the material remains unreleased, but some brief excerpts are available at the April Lawton tribute website.
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JENNIFER BATTEN

American guitarist, she has worked as both a session musician and a solo artist. Jennifer has released three solo albums. Her 1992 debut, Above Below and Beyond, in 1997, she released the worldbeat-influenced Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage: Momentum and her third album, Whatever, was released in Japan in September 2007 and the US on April 18, 2008. She has appeared on recordings such as Jeff Beck's Who Else! and You Had It Coming, Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus, Michael Sembello's Heavy Weather, Carl Anderson's Sunlight Again, Cindy Cruz's debut, Public Image bassist Bret Helm's "Doc Tahri" and the debut of The Immigrants. Her music video appearances include Jeff Beck, Michael Jackson, Natalie Cole and Sara Hickman and Miguel Mateos's "Obsesión". Jennifer played lead and rhythm guitar on Michael Jackson's Bad, Dangerous and HIStory world tours, as well as his 1993 Super Bowl half-time performance. Between 1994-99 she joined Dave Rodgers and Domino as featured guitarist on the eurobeat songs "Sun City", "Music For the People", "Fly" and "Woa Woa Woa". Her live Eurobeat appearances were limited to playing at the Tokyo Do-me with Dave Rodgers and Queen of Hearts. In 2010 she recorded a solo for the song "Bad Girls" for a Polish singer Doda.
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COCO MONTOYA

Montoya's career began in the mid 1970s when Albert Collins asked him to join his band as drummer. Collins took Montoya under his wing and taught him his guitar style. The two remained friends even after Montoya left Collins' band. Montoya is left-handed but plays "upside-down right-handed" guitar. In the early 1980s John Mayall heard Montoya playing guitar in a Los Angeles bar. Soon after Mayall asked Montoya to join the newly reformed Bluesbreakers. He remained a member of the band for 10 years. In 1995 he appeared with the Cate Brothers for the resumption of their recording career on their release, Radioland. Since that same year, Montoya has recorded several solo albums. In 2002, he featured on the Bo Diddley tribute album Hey Bo Diddley - A Tribute!, performing the song "Pills."
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RALPH TOWNER

American musician Ralph Towner is one of the few modern jazz musicians to specialize on acoustic guitar, specialising with twelve-string guitar and classical guitar. He started playing piano when he was three and trumpet at five, performing in a dance band when he was 13. Amazingly he did not take up guitar until attending the University of Oregon, where he also studied composition with Homer Keller. Ralph then studied classical guitar in Vienna and played with classical chamber groups in the mid-'60s. After moving to New York in 1969, he worked with Jimmy Garrison, Jeremy Steig, and Paul Winter's Winter Consort 1970-1971. In the latter group, he first met up with Collin Walcott, Glen Moore, and Paul McCandless, and in 1971 they broke away to form Oregon, a highly versatile group that ranges from jazz and free improvisations to folk music, releasing Music of Another Present Era in 1972. To date they have released 27 albums. In addition to recording as a leader, he has recorded with many other artists on the ECM label. Ralf also guested with Weather Report in 1971 and played with Gary Burton a while during 1974 and 1975.
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GARY HOEY

American guitarist Gary Hoey was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. In 1990 he teamed with singer Joel Ellis, bassist Rex Tennyson, and drummer Frankie Banali to form Heavy Bones. The band released their self-titled debut album in 1992 but broke up shortly afterwards. In 1993, he recorded the successful Animal Instinct album, which included a cover of the Focus hit "Hocus Pocus". Not only did the hit rocket into the Billboard Top 5, outpacing all other singles as the most frequently played rock song of the year, but the album went on to reach classic rock notoriety. The successful Endless Summer II soundtrack soon followed. His 1996 release, Bug Alley, displayed added vocal ability that he has expanded on more recent albums. He has recorded 16 albums and had five top-20 Billboard hits, and has been called one of the top 100 guitarists of all time Gary's new album, “Utopia,” will be released in the summer of 2010. He continues to tour extensively.
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DANNY GATTON

Danny Gatton born in Washington, D.C. began his career playing in bands while still a teenager. He began to attract wider interest in the 1970s while playing guitar and banjo for the group Liz Meyer & Friends. He made his name as a performer in the Washington, DC, area during the late 1970s and 1980s, both as a solo performer and with his Redneck Jazz Explosion, in which he traded licks with pedal steel player Buddy Emmons over a tight bass-drums rhythm which drew from blues, country, bebop and rockabilly influences. He also backed Robert Gordon and Roger Miller and contributed a cover of "Apricot Brandy", a song by Elektra Records-supergroup Rhinoceros, to the 1990 compilation album Rubáiyát. His playing combined musical styles such as jazz, blues and rockabilly in an innovative fashion, and his album 88 Elmira Street was up for a 1990 Grammy Award for the song "Elmira Street Boogie" for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. He was known by some as "the Telemaster" and appeared on stage with guitar heroes such as Alvin Lee and Jimmie Vaughan. Danny was ranked 63rd on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time in 2003. On May 26th, 2010, Gibson.com ranked him as the 27th best guitarist of all time.
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BEN MAURO

Young, up and coming guitarist, Ben Mauro grew up in Syracuse, and first picked up the guitar at 16. Totally obsessed with Led Zeppelin he would practice for eight hours at a time, as well as attending school for classical guitar. He first played gigs at his father's rugby parties before heading for New York City to follow his Hendrix - Zeppelin dream. He quickly got hired to perform in the house band at the legendary Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village five nights week, performing from 10pm until 4am. This is were he perfected his chops playing and singing many styles and genre of music. After leaving Cafe Wha? Ben worked with various groups that played anywhere from the hard rock clubs of New Jersey to the funk and R&B clubs of Manhattan. Word of his work on the guitar spread and he was soon offered the job touring the world playing and singing for the great Lionel Richie. Ben relacated to Los Angeles, here, his reputation as a dynamic performer led to jobs playing and singing with many of the top stars both on tour and in the studio, including Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. Ben has also formed his own rock band 13 Curves, in which he is the lead singer and guitar player, the band has just released their debut (2009) CD entitled "Underground".
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DAVEY KNOWLES

Born in the Isle of Man, self taught British blues guitarist Davey Knowles was inspired by the likes of Mark Knoffler, Rory Gallagher, Pete Green and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. At the age of 11, he taught himself the songs of his heros on an old acoustic guitar. As a young teenager he played in local older bands until he formed the blues band Back Door Slam with his school mates, Ross Doyle on drums and bassist Adam Jones. In June of 2007, they debuted with Davey's self penned (all but 1) album "Roll Away", which reached No.5 on Billboard's Blues chart. On their tours of the US, Back Door Slam have shared billings with Kid Rock, George Thorogood, Buddy Guy, REO Speedwagon, Styx, & Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Who and Gov't Mule among others. They have appeared on television's CBS Early Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live as well as on NPR's World Cafe and Voice of America's Border Crossings. With Ross and Adam wanting to pursue a career in Europe, Back Door Slam split in January 2009. At just 21, Davey is taking North America by storm again with his new band Davey Knowles and Back Door Slam and his new album "Coming Up For Air", which has already reached No.3 in the Billboard Blues Chart. He is continueing to tour America for most of this year, 2009.
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MATTHEW BELLAMY

UK guitarist Matthew James Bellamy was a founder member of the English alternative rock band Muse, that formed in Teignmouth, Devon. In 1994 they used the name Rocket Baby Dolls and with a goth/glam image they competed in a local battle of the bands, after which they changed their name to Muse. The band won the contest, which eventually led them to become one of the UK's top bands releasing to date 5 albums, the latest being their 2009 album, 'The Resistance'. As well as Matt's many "Sexiest Male" awards, Total Guitar readers voted Matt 29th on a list of the top 100 guitarists and his riff from "Plug In Baby" was 13th in Total Guitar's poll of the Top 100 Riffs . In 2004, Muse won "Best Album" for 'Absolution' at the Kerrang! Awards. The Muse album 'Black Holes and Revelations' was voted "Album of the Year" by Planet Rock magazine in 2006, the same year, Muse won "Best British Band" at the Kerrang! Awards. In October 2007 they came top of the MTV2 top 100 British videos, with "Plug in Baby". On 1 November 2007, Matthew and Muse won 2 EMA Awards in Munich for Best Group in the UK and Ireland As a band, Muse have also achieved 2 Brit Awards, both of which were Best British Live Act, and a further 5 Brit nominations. To date - July 2009, they have won 24 awards and have had 60 nominations. On 26 Sept 2008, the University of Plymouth awarded Matt an honourary doctorate degree in arts for his work in the field of music.
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TED NUGENT

Detroit guitarist Ted Nugent, influenced by UK bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds formed his first bands in his early teens including Royal High Boys and Lourdes before joining the psychedelic /acid/ hard rock band the Amboy Dukes in 1967. In 1968 they had a hit with their 2nd album "Journey to the Center of Your Mind." The single of the same name peaked at number 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. The album and song are classic examples of acid rock. In the early mid 70's Ted turned to a solo career releasing his first solo rock album "Ted Nugent" in 1975. He produced popular radio anthems such as "Hey Baby", "Dog Eat Dog", "Stranglehold," and "Cat Scratch Fever" and toured extensively each year throughout the '70s and the '80s. Between 1989 and 1996 Ted had even more success as a member of hte Damn Yankees, a super group consisting of himself, Tommy Shaw of Styx, Jack Blades of Night Ranger and drummer Michael Cartellone and the new band’s self-titled debut album went double-platinum in 1990. In 1992, they once again went platinum with their follow-up album Don’t Tread. In the mid 90's Ted revived his solo career. To date (May2009) he has released more than 34 albums, which have sold more than 30 million copies, he has accumilated several nick names such as The Nuge, The Motor City Madman , Uncle Ted and is also famous for playing the semi-hollow Gibson Byrdland of which Gibson Guitar Corporation has developed a model named for him.
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TOM SCHOLZ

Tom Scholz is a guitarist, plus a songwriter, keyboardist, inventor and mechanical engineer, but best known as the founder of the hard rock band Boston and inventor of the Rockman guitar amplifier. Born in Toledo, Ohio, and classically trained on piano as a child, he never picked up a guitar until he was 21, but when he did, he was self-taught, was a very quick learner, mastering his craft by listening to his idols, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Joe Walsh and Ray Davies. Todd Rundgren was the first musician he heard that utilized lead guitars in harmony, this compelled him to create his harmony guitar solos. In an effort to be heard Tom started a band in 1973 he called Mother's Milk, with Brad Delp, Jim Masdea and Barry Goudreau, which played all his original material, before putting together the band Boston. Their debut album, "Boston", which was recorded mainly in Tom's own 12-track recording studio in the basement of his home and released by Epic in August 1976, was an enormous success. The record ranks as one of the best-selling debut albums in United States history. Boston's best-known works include the songs "More Than a Feeling", "Peace of Mind", "Foreplay/Long Time", "Rock and Roll Band", "Smokin'", "Don't Look Back" and "Amanda". They have sold over 50 million albums worldwide, including 31 million albums in the United States, Boston - 1973; Don't Look Back - 1978; Third Stage - 1986; Walk On 7 - 1994; Corporate America - 2002 and are due to release a sixth album this year, 2009.
Tom set up his own charitable foundation, the DTS Charitable Foundation, in 1987 to help support such causes as animal protection, providing vegetarian resources, stopping world hunger, creating homeless shelters, food banks, as well as animal rescues and sanctuaries, and advocating for children's rights. Through his hard work with his foundation he has raised millions of dollars.
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PETER FRAMPTON

English guitarist, multi-musician Peter Frampton taught himself to play banjolele, guitar and piano, before taking classical music lessons at aged eight. At 10 he played in a band The Little Ravens, at 11 he played in The Trubeats followed by a band called The Preachers, produced and managed by Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones. In 1966, he became a member of The Herd where he was the lead guitarist and singer, and was named "The Face of 1968" by the UK press. In early 1969, at 18 years old, he joined with Steve Marriott of The Small Faces to form Humble Pie. At this same time, he also did session recording with artists including: Harry Nilsson, Jim Price, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass", and John Entwistle's "Whistle Rymes". During the Harrison session he was introduced to the 'talk box' that has become his trademark guitar sound. After 5 albums with Humble Pie, Peter left the band to go solo. His debut solo album was 1972's Wind of Change, with guest artists Ringo Starr and Billy Preston, followed by Frampton's Camel in 1973. After extensive touring he got his big break with his best-selling live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, in 1976, which produced the "Baby, I Love Your Way" and "Show Me the Way" singles. The album became the biggest selling live album at the time of its release and sold over 6 million copies in the US, 16 million worldwide. As a solo performer he has released 14 albums, the last one being the 2006 Fingerprints for which he was awarded the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Also in the 2000's he has recorded and toured with both Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings and Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band, and on February 2007 he appeared on the Chicago based PBS television show Soundstage.
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NILS LOFGREN

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Nils Lofgren, rock singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist playing guitar, lap steel guitar, slide guitar, pedal steel guitar, keyboards, accordion, piano, harp, and dobro, he has marked 25 years as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band as well as a former member of Crazy Horse. His first instrument was classical accordion, at aged 5, till his early teens. After studying classical music and jazz, he switched to rock, focusing on the piano and the guitar he formed the band Grin. Nils joined Neil Young's band at age 17, playing piano on the album ''After the Gold Rush'' and appeared on his "Tonight's the Night" album and tour among others. He was also briefly a member of Crazy Horse, appearing on their 1971 LP. Also in 1971 he appeared on stage on the Roy Buchanan Special, PBS TV; 1978 he appeared in "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" movie; in the early 1980s, he wrote and sang the "Nobody Bothers Me" theme for a Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do advertisement; 1984, he joined Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, in time for their massive Born in the U.S.A. Tour; 1993 he contributed to The Simpsons, with two Christmas jingles with Bart. In 1995 he appeared on a PBS tribute to the Beatles along with Dr. John. From 1991-95 he was the CableAce Awards musical director and composer; 2006, Nils performed at a benefit concert for Arthur Lee along with Robert Plant, Ian Hunter, Yo La Tengo and Garland Jeffreys. In 2007, he appeared playing guitar as part of Jerry Lee Lewis' backing band for Lewis' Last Man Standing Live concert DVD. Those are just a few of his many acheivements. His highly successful solo career began in 1975 with the release of his self titled debut solo album. Over 34 years, Nils has released 42 solo albums, the latest to date being "The Loner - Nils Sings Neil" released in 2008. Nils continues to record and to tour as a solo act, with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, with Patti Scialfa, with Neil Young, and as a two-time member of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band.
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FRED "SONIC" SMITH

American highly influencial speed guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith is best known as a member of MC5. He later went on to form Sonic's Rendezvous Band, which released one single, "City Slang", during Fred's lifetime. At the age of 12 he began to play guitar. In junior high, he was playing in a local band, where he met Wayne Kramer, a classmate who, like himself , was playing British Invasion-influenced garage rock. In 1964, Fred and Wayne joined up with another of Detroit's teenage rock enthusiasts, Rob Tyner, and formed the band MC5, standing for "Motor City Five". MC5 became one of the most controversial bands in America. While their music was, as revolutionary as their political stance, their image as rabble-rousers made it all but impossible for the band to reach a sizable audience outside the Midwest. Fred was one of the key architects of the Detroit High Energy rock sound as a guitarist and while his work after the band's breakup was sporadic, what has survived is strong enough to confirm his reputation as one of the great unsung heroes of Midwest rock & roll.
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SEAN COSTELLO

Born in Philadelphia, Sean Costello moved to Atlanta at the age of 9 and began his career while still in high school. He was obsessive about the guitar from a young age and he got hooked on the blues after buying a Howlin’ Wolf record. He won the Memphis Blues Society's Talent Award aged 14, released his first album, "Call The Cops" when he was 17 and in 2000, his second album "Cuttin' In", earned him a Gold Record before his 21st birthday. Tinsley Ellis called him ‘the most gifted young Blues guitarist on the scene'. He toured widely in the USA and Europe and his reputation as a brilliant live performer enabled him to play alongside blues luminaries such as B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin, Elvis Costello, Dr. John, Kim Wilson, Johnnie Johnson, Pinetop Perkins, Luther Allison, Anson Funderburgh and Sam Myers, Lynwood Slim, Steve Jordan, Willie Weeks, and Jimmy Vivino . In addition to Susan Tedeschi, he has recorded with Helm, Jody Williams and Tinsley Ellis, and his band was hand-picked to record backing tracks for gospel greats The Five Blind Boys. Most recently, Sean received acclaim as the primary guitarist on Long Time Coming, the Blues Music Award-nominated comeback album by blues shouter Nappy Brown. He has received two posthumous nominations for the Blues Awards, to be held in Memphis on May 7th 2009 at the Cook Convention Center. Sean recorded five solo albums in all, his last one "We Can Get Together" released in early 2008 just before his death.
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JOHN MOONEY

American blues guitarist, John Mooney was born raised in Rochester, New York, but he left home in 1970 when he was 15. The following year, he met Son House, a legendary Mississippi bluesman who became a huge musical influence on him. In 1976, John moved to New Orleans, and soon found himself playing with host of legendary musicians on the New Orleans R&B circuit including Earl King, The Meters, Snooks Eaglin and Professor Longhair. He released his first album "Comin' Your Way" in 1979 and in 1981 he formed his own band Bluesiana. Based in New Orleans, John has recorded 12 albums to date, his latest album Big Ol' Fiya was nominated for Blues Music Awards' "Contemporary Blues Album of the Year" in 2006. As a guitarist, he is especially known for his impressive slide guitar work, and over the years has developed a unique music style by combining the Mississippi Delta style blues with the funky second line beat of New Orleans. He continues working and touring with his band Bluesiana.
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MATO NANJI

Power rock-blues guitarist, Mato Nanji grew up on South Dakota's Yankton Indian Reservation, where his father, Greg Zephier a musician in his own right, taught him guitar from a very early age. Mato was also influenced by B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Freddie King, Santana, Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan among others and he formed the band "Indigenous" with other members of his family, 2 brothers, his sister and a cousin. The band released their debut album, 'Things We Do' in 1998. With this album, in 1999, Indigenous won three Native American Music Awards: Album of the Year, Group of the Year, and Best Pop Group. Mato's powerful 3rd album 'Live at Pachyderm Studios' won the band more awards: Blues Album of the Year and Group of the Year. As well as headlining its own tours, the band has shared the stage with artists of various musical genres such as B.B. King, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez, the Indigo Girls, Jackson Browne, Dave Matthews Band, and Los Lonely Boys. Over the years the line up has changed and Mato with his band has released seven albums to date. But Mato and Indigenous are releasing their welcomed and 8th album 'Broken Lands', show-casing his amazing and ever maturing guitar techniques on Aug 19th 2008 on Vanguard Records.
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STEVE GAINES

Steven Earl Gaines was born in Miami, Oklahoma, and took up the guitar after seeing The Beatles in concert as a teenager. His first band, The Ravens, made its first recording at the famous Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Steve also recorded several songs with friend and producer John Ryan, but these were not released until 1988 by MCA Records as Steve's only solo album, "One in the Sun". He played with several other bands in the early 70's including RIO Smokehouse, Rusty Day, Detroit and Crawdada, before joining the Lynyrd Skynyrd band in 1976, replacing guitarist Ed King. Steve's guitar and songwriting skills were a major contribution to the band, as proven on the 1977 album Street Survivors. Sadly only 3 days after this album was released Steve and other members of the Lynyrd Skynyrd band tragically died in an airplane crash. The crash killed Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, his sister Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, as well as pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. A little peice of Steve's and his sister Cassie's lives are honored in the 2001 song "Cassie's Brother" by the alt-country band Drive-By Truckers.
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RIK EMMETT

Richard Gordon "Rik" Emmett was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1975 he formed the Canadian heavy metal power trio Triumph. Eight of the band's albums were certified gold or higher, and Triumph was nominated for multiple Juno Awards, including Group of the Year Award in 1979, 1985, 1986 and 1987. Rik decided to leave Triumph in 1988 to pursue a solo career. His debut solo album, "Absolutely", showcasing his rock, blues, jazz, classical, bluegrass and flamenco techniques was released in 1990 and became a massive hit across North America, the album produced two hit singles "When a Heart Breaks" and "Saved by Love". Rik also started to write for Guitar Player magazine and teach a music at Humber College. On March 10, 2007, re-united with Triumph, Rik and the band were inducted to the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame, all the original members of the group were present for the event, and April 6, 2008, saw Rik and Triumph inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame as part of the Juno Awards. On January 18, 2008, Triumph announced they had united to play in the Sweden Rock Festival in June 2008, then Rik and the band are gearing up for world tour in 2009. Rik, at the same time, will still be working on his successful solo career and projects.
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MICK JONES

Born Micheal Geoffrey Jones in South London, Mick was inspired by such bands as Mott The Hoople, MC5 and the New York Dolls. As a teenager he began playing in local bands, including the Delinquents, Little Queenies, and London S.S., before the formation of The Clash, The Clash played their first show, July 4th '76 opening for the Sex Pistols, in Sheffield, England. The band quickly became one of the leaders of the punk rock movement in the U.K. Mick and Joe Strummer co-wrote almost all of the tracks, and by the 80's the Clash had become one of the top rock bands in the world with albums including London Calling, Sandinista! and Combat Rock. But in 1983, tension in the band led to Mick leaving the band. After producing a few artists such as singer Ellen Foley and former Mott the Hoople leader Ian Hunter, he formed the band Big Audio Dynamite, known as B.A.D., changing the name to Big Audio Dynamite II, / BAD 11, in 1991. The bands have recorded 10 albums to date. In 2002, Mick teamed up with Tony James to form a band named Carbon/Silicon. The band has toured the United Kingdom and has performed a number of anti-fascist benefit concerts; they have also recorded three albums, A.T.O.M, Western Front and The Crackup Suite. He recently provided the score for Nick Mead's film, Dice Life - the Random Mind of Luke Rhinehart. In 2003, Mick along Terry Chimes, Topper Headon, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer was inducted in to The Rock 'n' Rock Hall Of Fame as The Clash, and at the NME Shockwave 2007 awards, Mick performed with Primal Scream.
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RICO McFARLAND

American guitarist, Rico McFarland was born and raised in Chicago, grewing up influenced and inspired by his father James, also a guitar player who had a blues band. Their family home was always full of music and musicians jamming the blues since the time he can remember. Rico has also been influenced by the likes of Little Milton, Willie James, Hubert Sumlin, Wayne Bennet, Mel Brown, Grant Green, Jeff Beck and Albert King. Over the years he has played with many of the great blues artists including Albert King, Little Milton, Al Green, Big Time Sarah, Otis Clay, Syl Johnson, Artie White, Kinsey Report and many more. He is probably best known for all his work with James Cotton and Lucky Peterson. After many years as one of the blues' most sought after guitarist in the studio and on the stage, Rico broke out as a solo act in 2001 and recorded his solo debut album, "Tired of Being Alone" with many of his friends guesting, including vocalists Otis Clay, Syl Johnson, Billy Branch, and Teela. The album won much acclaim and earned Rico a 2002 W.C. Handy nomination for Best New Artist of the Year. As well as a busy composing, performing and recording career, Rico enjoys visiting the children in their schools teaching and spreading the music of the blues.
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STRUNZ & FARAH

Guitarist Jorge Strunz was born into a Costa Rican family and started playing guitar at aged 6 while in Costa Rica. His father was a diplomat, so Jorge grew up studying and playing flamenco and classical guitar in Colombia, Spain, Mexico, England and Canada. From aged 16 until he was 21 he played flamenco guitar professionally, accompanying Spanish dancers and singers, when he decided to focus more on his own Latin American roots, later incorporating jazz, Afro-Latin and Latin American folk forms. The travels of his diplomat father eventually took Jorge to the United States, where in 1976 he and keyboardist Eduardo del Barrio formed the band Caldera, a band that combined jazz, funk and rock with a wide variety of Latin music. Jorge recorded 4 albums with the band. Guitarist Ardeshir Farah was born in Iran, educated and raised both Iran and then England when the family moved to Britain. He played guitar from a very early age, studying Middle Eastern music, classical acoustic guitar and some popular music, he played in various groups as a teenager. Ardeshir crossed the seas once more this time to America, to continue his educational studies in agriculture. In 1979, Ardeshir saw Jorge playing in his band Caldera and very soon after they met and there was an instant rappor and love of the same music and direction. Within a year, 2 worlds entwined, they had formed the Strunz & Farah Duo, combining the ingredients of Latin and Middle Eastern music, they released their debut album "Mosaico" in 1980, which in turn started their own label: "Selva Records", (meaning Jungle). When Richard Bock, an important figure in jazz radio, heard this amazing guitar duo, he got them a contract with famous jazz label Milestone. Since then they have collaborated with the likes of Rubén Blades, Sting, L. Subramaniam and others, recorded 15 albums as a duo, their lated recording to date being "Jungle Guitars".
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KEITH URBAN

Keith Urban was born in Whangarei, New Zealand, but later moved with his parents to Queensland, Australia. He began learning guitar and singing techniques at age six, by age seven his ambition was to make his mark in Nashville, at age eight he began winning young singing contests. By twelve he was booking his band in local clubs, and at 15 he quit school to hit the road. He signed with EMI-Australia in 1990, recording his first solo album, which charted four No. 1 country hits in Australia. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1992, where he found work as a guitarist for Brooks & Dunn and can be seen backing Alan Jackson in his music video for "Mercury Blues". Later, Keith formed The Ranch, a three-piece group that released one album in 1997, then disbanded the group to pursue a solo career in 1998. His 3rd album "Be Here", debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums Chart and has sold more than 4 million copies in the U.S. alone. It spawned a staggering three No. 1s on Billboard's Country Singles Chart: "Better Life," "Making Memories Of Us" and Days Go By." and was nominated or won no fewer than 16 awards around the globe, including two Grammy nominations, CMA Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year, ACM Album and Male Vocalist of the Year and an ARIA for Best Country Release. He has to date, released 1 gold, 1 platinum and 3 multi-platinum albums. Keith has won an impressive 53 awards in all, from 1977's CCMA's Best Solo Act when he was only 10 years old to 2008's Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for "Stupid Boy", including 6 Golden Guitars Awards.
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JOHN BUTLER

Guitarist John Butler began his musical career as a busker in Fremantle, Australia. He formed his own band The John Butler Trio in the 1995, recording their debut album 'John Butler' in 1998 and 2nd album in 2000. His playing style incorporates Western and Eastern styles such as blues, Indian and Celtic. John and his trio's breakthrough came with the 'Three' album in 2001, featuring the tracks "Take" and "Betterman", both of which received considerable radio airplay on Australian alternative youth radio station Triple J and rated highly in their annual Top 100. Appearances at Big Day Out and other major festivals followed. By the time Sunrise Over Sea was released three years later, the single Zebra was getting extensive airplay on commercial radio and proved a major hit for the band. In 2006, the band promoted the album extensively in the United States. 2007, in Australia, John's Grand National album went straight to number 1 on the ARIA music album charts, the Trio alsowin Best Independent Release and Best Blues and Roots Album awards at the 2007 Aria Awards. This year, 2008, saw the release of John's debut solo album "One Small Gap".
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JOSH FARRO

Up and coming young musician Josh Farro started his guitar playing at the age of 13, influenced by the likes of Jimmy Eat World, Sunny Day Real Estate, Death Cab for Cutie, John Mayer, James Taylor. While at school in Franklin, Tennessee, Josh and his younger drummer brother Zac met up with singer Hayley Williams and bass player Jeremy Davis and they formed the band "Paramore" recording their debut album 'All We Know Is Falling' in 2005. They toured extensively promoting their music and in 2007, Paramore was named by British magazine NME as one of ten bands to watch out for in their "New Noise 2007" feature, and Rolling Stones declared them the band to watch. On December 31, 2007, Paramore performed on the MTV New Years Eve program which ran from 11:30PM to 1:00AM. Paramore was featured on the cover of February 2008 issue of Alternative Press magazine and voted "Best Band Of 2007" by the readers. The band was nominated for "Best New Artist" at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards presented in Feb 2008 but lost to Amy Winehouse, also early 2008 saw Paramore touring the United Kingdom, supporting their 2nd album Riot!.
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JOANNA CONNOR

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Joanna was drawn to the Chicago blues scene in the early 1980s, eventually sharing the stage with veteran blues musicians such as James Cotton, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, and A.C. Reed. By 1987 she had started her own band, The Joanna Connor Band, and recorded her first album "BelieveIt" in 1989. Joanna covers a range of modern blues, slide guitar and blues rock with her own compositions very much influenced by funk, rock, jazz and world music as well as delta blues. Her sense of melody, phrasing and dynamics along with a very modern technique make her a very funky, soulful and compelling guitarist. Joanna and her band are a frequent attraction at leading blues nightspots and all the major festivals in the USA and Canada. As a result of many overseas appearances, she has developed a strong following in Europe, South America and Japan, especially in Germany where she has been featured several times on national television. Joanna has recorded eight albums in all, the latest to date being the self titled "The Joanna Connor Band", releasd in 2002.
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TY TABOR

Ty Tabor from Mississippi, US, has been singing and playing guitar from an early age, playing an array of genre. His his influences have ranged from The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix to the original Alice Cooper Band. By his early teens he was appearing in his father's band, at bluegrass venues and festivals sharing the bill with bluegrass legends like Lester Flatt. Ty played in and toured the southern states with various bands in the 70's. Then in 1980 he met up with former friends bassist Doug Pinnick and drummer Jerry Gaskill and they formed a band "The Edge", soon to change it's name to 'Sneak Preview', which over time, turned into the progressive metal band 'King's X'. They have recorded 15 albums, the latest 'XV', to be released May 2008. After writing and performing almost exclusively for King's X for over 15 years, Ty debuted with a solo album, 'Naomi's Solar Pumpkin', in 1997, his fourth solo and last to date album 'Rock Garden' was released in 2006. Ty has played in numerous bands including Platypus, The Jelly Jam and Jughead and has guested on albums with Rez Band, Jerry Gaskill, Carmine Appice, Ayreon, Munetaka Higuchi, Greg Bissonette, Richie Scarlet , Influences and Connections, Maston and Morgan Cryar. He currently has an ambient / electronica style project with Wally Farkas called 'Xenuphobe'. They have 2 albums that were released through Molken Music and Ty continues playing with King's X and is currently recording material for a fifth solo album due out sometime in 2008.
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REB BEACH

Richard Earl "Reb" Beach born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania began playing piano and later guitar at an early age without any training whatsoever. He spent years jamming along with recordings of Aerosmith, Sammy Hagar and Ronnie Montrose. He was most influenced by Steve Morse with the Dixie Dregs, the complexity and the speed of the Dregs was a challenge. Reb had a very short spell at the Berkeley School of Music; he left and started recording some of his own material, a mix of Jazz / Rock fusion, which won him Annual Best Guitarist contest, after which he moved to New York. With in a year he had become a sought-after session player, working with the likes of Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Roger Daltrey, Chaka Kahn, Howard Jones, and Twisted Sister. It was also in New York were he met Kip Winger and Reb and Kip formed the band Winger. After recording and touring in support of three records with Winger, Reb returned to Pittsburgh sessioning on other artists' records and start collecting material for his solo work under the name The Reb Beach Project. Reb also at this time toured with Alice Cooper as lead guitarist for 3 years, until he replaced George Lynch in Dokken, where he co-wrote and recorded "Erase the Slate", the most successful Dokken record in many years. 2002 saw the reunion of Winger for a US tour, then in 2003 he got word from David Coverdale join the legendary Whitesnake. When not touring with Whitesnake, Reb continues with his solo work, his composing and teaching and touring guitar clinics and endorsing Suhr Guitars.
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FARAZ ANWAR

Faraz Anwar, born in Karachi, Pakistan was so highly influenced while in St. Paul and St. Andrew 6th grade by a Yngwie Malmsteen video, he took up playing the guitar. Starting in the studios as a session player in 1990, he worked hard on his techniques, covering many genre from acoustic classical guitar to jazz to Eastern Neo Classical and from classic rock right through to the shred of progressive metal. This has made him the most sort after session guitarist, ever, in Pakistan; to date has recorded with over 50 different musicians. In 1996 Faraz got a Scholarship from Berklee after he won the Berklee Outstanding Musical Achievement Award, but due to finances he could not take up on this. In 2001 the legendary guitar player Allan Holdsworth heard Faraz calling him "King of Guitars in Pakistan" and Faraz recorded his debut solo album "Abstract Point of View" on Allans label Gnarly Geezer Records, an album in which he wrote all the music & sequenced all the tracks himself. This album gave him international recognition and also made him the first ever Pakistani guitar player and second ever Pakistani musician to release an album internationally. As well as all this Faraz, now Pakistan's leading guitar player, has had many projects ... the black metal band "Dusk"; ... playing Eastern Neo Classical with fellow musician as " Yasir & Faraz"; ... classic rock under "Imran Raza & Faraz Anwar" and his band "Mizraab", all great musicians playing an assortment of genre with influences of jazz to rock to progressive metal, showcasing Faraz's many supurb guitar abilities from haunting classical acoutic to his exciting, clean, melodic shed... if you haven't yet heard Faraz, you are missing out.
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TOY CALDWELL

Guitarist Toy Caldwell, Jr. was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina and by the early '60s, he was in a band The Rants, while his brother Tommy played in a band called New Generation. In 1966, members of both bands merged to form The Toy Factory, and the group soon started gaining a lot of attention. In 1972 Toy and brother Tommy Caldwell founded The Marshall Tucker Band along with Doug Gray , George McCorkle , Paul Riddle and Jerry Eubanks, this was really a progression of Toy Factory. Toy quickly gained recognition among his fans and peers for his unique guitar style, which relied on him using his only his thumb as a pick.They soon signed with Capricorn Records and by 1973, had released their first EP, The Marshall Tucker Band. Through the 70s the band toured constantly, appearing on radio, TV and Festivals. They recorded a total of eight LPs for Capricorn Records before moving to Warner Brothers Records to release six more records. In 1980 Tommy died in a car crash, although devistated, Toy stayed with the band a further 4 years before calling it a day and forming his own band, which in 1985 took to the global road. In 1992, he released his long-awaited solo record with Cabin Fever Records. Sadly Toy died in 1993, not long after the relaese.. It was re-released on Charlie Daniel's Blue Hat Records label in 2000 and renamed, "Son Of The South". The recording featured guest stints from his old friend Charlie Daniels, as well as Greg Allman and Willie Nelson.
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JOHN TROPEA

American guitarist John Tropea began guitar studies at the age of 12. He continued at Berklee School of Music in Boston, where he studied jazz guitar, harmony, composition, and big band arranging. His influences at this time were mainly Jack McDuff, Jimmy Smith, others included Wes Montgomery, Johnny Smith, Louis Bonfa, Pat Martino and George Benson. After Berklee, he moved to New York in 1967, where he quickly became one of the most sought after session players. At this time too he started playing and touring with Eumir Deodato; they recorded 2 albums "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001 Theme)" and "Super Strut" both in 1972. Over his so far 4 decade career he has played with countless stars and musicians, as well as having many successful and diverse projects with the likes of Alice Cooper: Goes to Hell, Eric Clapton: Journey Man, Harry Chapin: Cat’s in the Cradle, Paul Simon: Fifty Ways, and many others. John also has a very busy solo career touring, composing and recording with his own band, releasing his debut solo album “Tropea,” in 1975. To date he has released 10 solo albums, the last being "The Time Is Right" in 2007. Along with his own projects, his band, studio work and composing for TV and films, John also plays with the Original Blues Brothers Band.
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JOE BECK

Guitarist Joe Beck started playing with a banjo at 5 yaers old, but his big influence as a young 7 year old boy was Spanish classical guitarist Andrés Torres Segovia. Joe was born in Philadelphian, raised in SanFrancisco, before moving to New York were he graduated from high school in Glenn Rock New Jersey at seventeen where he had already been working professionally in bands for three or four years. In December 1967, he joined Miles Davis and his second great quintet of Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams in the studio to record a couple of tracks - the first time Miles used an electric instrumentalist. The two tracks recorded with Miles, "Circle In The Round" and "Water On The Pond" weren't released until long afterwards.
Joe has gone on to be a highly sort after session guitarist playing in a variety of jazz mediums, including jazz fusion, post bop, mainstream jazz, soul jazz as well as a little rock in his early carrer. He has played and recorded with numerous artists, including Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Duke Ellington, Buddy Rich, Paul Desmond, Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, Stan Getz, Ali Ryerson, Larry Coryell, Gene Ammons, Sergio Mendez, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Jimmy Bruno, Laura Nyro, Houston Person, Roger Kellaway, Richie Havens, Paul Simon, Joe Farrell, James Brown, David Sanborn and Gato Barbieri. Joe also has a very successful solo career. He continues to compose, record and internatioally tour withhis own band and others.
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JEFF ''SKUNK'' BAXTER

Multi-guitarist, including steel pedalist, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter from Washington, D.C. started his career in Jimmy James (Jimi Hendirix) and The Blue Flames, before joining the psychedelic rock band Ultimate Spinach in 1968. He moved to LA finding studio session work and in 1972 along with Walter Becker, Donald Fagen, Denny Dias, Jim Hodder and David Palmer, he formed the band 'Steely Dan'. He recorded 3 albums with the band then left in 1974 to join The Doobie Brothers and recorded 3 albums with them too. Jeff took a second career in defence councelling, but continued working as a session guitarist for a diverse group of artists, including among many more Bryan Adams, Hoyt Axton, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Freddie Hubbard, Dolly Parton, Carly Simon, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, and Donna Summer, he toured with Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, Billy Vera and the Beaters. In 1990, he joined John Entwistle, Joe Walsh, Keith Emerson and Simon Phillips in the supergroup "The Best", produced several albums for the hard rock band Nazareth, Livingston Taylor, The Ventures and Nils Lofgren as well appearing in Blues Brothers 2000 and can be heard on the cast album. He also occasionally plays in The Coalition of the Willing, a band comprising Andras Simonyi, Hungarian Ambassador to the United States; Alexander Vershbow, US Ambassador to South Korea; Daniel B. Poneman, formerly of the United States National Security Council and now of The Scowcroft Group; and Lincoln Bloomfield, former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. Jeff to date, has had 17 gold records and 8 platinum, been awarded 2 Grammies and an ITVA Golden Angel Award.
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STEVE .FISTER

Power blues rocker, electric guitarist, Steve Fister started playing guitar when he was 5 years old, and started playings gigs in and around Buffalo, New York at the age of only 10. His influences have included The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and 3 King giants Freddy, BB and Albert. In the early 80's he joined Iron Butterfly as their lead guitarist, before moving to Nashville for a few years in the early 90's, were he became a sort after session player. He spent a year with Pat Travers, and Ansley Dunbar on drums, touring and recording the "Blues Magnet," album. He next moved to California and while working on recording sessions at Jet Records in Hollywood, he auditioned for Lita Ford's band and spent the next 2 years as her lead guitarist and musical director, non stop touring the world with the likes of Ted Nugent, Yngwie Malmsteen, Poison, Bon Jovi and Ozzy Osbourn. Later in the he replaced Les Dudek as guitarist in John Kay & Steppenwolf with more heavy touring. As well as his continual studio session work throughout his career and guitaring for different bands, Steve, has also got his own rock blues band, and is steadily building a strong fan base in his own right. He has collaborated with the likes of Frankie Banali, Tommy Aldridge, Stu Hamm, Greg Bissonette, Jimmy Haslip, Derek St. Holmes, Reese Wynans, Tony Franklin and many others with his own and released 7 albums to date, the latest being "Live Bullets" on which his friend Walter Trout makes a guest appearance. It was released Sept 25th 2007, and recorded live on his 2006 European tour. Steve tours the US and Europe annually to promote each CD release .. This great guitarist is well worth having in your collection.
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HARVEY "The Snake" MANDEL

Electric guitar pioneer and virtuoso, Harvey Mandel aka The Snake, born in Detroit, raised in Chicago had always dreamed his chosen instrument would one day make the noises that would rock the world. After many years of experimental work by the pioneers such as Harvey, the electric guitar is the major instrument in rock, blues and many other genre. In 1966 Harvey became the original guitarist with Charlie Musselwhite, releasing the debut album Stand Back!, this got them an invite to the Festival in Fillmore. Harvey moved to California and replaced Vestine in Canned Heat , performing at the August 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Festival with their performance appearing in both the album and film release. The nickname, "The Snake," was given to him years before by keyboardist Barry Goldberg in Chicago, because of his cracked leather jacket and snake-like guitar licks, it fit perfectly in the Canned Heat line-up! Next Harvey went solo in the early 70's and went on to be one of the most sort after session men, playing with many of the great rock names inluding the Rolling Stones, appearing on their 1976 album Black and Blue, his extensive soloing is featured on "Hot Stuff". He has also performed with many blues legends including Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Albert King, and Otis Rush to mention a few. On a sadder note he gets a little forgotten and passed by, by the media.This amazing musician has spent a lifetime furthering his techniques, pioneering psychedelic and rock guitar techniques, broken undiscovered barriers of amplification, tone, technique, and effects, worked with many of the greats in Blues, Rock & Roll, Psychedelia and Hip-Hop, and has been cited as a major influence by many of today's music superstars. Harvey is currently recording and touring with the "Chicago Blues Reunion", along with Nick Gravenites, Barry Goldberg, Tracy Nelson, Sam Lay, and Corky Siegel. May he continue his great work.
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GUTHRIE GOVAN

Versitile guitarist Guthrie Govan from Chelmsford, England, recent winner of Guitarist Magazine's "Guitarist of the Year" award, came to media attention when he became a member of Asia in 2001. Before this he was teaching guitar at the Academy of Contemporary Music. Guthrie toured extensively and recorded 2 albums with Asia, a remake of Aura in 2001 and Silent Nation in 2004. In February of 2006 Guthrie, John Payne and Jay Schellen left Asia to form a powerful progressive rock group, called "One", but now called GPS, with Ryo Okumoto on keys. They have to date, recorded one album' Window to the Soul' and done some international touring and festivals. As well as his band commitment, composing and clinics work, Guthrie teams up with The Young Punx (DJ duo) who have started performing as a live band this year (2007), they performed live at the Glastonbury Festival, the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo and Osaka, and he performs on a number of tracks on their debut album "Your Music Is Killing Me". This very busy, exciting young guitar virtuoso, who over the years has played many genre of music from jazz to techno and melodic rock also plays with the jazz-fusion band 'The Fellowship'. 2007 has seen his long awaited, highly acclaimed by fellow guitarists and fans, Guthrie's debut solo album "Erotic Cake".
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KIM SIMMONDS

Guitar hero Kim Simmonds, was born in Newbridge, Wales, UK, growing up listening to his elder brother's records. He started playing the guitar at the age of 13 and sent of for a guitar on mail order, which when it arrived he had to assemble himself. In his mid teens he left for London joining in with big blues movement at the time, with Eric Clapton, Pete Green and the likes. This is when Kim formed his band Savoy Brown Blues Band and he played a huge part in the British blues movement recording and exporting the blues back to America, many of which made the Billboard charts, establishing a big fan base in the States. In 1967 they released their debut album Shake Down, over the decades they have released 32 albums, the most recent, to date being 2007's "Steel" album All the albums showcase Kim's guitar virtuosity and his total dedication to blues. In 1997 he released a debut solo album; his solo work is more blues-folk and he plays more acoustic guitar rather than electric as in the band. Still busy touring and recording, the now legendary Kim is acknowledged as one of Britain’s finest bluesmen.
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LARRY "RHINO" REINHARDT

Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt started his music career touring with The Kingsmen in the mid 60's when he was 15 years old. He got a big break in 1969 when he joined the rock band Iron Butterfly and recorded the album Metamorphosis in 1970. Iron Butterfly disbanded after their 1971 European tour, after which Rhino and bassist Lee Dorman formed their own band Captain Beyond. Duane Allman endorsed their self-titled well received debut album just before his death. It was around this time Rhino deployed a hybrid Fender that turned into a '72 Strat. Rhino hooked up with Iron Butterfly again when they regrouped, playing with them till until '91, when a car accident totally mangled his left had. Although doctors said he would never play again, Rhino bravely battled with it throughout the 90's, and the early 2000's see's him happily back with a re-grouped Captain Beyond, "…now that I've gotten through this accident," he said. "I'm like a 16-year-old again! That's the best high, when you've got a bunch of people lovin' what you're doing. You can't bottle that."
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JOHN SYKES

Hard rock guitarist John Sykes born in Reading, UK, began playing guitar at 14. Influenced by Brian May and Phil Lynott he joined the group Streetfighter in 1980, before recording a demo tape with Badlands. Soon after he joined Tygers Of Pan Tang recording 3 albums. John left the band to become a member of Thin Lizzy and can be heard on 3 of their albums. 1984 see's him in the heavy rock band Whitesnake, recording 2 albums with Coverdale. In the late 80's he formed his own band Blue Murder, recording 3 albums between '89 and 94. John has had a very successful solo career with albums, the last being "Bad Boy live in 2005". He made guest appearance on keyboardist Derek Sherinian's 2004 solo album "Mythology", playing alongside Zakk Wylde on the track "God Of War and in 2006, he got his own signature Gibson Les Paul Custom which was modeled after his favourite guitar. John continues his solo career and his touring with a re-united Thin Lizzy.
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BIRELI LAGRENE

Bireli Lagrene was born in Soufflenheim, (Bas-Rhin region of France) into a traditional Sinti gypsy family and community. His father was a renowned guitarist in the thirties and his brothers and cousins are all competent self taught musicians. He started playing guitar at the age of four years; at the age of eight, he had covered Django Reinhardt’s repertoire, at the age of twelve winning a gypsy music festival gave him the opportunity to tour in Germany and at 13 a live performance was recorded on the double LP "Route to Django". Soon after he was in the US where he met the greatest jazz musicians of the international scene such as Stéphane Grappelli, Benny Goodman, Benny Carter. In 1984, he was introduced to bassist Jaco Pastorius and ventured with him into jazz fusion. Together, they toured Europe, which contributed a great deal to Bireli’s musical emancipation. Back to a more traditional style, Bireli recorded 'Gipsy Project' and 'Gipsy Project and Friends' in 2001 Bireli is an exstremely busy and sort after guitarist, but as with many of the truly great guitarists, is classed as a guitarists guitarist. Most years in June, he returns Samois sur Seine for the gypsy festival, where as well as performing on stage, he also plays down on the river front among the various Gypsy sites.
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WALTER TROUT

US power-blues guitarist Walter Trout born in Ocean City, first started on the trumpet, playing in the school band. In the mid-'1960’s he heard The Paul Butterfield Blues Band featuring Mike Bloomfield which changed his whole appreciation of music and cemented his musical ambitions towards the blues genre and the electric guitar. He began his career on the Jersey coast scene of the late 60's, early 70's before relocating to L.A. where he became a sideman for such artists as Percy Mayfield, Lowell Fulsomand, Pee Wee Crayton, Finis Tasby, and Deacon Jones. He also worked in the bands of John Lee Hooker and Joe Tex. In 1981 be became the guitarist for blues rock band Canned Heat. This led to an invitation to play in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers where he shared the stage with guitarist Coco Montoya. He left the Bluesbreakers in 1989 and formed the Walter Trout Band releasing 7 albums. In 1998 Trout released his self-titled domestic debut CD under the name Walter Trout and the Free Radicals which was followed by 2 more albums before he renamed his band Walter Trout and the Radicals releasing 5 albums, to date, under this name. Walter continues recording and touring both in North America and in Europe.
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LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM

Palo Alto guitar virtuoso Lindsey Buckingham started playing guitar at around years 5, he took guitar lessons but does not read music. By age 13, he had become very influenced by banjo methods and practised the fingerpicking styles of The Kingston Trio. While at Menlo Atherton High School, he and Stevie Nicks formed The Fritz Rabyne Memorial Band but his fingerpicking style gave him difficulty playing rock guitar, he moved to bass. "Fritz" opened for such acts as Santana, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin. Lindsey became ill but this allowed him the free time to master his rockier guitar techniques. Back on lead guitar Lindsey went on to record an album "Buckingham Nicks" with Stevie before joining Fleetwood Mac in 1985 for the next 12 years, and rejoining them for a few performances in the 90's. Lindsey has released 9 albums to date, with them. As a member of Fleetwood Mac, he was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Lindsey has a busy session and solo career, where at last he can showcase his sentational fingerpicking styles and techneques. The songs such as Big Love; Go Insane; Never Goin` Back Again; Say Goodbye To You and Go Your Own Way shows the variety at which he can play. He has plans to follow his 4th solo album "Under the Skin" with another solo album in 2008.
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VERNON REID

Grammy Award winning guitarist Vernon Reid was born in London UK, but raised in New York, US. While at Brooklyn Tech, at the age 15 and inspired by Carlos Santana, he studied guitar privately with jazz masters Rodney Jones and Ted Dunbar. He founded the band Living Colour in 1985, who have released 6 albums and won numerous awards including, two Grammy Awards, two MTV Music Video Awards, two International Rock Awards and several New York Music Awards to date. Vernon has released several successful solo albums and although he seems mostly recalled by the general public for his shredding solos with Living Colour, he has a prolific session output in a variety of genre, he has played live or on record with the Roots, Eye & I, Mick Jagger, Rollins Band, Spearhead, Public Enemy, Mariah Carey, Tracey Chapman, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Don Byron, Defunkt , Santana, Bernie Worrell, MC 900 Foot Jesus, B.B. King, Madalyne Peyroux, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, G. Calvin Weston, Meridiem, Jack Bruce, Terry Bozzio, and DJ Spooky among many others and he was named No.66 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
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RICK DERRINGER

Guitarist, vocalist, Richard Zehringer aka Rick Derringer comes from Fort Recovery, Ohiois and perhaps best known for the song "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo". He formed the band The McCoys while in his mid-teens and recorded No.1 hit "Hang on Sloopy" when he was just 17, in the summer of 1965. In the 70's Rick embarked on is solo career making, to date, 24 albums. As well as his busy solo career in the 80's spent 5 years playing with "Weird Al" Yankovic as lead guitarist before being replaced by Jim West. In 2005 Rick appeared on the Les Paul album 'American Made World Played' on the track "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl". Rick continues to perform and record, with varying musical line-ups, in the rock and roll, smooth jazz, and Christian rock genres.
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RICHARD THOMPSON

Guitarist Richard Thompson born in Notting Hill, London formed his first band "Emil and the Detectives" while still at school, influenced by a variety of musicians such as Buddy Holly, James Burton, Billy Pig, Django Reinhardt and Les Paul. At 18 he joined Fairport Convention, it was his guitar playing that attracted American producer Joe Boyd's attention who got them signed to Island Records. Richard also started writing the material for the band. He left the band in 1971 for a solo career and undertook a large amount of session work, most notably on albums by John Martyn, Al Stewart, Matthews Southern Comfort, Sandy Denny and Nick Drake. 1972 saw his debut solo album Henry the Human Fly, and by 1973 he was working with Linda Peters who he also married this led to the recording of six albums by the duo. Their first recording together, the now classic "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight" was released in April of 1974. Richard has written and performed music for many films and guested on albums by many from Crowded House and Bonnie Raitt to Norma Waterson and Beausoleil and folk artists like Cathal McConnell and Bob Davenport. His songs have been covered by artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, David Gilmour, The Five Blind Boys From Alabama, and The Corrs. Since the early 1980s he has appeared at Fairport Convention's annual Cropredy Festival, both in his own right and as a participant in sets with current and previous Fairport members. He continues to write and record new material and plays many live shows each year.
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ERIC JOHNSON

Texan guitar virtuoso Eric Johnson has been playing guitar since he was 11, influenced then by Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, and Django Reinhardt, later influences have been Steve Morse, Carlos Santana, Allan Holdsworth, B.B. King, Larry Carlton, Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter, Jeff Baxter, Prince, Joe Satriani and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. By 15, Eric was a member of the psychedelic rock band Mariani, and in 1974 he joined the local fusion group Electromagnets, before forming his own band in 1977. He has gone on (to date) to record 6 solo albums, 1 instructional dvd, appears on 8 videos and guested on 44 albums with the likes of Richard Marx, Christopher Cross, Steve Morse Band, Carole King, Rodney Crowell, Cat Stevens and many more. His guitar virtuosity has gained him 7 Grammy Nominations, "Cliffs of Dover", exemplified his unique sound and won him a 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. Guitar Player magazine calls Eric Johnson "One of the most respected guitar virtuosos on the planet".
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KIKO LOUREIRO

Brazilian guitar virtuoso Kiko Loureiro has worked with such bands as Angra, Silent Moon, and Blezqi Zatzas. Loureiro began studying music and playing acoustic guitar at age 11. Inspired by artists like Eddie Van Halen, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Randy Rhoads, he moved to the electric guitar at 13 and by 16 had already joined two bands, Legalize and A Chave, and was playing in nightclubs in São Paulo. At 19, he helped found Brazilian power metal band Angra, with whom he still plays. Due to the increase in popularity of power metal, Loureiro has become quite successful, both playing in Angra and as a solo artist. He is now known worldwide for his skill on the guitar, having written columns for and appeared on the cover of the magazines Cover Guitarra, Guitar & Bass, and Young Guitar.
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JOSCHO STEPHAN

Gypsy Jazz guitarist Joscho Stephan, born in Germany in the 80's, is one of the fastest single string players in the world, playing the very difficult Django style of guitar playing. He has a style of his own with Django overtones. He executes arpeggios harmonics at high speed from one end of the fretboard to the other, with clean flawless improvisational skills, still making the music heartfelt and melodic at this amazing speed. He plays the very beautiful slower lines together with his Selmer like custom guitar with the same heartfelt perfection. To date he has recorded five albums, Django's Tiger, Django Forever, Swing News, Swinging Strings and Acoustic Live. Joscho plays with his own quartet, sometimes trio, travelling the globe attending all the top jazz festivals, jazz gigs and clinics. This young guitarist is certainly recommended listening.
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GREG HOWE

Greg Howe, originally from Easton, Pennsylvania started playing the guitar at the age of 10, and was greatly influenced by Van Halen in his teens. He and his brother Al formed a local rock band, performing in clubs and bars while perfecting his skills. In 1988 he recorded his first album "Greg Howe", at Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records which rocked the guitar community. He went on to record 2 albums with his brother and has recorded 6 more solo albums to date. He has developed a distinct style that is more rooted in jazz fusion rather than the neoclassical leanings of his shred contemporaries and is perhaps best known for his great skill at improvising. Being so talented on solid and acoustic guitarin many genres, virtuoso standard, Greg is a highly sought after session musician, he is hired to tour with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Enrique Iglesias, *NSYNC and guests on numerous albums . Greg is currently active with trade shows, guitar clinics, mini tours around the world and he is producing a series of online video lessons which can be found on his website.
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SCOTT "WINO" WIENRICH

Metal guitarist Scott "Wino" Weinrich, formed The Obsessed in the late 70's while living in Washington. In the mid 80's he moved to California making 3 albums with Saint Vitus, and he also played anonymously with The Mentors, but as a bassist. He reformed "The Obsessed", after doing a record deal with Hellhound Records recording 2 albums. In 1994 Scott formed Spirit Caravan making 2 albums and an EP before joining Place of Skulls in 2002 for one album, after which he formed is latest band, The Hidden Hand. Scott has also recorded with Solace, The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight, Paul Chain, Bullring Brummies, Wooly Mammoth, Sixty Watt Shaman and Victor Griffin.
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LUCA TURILLI

Luca Turilli had an early interest in classical music, and learnt to play piano and guitar as a child. In 1993 he founded the band 'Thundercross', which became 'Rhapsody', then 'Rhapsody of Fire'. As Rhapsody, they incorporated classical music, baroque and heavy metal styles in a sub-genre they call "Hollywood metal" or "film score metal" because of its resemblance to movie soundtracks. They carried this grandiose sound through to their symphonic power metal band Rhapsody of Fire. Turilli is the band's lyricist, as well as guitarist. His lyrics often refer to mystical lore from the medieval age and the heroic valor of those times, highlighting in particular the everlasting fight between good and evil.
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DEVIN TOWNSEND

Canadian guitarist Devin Townsend started learnig banjo at age five, changing to guitar at 12. In his early teens he formed a group "Grey Skies", which later changed to "Noisescapes". In 1993 Steve Vai offered him a solo deal on his album 'Sex & Religion' and again in 1995 on "Fire Garden". Devin also worked on several projects with Front Line Assembly, afterm with he formed another band "Strapping Young Lads" He draws his music from progressive metal with influences from jazz, blues, progressive rock, industrial, ambient and classical music.
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BOBBY FERRARA

Bobby, originally from Long Island, his jaw-dropping solo flurries, wah-drenched fusillades and high-energy freakout has won him New York's Hot Licks guitar contest twice, and have made him a world class guitarist. Bobby is an endorsee of GREM GUITARS. He also writes a bimonthly guitar technique/effects column called "The Clinic" for New Jersey's only heavy metal magazine, "Ironworx". Bobby Ferrara is one of the cleanest playing shred guitarists I have heard, and at such speed keeps the passion, he looses nothing.
!!! ~ amazing musician ~ !!!
MORE INFORMATION ~ Interview

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RANDY CALIFORNIA

The 60s saw a 15-year-old Randy Craig Wolfe gigging with Jimi Hendrix, who gave him the name California, as there were 2 Randys in the band. Unfortunately Randy was too young to come to the UK with Hendrix. The late Randy California, singer / songwriter /guitarist played solo as well as his fame with the band "Spirit" and does an awesome version of "Like A Rolling Stone" on 'Spirit of 76' album.
TRIBUTE WEBSITE

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FRANK MARINO

To say that Frank Marino excels in a live environment is a total understatement! The power of Frank "live" is the stuff of legend as everyone who has seen him will agree and he certainly lives up to his reputation on his latest album. Quote: “When I was a kid and I first heard Frank Marino, I was stunned. His technique and tone was smooth yet aggressive. He is a very powerful performer and was an inspiration to me at a critical time in my musical evolution.”~ Steve Vai
READ MORE

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GREG COOPER

Greg Cooper is a highly respected professional guitarist, writer, author and guitar educator from California. He can take you on a trip from the blues to jazz to rock with his amazing talent.
His guitar collection is well worth a visit too!!
VISIT GREG & HIS MUSIC

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Allen "ROBOT" Van Wert

ROBOT has been credited as a very futuristic sounding experimental style, exploding and breaking the limits of guitar based music. (without the use of FX or any editing tricks). He is true cutting edge.
READ MORE ~ INTERVIEW

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WALTER ROSSI

After leaving his previous band, Wilson Pickett's 'The SoulMates' and Buddy Miles Express, Walter Rossi joined Montreal based 'Influence' in 1967. In 1968 the band released their self-titled debut but split up soon after despite their popularity touring in Toronto and New York. Rossi would go on to join Luke And The Apostles (1970-71), Charlee (1972) and The Bombers (1978) before branching off into studio work (Nanette Workman, Gino Soccio) and a successful solo career with Aquarius Records.
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