A new series from Guitar World magazine! These books feature many articles organized in a logical manner to create a history of the artist or band. Covers their start to current day activities. Some titles include transcriptions of solos or riffs. Metallica, Van Halen, S.R. Vaughn and Kiss!

(Guitar World Presents). This exciting book from the editors of Guitar World is a treasure trove for any guitarist. Featuring electrifying profiles of everyone from hard rock gods (Wes Borland, Dimebag Darrell, Tony Iommi) to British giants (Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, even Nigel Tufnel) to trailblazing bluesmen (John Lee Hooker, Reverend Gary Davis) to country gents (Clarence White, Albert Lee) to the founding fathers (Chuck Berry, Dick Dale) as well as jazzmen, progressive rockers, punks and rockabilly superstars, Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitarists puts all these inspiring masters at your fingertips. But the fun doesn't stop there. Guitar World has also assembled the riveting stories behind the 100 greatest guitar solos. You know them note-for-note, from David Gilmour's transcendent phrasing in "Comfortably Numb" to Jimi Hendrix's rich notes in "Little Wing" to Kurt Cobain's unforgettable melodic turns in "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and now you can get the inside stories of how these magic moments were captured for all time. Rounding off the collection is bonus material such as a lesson with Metallica's Kirk Hammet, a guide to the 12 greatest guitar tones, and 25 guitar masters weighing in on their favorite solos.

For nearly a decade, “Dear Guitar Hero” – where everyday fans get a chance to ask their hero a question – has remained one of Guitar World magazine's most popular departments. Now the best of these interviews with rock's most inspiring six-string icons are presented here in one volume. Dear Guitar Hero features interviews with a broad range of celebrity guitarists, from such rock legends as Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Ace Frehley, and Billy Gibbons to such superstar shredders as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Paul Gilbert to such heroes of the modern rock world as Dave Grohl, Jerry Cantrell, and Warren Haynes. Through the years, Guitar World readers have proven themselves to be fearless when asking questions of their guitar idols, often touching on subjects others would be reluctant to broach. Whether it's the truth behind the Allman Brothers' legendary At Fillmore East album cover photo and the illegal substance in Duane Allman's hand, what Ritchie Blackmore meant when he referred to Eric Clapton as “not a very good guitar player ” or Dave Mustaine's true feelings about Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, Dear Guitar Hero features revealing conversations with many of the most legendary figures in rock guitar history.

A vivid and energetic history of Van Halen's legendary early years After years of playing gigs everywhere from suburban backyards to dive bars, Van Halen — led by frontman extraordinaire David Lee Roth and guitar virtuoso Edward Van Halen — had the songs, the swagger, and the talent to turn the rock world on its ear. The quartet's classic 1978 debut, Van Halen, sold more than a million copies within months of release and rocketed the band to the stratosphere of rock success. On tour, Van Halen's high-energy show wowed audiences and prompted headlining acts like Black Sabbath to concede that they'd been blown off the stage. By the year's end, Van Halen had established themselves as superstars and reinvigorated heavy metal in the process. Based on more than 230 original interviews — including with former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and power players like Pete Angelus, Marshall Berle, Donn Landee, Ted Templeman, and Neil Zlozower — Van Halen Rising reveals the untold story of how these rock legends made the unlikely journey from Pasadena, California, to the worldwide stage.

Pink Floyd's extraordinary career has now spanned four decades, from their early days pushing the cutting edge of British psychedelic pop to their massive successes with moody, conceptual masterpieces like Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall, to their acrimonious split with Roger Waters and finally, the immense stadium tours that followed. Throughout, Pink Floyd has influenced everyone from David Bowie to Nine Inch Nails to Radiohead, and their albums continue to have timeless appeal. Now, premier interview journalist Alan di Perna and the editors of Guitar World have collected penetrating interviews and insights into Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Rick Wright to create a vivid portrait of a notoriously reclusive band.

Once again proving its indestructible, eternal appeal, metal is in yet another renaissance, be it the aggressive marriage of rap and metal or the expansive soundscapes of "stoner rock." From the nightmarish theatrics and irresistible hooks of the 9-member band Slipknot to the buzz saw aggression of Korn to the anarchic party vibe of Limp Bizkit, metal continues to change with the times, picking up seemingly disparate styles and making them new again. Guitar World has never failed to offer the best coverage of this enduring and explosive scene, and the collected pieces here are a must for every metal fan.

In July of 1984, Edward Van Halen was the most popular musician in the world in the most popular band in the worldthe band that to this day bears his own surname. As a 12-year-old, author Kevin Dodds experienced his first Van Halen concert, and it changed his life. In this biography, Dodds takes a comprehensive look at the life of Van Halen, one of the worlds most famous and influential musicians. He examines Eddies early years growing up in the Netherlands; his life with his mother and musician father; the familys immigration to the United States; his lifelong trials and tribulations; and his remarkable music career. For more than a year, Dodds delved into more than a thousand different sources to compile Edward Van Halen: A Definitive Biography, the story that captures the life of a man with complex personality and character traits whose life and times has played an important role in American cultural and musical history. Dodds has also woven his personal experiences with Van Halen as well as his own band into this story, providing a unique perspective in the field of rock-and-roll biographies.

For 30 years, Guitar World magazine has served as North America's leading publication for rock guitarists – and with more than 325 issues under its belt, the world's bestselling guitar magazine is showing no signs of slowing down. In this extraordinary book, the complete history of Guitar World is chronicled – from July 1980, when the very first issue, which featured Johnny Winter on its cover, took the guitar-playing community by storm, to issues from 2010 featuring the likes of Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, Keith Richards, and many other guitar icons. Frank Zappa, Eddie Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kurt Cobain, Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton are just some of the artists who have sat down with Guitar World over the years: the full transcripts of these legendary, revealing interviews are here. This lavishly illustrated edition takes you behind the scenes of such monumental events as Nirvana's Unplugged performance, Stevie Ray Vaughan's funeral, and the making of Led Zeppelin IV, and includes Guitar World's great dual interviews: Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, Tony Iommi and James Hetfield, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, and more. Rock music has gone through many changes since 1980 – bands have come and gone, musical styles have shifted dramatically, heroes have fallen – and through it all, Guitar World has been there, reporting on the events of the day and interviewing the musicians who keep the genre alive. It's all here, in The Complete History of Guitar World.

The inspiration for the Play It Loud exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art "Every guitar player will want to read this book twice. And even the casual music fan will find a thrilling narrative that weaves together cultural history, musical history, race, politics, business case studies, advertising, and technological discovery." —Daniel Levitin, Wall Street Journal For generations the electric guitar has been an international symbol of freedom, danger, rebellion, and hedonism. In Play It Loud, veteran music journalists Brad Tolinski and Alan di Perna bring the history of this iconic instrument to roaring life. It's a story of inventors and iconoclasts, of scam artists, prodigies, and mythologizers as varied and original as the instruments they spawned. Play It Loud uses twelve landmark guitars—each of them artistic milestones in their own right—to illustrate the conflict and passion the instruments have inspired. It introduces Leo Fender, a man who couldn't play a note but whose innovations helped transform the guitar into the explosive sound machine it is today. Some of the most significant social movements of the twentieth century are indebted to the guitar: It was an essential element in the fight for racial equality in the entertainment industry; a mirror to the rise of the teenager as social force; a linchpin of punk's sound and ethos. And today the guitar has come full circle, with contemporary titans such as Jack White of The White Stripes, Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent), and Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys bringing some of the earliest electric guitar forms back to the limelight. Featuring interviews with Les Paul, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, and dozens more players and creators, Play It Loud is the story of how a band of innovators transformed an idea into a revolution.

Van Halen are known for classic songs like “Runnin’ with the Devil,” "Panama,” and “Jump,” but also for the drama surrounding the exits of its former members. While many have attempted to discover the secrets of Van Halen through an analysis of their musical role models, John Scanlan looks at deeper aesthetic and philosophical influences in Van Halen, a groundbreaking account of this extraordinary band. Following the band’s pursuit of the art of artlessness, Scanlan describes how they characterize what historian Kevin Starr terms “Zen California”—a state of mind and way of being that above all celebrates the now, and in rock and roll terms refers to the unregulated expenditure of energy and youthful exuberance destined to extinguish itself. Scanlan sheds light on key events and influences—the decaying of Hollywood in the 1970s; Ted Templeman’s work as a producer at Sunset Sound Studios; Top Jimmy, a blues rock singer who performed at the Zero Zero club; and the building of Eddie Van Halen’s Hollywood Hills studio in 1983—that show how 1970s California was the only time and place that Van Halen could have emerged. Along the way, Scanlan also explores the relationship between David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen, the climate of Southern California and its relation to a sense of cultural exuberance, the echoes of Beat aesthetics in David Lee Roth’s attitude to time, Eddie Van Halen’s bebop sensibility, and the real roots of the so-called “Brown” sound. An illuminating look at a classic rock group and the cultural moment in which they came of age, Van Halen is a book for fans of the band and the history of rock and roll.