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The Latest Breaking News from Steve Cropper

“I took over where Billy Gibbons left off and did my half of the solo, and it was a very rare thing. My wife loves it. She doesn’t love anything I do...” Brian May, Billy Gibbons and Steve Cropper on how the three guitar icons learned to play together

For the latest record from Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour, the Stax legend enlists two equally iconic players. Here three kings of the six-string tell us what went down in Friendlytown

Guitar World

“What we have in common is that we don’t shred for the sake of it. In my case, it’s because I can’t!” Brian May on his unlikely guitar kinsmanship with Steve Cropper and Billy Gibbons

Recruited for the recent Cropper tune Too Much Stress, May says the three masters fit together better than you might think

Guitar World

“Watching his hands in the studio, I learnt something I never knew”: Steve Cropper on ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons’ secret sauce

The legendary guitarists have a special relationship

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“Billy had already played half a solo. The producer said, ‘Can you play the other half?’ I said, ‘Can’t you give him a whole solo and me a whole solo?’” Brian May explains why he was reluctant to share a solo with Billy Gibbons – and what changed his mind

May and Gibbons were recruited by session icon Steve Cropper to add their guitar star power to his latest release, Friendlytown

Guitar World

“My playing has always sucked, but it sells!”: The guitarist who co-wrote two of the most famous songs of all time admits he is no virtuoso

For R&B legend Steve Cropper, playing guitar is all about groove

MusicRadar

The best new rock songs you need to hear right now

Including Jerry Cantrell, David Gilmour, Thundermother and five other custodians of the eternal rock'n'roll flame

Louder

"Inspirational": Steve Cropper is a sublimely understated presence with The Midnight Hour on Friendlytown

Stax legend Steve Cropper fires up the protest soul

Louder

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“It’s like guitar heaven”: Brian May turned down the chance to play with Steve Cropper and Billy Gibbons – but when his rejection email was used to write a new song, he had no choice but to take part

The Queen guitarist trades solos with Gibbons on Too Much Stress, the first taste of session legend Cropper’s new record Friendlytown

Guitar World

“The coach of the Dallas Mavericks came up to me after the show and said, ‘What’s your dream guitar?’ I said a 1960 Fender Stratocaster. A few days later one showed up at my house”: Tyler Bryant on his remarkable Strat stories

He's one of the hottest young exponents of Texas blues. So of course he plays Strats…

Guitar World

“I get accused of not learning more – but I’m not one of those guys. I could learn anything if I wanted to, but I just let it go as it is”: Steve Cropper on recording classic Stax cuts with a Telecaster – and why he thinks his Peavey sounds better

The Stax session icon reflects on the recording of Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay and Soul Man, and looks forward to his new album featuring Billy Gibbons and Brian May

Guitar World

‘It became a beacon of hope’: the incredible story of Stax Records

A new docuseries traces the highs and lows of the Memphis record label, soaring with major acts like Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes but a victim of both capitalism and racism

The Guardian - US

“Carlos Santana said, ‘I’ll play bass – you play guitar.’ I said I couldn’t, but he told me whatever I played belonged to me. I could own it”: Super-producer Raphael Saadiq on how he switched to guitar and earned his signature Fender Telecaster

The Grammy-winning producer has worked with the biggest names in music. He explains why the Telecaster has appeared on every album he’s ever worked on – and shares what he learned from Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Barry Gibb and countless others

Guitar World

"At the end, Jimmy says to me: 'I want you in my band'. I say: 'But I've got a maths exam in the morning!'": Rick Wakeman, and the blues records that changed his life

It all started with a love of trad jazz and Etta James – plus a baptism of fire in an after-school session with R&B star Jimmy Thomas

Louder

“It was found in the trunk of a car. They had sanded it to make it look like it wasn’t mine”: Tyler Bryant's stolen Pinky One Strat was played by Jeff Beck, inscribed by Steven Tyler – and, miraculously, returned to him five years after it was taken

The blues-rock guitarist recalls the loss – and remarkable recovery – of his most significant six-string

Guitar World

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MusicRadar

“Brian May did an entire section, about a dozen guitar harmonies:” Mark Knopfler’s all-star Guitar Heroes charity single, Going Home, is released – but who played what?

Featuring over 50 A-list guitarists, the expanded Local Hero theme opens with Jeff Beck's final solo, has Joan Armatrading rocking on electric and May going harmony mad to raise money for teen cancer charities

MusicRadar

"I think what we’ve had is an embarrassment of riches, really" – Mark Knopfler announces all-star charity band with over 60 members with Gilmour, Ringo, Jeff Beck, Sting, Clapton and Brian May all onboard

They've recorded a new version of Knopfler's Going Home: Theme From Local Hero

Guitar World

Stop spending all your practice time on soloing: rhythm playing is even more important – and embellishing chords will seriously up your game

We show you how to take regular chords and level them up with sliding shapes, doublestops and legato

Guitar World

“Paul McCartney was one of my favorite bass players. I didn’t do him justice”: Paying tribute to the Beatles turned out to be a humbling experience for Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn

As a member of Booker T. and the MGs, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn cut an instrumental version of the Beatles’ Abbey Road. But the experience wasn't all that satisfying...

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Louder

“If I ended up in jail, I knew I wouldn’t be able to play guitar”: the secret history of Jimi Hendrix’s pre-fame years

Although I don’t eat every day, everything’s going all right for me. It could be worse than this

Guitar World

Watch Donald “Duck” Dunn as Booker T and the MGs blow minds in Norway in 1967

On 7 April 1967, the Stax/Volt Revue hit Europe. Norwegian TV caught them in action in Oslo. What’s Norwegian for “locked in”?

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