(Vocal/instrumental group, 1967–72) If John Fogerty (vocals, guitar), Tom Fogerty (guitar), Stuart Cook (bass) and Doug Clifford (drums) were Californian hippy in appearance, their music harked back to the energy and stylistic cliches of 1950s rock’n’roll, and their spiritual home seemed to be the swamplands of the Deep South, as instanced in titles like ‘Born On The Bayou’. After 1969’s ‘Proud Mary’ all but topped the US chart, they reached a ...
Derek Trucks was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1979. Trucks bought his first guitar at a yard sale for $5 at age nine and became a child prodigy, playing his first paid performance at age 11. Trucks began playing the guitar using a ‘slide’ bar because it allowed him to play the guitar with his small hands. By his thirteenth birthday, Trucks had played alongside Buddy Guy and gone on tour ...
Southern blues-rock guitarist Dickey Betts was born in West Palm Beach, Florida in 1943. Betts was leading a group called The Second Coming when he met and jammed with the other members of what soon became The Allman Brothers Band. His role as second lead guitarist and his partnership with Duane Allman gave the band their trademark dual-lead sound, which was captured at its most potent on The Allmans’ seminal double ...
‘What I Am’, 1989 Late 1980s folk rockers, Edie Brickell And The Bohemians were really riding on the talent of chief songwriter Edie Brickell. ‘What I Am’ was a Top 10 hit from their debut LP, Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars, though the group disbanded after its 1990 follow-up, Ghost Of A Dog, failed to perform to expectations. Edie kick-started a solo career in 2003, with longtime Dylan sideman Charlie Sexton ...
Brothers Caleb (born 14 January 1982, vocals and rhythm guitar), Jared (born 20 November 1986, bass) and Nathan Followill (born 26 November 1979, drums) and their cousin Matthew Followill (born 10 September 1984, lead guitar) grew up in Tennessee’s deep south with the brothers’ Pentecostal preacher father, learning the way of the Lord. But their love of music changed all that, and a decade later they were one of the ...
(Vocal group, 1971–present) Renowned for their eclectic blend of styles, incorporating rhythm and blues, country, rock’n’roll and jazz rock, Little Feat was founded by two ex-members of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, guitarist and singer Lowell George and bassist Roy Estrada. They were joined by Richard Hayward (drums) and Bill Payne (keyboards, vocals). After seven well-received albums from 1971–77, the band took a lengthy break after George died of a heart ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1964–77, 1979, 1987–present) This southern rock band came together in Jacksonville, Florida, around the core of Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Allen Collins (guitar) and Gary Rossington (guitar), plus Billy Powell (keyboards), Larry Junstrom (bass) and Bob Burns (drums). An air crash shortly before the release of their sixth album Street Survivors in 1977 claimed the lives of Van Zant and additional guitarist Steve Gaines, although the band continued. Skynyrd ...
(Vocal group, 1969–76, 1978–82, 1989–present) A southern American blues-rock band comprising Duane Allman (guitar), Gregg Allman (vocals, organ), Dickey Betts (guitar, vocals), Berry Oakley (bass), Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny ‘Jaimoe’ Johanson (both drums). The Allmans’ incendiary double lead guitar sound was captured on Live At The Fillmore East (1971). Despite the deaths of Duane Allman (in 1971) and Oakley (in 1972) in eerily similar motorcycle accidents, the band played on. Styles ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1989–2002, 2005–present) Musically, The Black Crowes were a throwback to the classic rock swagger of The Rolling Stones. Formed in Atlanta, Chris Robinson (vocals), Richard Robinson (guitar), Jeff Cease (guitar), Johnny Colt (bass) and Steve Gorman (drums) combined hard touring and compelling albums such as Shake Your Money Maker (1990) and The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion (1992). These laid the foundations for a long-term career and extensive chart ...
(Vocal group, 1969–99) Having invented country rock in The Byrds, Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons (both guitar, vocals) formed The Burritos to further explore its possibilities, recruiting pianist/bassist Chris Ethridge and guitarist ‘Sneaky’ Pete Kleinow. The Gilded Palace Of Sin (1969) featured some of Parsons’ finest work but he was sacked after 1970’s Burrito Deluxe. Bernie Leadon and former Byrds drummer Michael Clarke joined and, in 1972, Hillman departed a constantly ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1972–83, 1988–present) Southern rock band from South Carolina fronted by Doug Gray and featuring brothers Toy (guitar) and Tommy (bass) Caldwell. Named after a piano tuner who used their rehearsal hall, they scored US hits in 1975 and 1977 with ‘Fire On the Mountain’ and ‘Heard It In A Love Song’, but lacked distinctiveness to inherit Lynyrd Skynyrd’s mantle when their plane went down. Only Doug Gray survives in ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1950) Petty, born in Gainsville, Florida, formed his long-time backing band The Heartbreakers from Mike Campbell (guitar), Benmont Tench (keyboards), Ron Blair (bass) and Stan Lynch (drums). An eponymous album in 1977 was a hard-hitting brand of country rock, with plenty of modern attack, rootsy authenticity and good tunes. The UK was impressed, but it was not until 1979’s Damn The Torpedoes that the US took a native son ...
Vince Gill (b. 1957) broke out of a respected but static 10-year career as a bandmember and solo act and into country stardom with the 1990 hit ‘When I Call Your Name’. Gill was in the forefront of the neo-traditional country movement and became one of the biggest crossover singing stars in Nashville. It helped that he was an excellent country guitar player, capable of blistering solos in styles from ...
Warren Haynes was born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1960. He began to play the guitar at age 12. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Johnny Winter were early influences. ‘I would read interviews with all these people and find out who they listened to,’ Haynes has said. ‘And they all listened to B.B. King and Freddie King and Albert King and Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters and Elmore James. So ...
Though he maintains a gruff, beer-drinking, hell-raising public persona, guitarist Zakk Wylde (b. 1967) is one of the most talented, dedicated and hard-working guitarists of the past 20 years and, as some in the guitar community have speculated, the last true guitar hero. Wylde was born Jeffrey Phillip Wiedlandt in Bayonne, New Jersey. He started playing guitar at the age of 15, drawing influence from such guitar legends as Jimmy Page, ...
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David Bowie
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