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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Strumming, Picking, and Shredding:

An Oral History of Guitar Player Part 1: Tom Wheeler

By Steven Ward

After freelancing for Rolling Stone during the seventies, Tom Wheeler joined the staff of Guitar Player and eventually became its Editor in Chief. He served in that capacity for ten years, was also the founding Editorial Director of Bass Player, and continued to provide a monthly column for Guitar Player long after leaving the office.

His first encyclopedia, The Guitar Book: A Handbook for Electric and Acoustic Guitarists (foreword by B.B. King), was published by Harper & Row in various languages over a period of 14 years; a new Japanese translation was published in 2000. His next book, American Guitars: An Illustrated History (foreword by Les Paul) was in print for more than 20 years and was called by one retail catalog “the best book ever written about guitars.” His 2004 book, The Stratocaster Chronicles (foreword by Eric Clapton), was named Book of the Year by Vintage Guitar magazine. Tom’s latest book is The Soul of Tone: Celebrating 60 Years of Fender Amps (foreword by Keith Richards).

Tom has interviewed Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton, Michael Bloomfield, Les Paul, Leo Fender, Keith Richards, and many others. He co-edited Richard Smith’s Fender: The Sound Heard ’Round The World, and also wrote the foreword. He wrote the foreword for The PRS Guitar Book, and contributed chapters to Gibson Guitars, 100 Years of an American Icon; The Electric Guitar; Electric Guitars of the Fifties; and Electric Guitars of the Sixties; among others.

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Strumming, Picking, and Shredding:

An Oral History of Guitar Player

By Steven Ward

When I was teenager in the ’80s, I used to buy Guitar Player magazine whenever I found a copy. In those days, that was usually in record stores. It seemed like the GP always had one of my music heroes of the time on the cover–Pete Townsend, Mark Knopfler, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour.

Two particular Guitar Player interviews stand out from my high school days. The first was a 1986 cover story on Robert Fripp by Tom Mulhern. Mulhern’s interview had me searching for anything I could get my hands on by King Crimson. I was a very casual Fripp and King Crimson fan–if there is such a thing–until I read Mulhern’s piece.

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