Strumming, Picking, and Shredding:

An Oral History of Guitar Player Part 3: Steven Rosen

By Steven Ward

Steven Rosen is a professional music journalist with a career spanning thirty years. During this period he has published well over 700 articles appearing in major periodicals originating from around the globe, everywhere from the United States and Canada to Japan, Germany, France, England, Australia, and even Katmandu. Amongst the publications Rosen’s work has appeared in are Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, Playboy, Musician, Guitar Player, Guitar World, Musician, US, Creem, Circus, Player, Total Guitar, Classic Rock, Mojo, Drum!, and a myriad of others.

Rosen was the West Coast correspondent for Guitar World magazine for four years during the mid-eighties when he wrote seven cover stories (three lead features on Edward Van Halen are now recognized as pivotal pieces on that artist). As a contributor to Guitar Player, he wrote a prolific sixteen covers in a six-year span (one out of every four was his). The 1977 Frank Zappa front-cover contribution represented the periodical’s biggest selling issue to that date. Additionally, GP, in two special reprint issues, utilized his stories on Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page as cover material (Rock Guitarists published by Guitar Player Productions and Rock Guitarists Vol. II distributed by Guitar Player Books).

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Strumming, Picking, and Shredding:

An Oral History of Guitar Player Part 2: Jim Crockett

By Steven Ward

After leaving Guitar Player, Jim Crockett raced cars and wrote/published a monthly newsletter, “Autoracer’s Monthly,” for serious amateur racers.

Then Crockett and his wife moved to their Cayman Islands home for eight years. He had a five-person scuba shop that he ran for five years, handling marketing, training, taking divers on trips, etc. He also played drums in two rock bands, two jazz bands, a 22-piece swing band, a Dixieland band, a show band, a blues band–and had the time of his life. Additionally, he taught broadcasting, writing, and public speaking, and created an educational radio station, at the International College of the Cayman Islands. And there was a year or two as a news editor and announcer for the goverment’s Radio Cayman.

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