Ted Nugent

Ted Nugent was born in Detroit, Michigan on December 13, 1948. He taught himself the basics of guitar playing at the age of 8.

In 1964, his family moved to Chicago. It was here that he joined the band Amboy Dukes. They started out as a garage band, but quickly became a popular attraction in local venues. As time went on, members left the band, and in 1974 he started a new band called Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes. They released 2 albums under Frank Zappa's DiscReet Label.

In 1976, he decided to embark on his solo career. He was soon joined by Derek St. Holmes, Rob Grange, and Cliff Davies. They became Ted Nugent and Free For All.

Nugent became known for his stage performances, and bragged that he played more gigs per annum than any other artist. He was famous for his live "ear piercing" guitar work. One of his tour mottos was: "If it's too loud, your too old" It was during this tour that he would come out on stage in a loincloth and a head band, brandishing a bow and arrow.

It was no wonder he soon claimed the nickname "The Motor City Madman" his concerts featured trapeze stunts, guitar wizardry, and of many other antics of the "Madman" His live album, Gonzo, featured many great songs such as Cat Scratch Fever, Motor City Madness, and Baby Please Don't Go.

In 1981, Nugent decided to go on a world wide tour. This time he brought a new backing group. Despite the changes in the band, Nugent held on to the formula that made him so successful in the '70's

In 1989, he teamed up with Tommy Shaw (ex-Styx), Jack Blades (ex-Night Ranger), and Michael Cartellone to form the "Supergroup" Damn Yankees. Together they were a very successful band, selling 5 million albums. The band broke up in 1994.

Nugent resumed his solo career for the first time in seven years. He has done well, releasing several albums, as well as touring extensively.

He has also kept himself busy with his own morning show on WWBR Detroit, and as the creator and host of the Ted Nugent Commando Radio Show in Michigan. He has received numerous commendations from State Police, Sheriff Departments, and US Army and police agencies nationwide. He is the Editor/Publisher of Adventure Outdoors Magazine, the president of United Sportsmen of America, is the founder of the Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids, and the Ted Nugent Bowhunting School, as well as being involved in many other organizations.

Randy Rhoads 1956 - 1982

Randall William Rhoads was born on December 6, 1956, in Santa Monica, California. The youngest of 3 children, Randy grew up in a musical family. His mother was a music teacher, and had him start his first guitar lesson when he was 6 years old. His first guitar was a Gibson acoustic that had belonged to his grandfather. When he got a bit older, he became interested in rock guitar music, and began to take lessons on an electric guitar. After taking lessons from Scott Shelley for almost a year, his teacher told his mother that he couldn't teach him any more because he had taught Randy everything he knew.

When Randy was 14, he started his own band called Violet Fox. The band played together for about 5 months, before he left to play in other bands. In 1976, he formed Quiet Riot. They quickly became a very popular band. They played many sold out shows in smaller venues and clubs. It wasn't long before they found themselves signed with CBS/Sony Records. They released 2 albums in Japan, and received rave reviews there. The press hailed them as "the next big thing" However, the albums were never released in the US.

Late in 1979, Rhoads' friend Dana Strum asked him to audition for former Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, as he was looking to start up a new band. Rhoads did the favor for his friend, thinking it wouldn't amount to much. He was happy with his band. As it turned out, he got the job, and at the age of 22, he became Ozzy's lead guitarist.

In November of 1979, Rhoads left for England, where he and Ozzy began writing music for the album Blizzard of Ozz. They tried out their songs in local pubs. In March of 1980, they began to record. They worked in the studio for almost a month.

In May of 1980, Rhoads returned to California and played one last time with Quiet Riot at the Starwood Club in Hollywood.

Rhoads returned to England again for the Ozzy Osbourne Band's first official show. The fans broke the box office record at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland, selling out to a crowd of 4000. Blizzard of Ozz hit the UK charts at number 7. The band toured around the UK for 3 months.

In 1981, Rhoads found himself back in the studio to record Diary of a Madman. With an American tour pending, the recording became rushed, and the band wasn't entirely comfortable with it.

The band left for their tour in support of Blizzard of Ozz. the tour was a huge success, bringing the album to gold status within 100 days. In some smaller cities, though, the band had trouble with poor ticket sales. In Providence, Rhode Island, the promoter said that he didn't have enough money to pay them or Def Leppard. (the opening band)

In November of 1981, The band went back to Europe to tour for their new release, Diary of a Madman. Unfortunately, after only 3 shows, the tour was cancelled after Ozzy collapsed from mental and physical exhaustion.

The following month, the band started a tour again, this time in the US. The tour was a huge success, selling out huge venues all over the US. Back stage on the band's opening night in San Francisco, Rhoads was awarded Guitar Player Magazine's Best New Talent Award. The tour was particularly exhausting for the band. Their concerts were boycotted in many cities, and others were attended by the S.P.C.A because of official claims of animal abuse.

It was during this time that Randy started to take more of an interest in Classical guitar. He had a tutor in almost every city he toured. It was becoming evident that he wanted to quit rock and roll, and go back to school to get his masters in classical guitar. He was also seriously considering taking up the offers he had received to do some studio session work.

The Ozzy Osbourne Band played what would be their last show with Randy Rhoads on March 18, 1982. The band was headed for Orlando, Florida for the "Rock Super Bowl XIV" to be performed with the band Foreigner. On the way, they decided to stop at the home of Jerry Calhoun. He leased tour buses, and they needed some spare parts for the bus. The driver, Andrew Aycock, saw a plane in the hanger on the estate, and since he had a pilot's license, decided to go for a ride. He took Randy and Rachel Youngblood in the plane with him. Unknown to anyone at the time, his pilot's license was invalid because his medical certificate had expired. It seems that during the trip, he was flying very low to the ground, at times even coming close to the tour bus. On the fourth pass, the plane's wing struck the side of the band's bus. The plane then hit a nearby tree, and crashed into the garage. The house was almost instantly engulfed in flames.

Randy Rhoads died instantly in the crash.

Hank Garland

Hank Garland (1930-2004) was born in Cowpens, South Carolina on November 11, 1930. He began taking guitar lessons when he was six years old from a neighbor. At fifteen years of age he joined Paul Howard's Georgia Cotton Pickers and with them, played for the first time at the Opry, in Nashville. While in Nashville he met Chet Atkins, Billy Byrd and Owen Bradley and was introduced to jazz. Billy Byrd and Hank Garland became very close friends and together they designed the Gibson Byrdland guitar, which was named after them.

Garland stayed with Paul Howard for two years and then joined Cowboy Copas for a year. He appeared on several recordings by Copas and was quickly advancing his skills as a guitarist. After a year he left Copas and went out on his own as a freelance studio musician. As a session guitarist he made a number of recordings on the Decca and Dot labels. A notable recording from this period was Sugarfoot Rag, something Garland had written as an exercise.

In the early 1950's Hank Garland went on the road with Eddy Arnold. The roadwork with Arnold took him to New York where he met some of his jazz guitar idols -- Barry Galbraith and Tal Farlow. Hank Garland formed a special relationship with Galbraith and credited Galbraith with teaching him how to play rhythm guitar. When he returned to Nashville he continued to work in the studios recording with all the big names in rock and country at that time, including Elvis (Little Sister), the Everly Brothers, Patsy Cline and many others.

In the early 1960's a series of recordings appeared by Hank Garland; The Unforgettable Guitar of Hank Garland, After The Riot at Newport, Velvet Guitar and Jazz Winds From A New Direction. With the exception of the Jazz In New York album produced by Hank's brother Billy, these were the only major jazz recordings Hank Garland made. In 1961 he was in a car accident that left him with permanent brain damage and the loss of his ability to play the guitar. Garland was thirty years old. In fifteen years he went from his first outings with Paul Howard and The Georgia Cotton Pickers to one of the most amazing jazz guitarists of his time.

In 1996, Just Jazz Guitar published a brief tribute (May 1996, No. 7) to Hank Garland that included these comments by Johnny Smith, "To me, Hank Garland will always be one of the great players of our time..."

Kirk Hammett

Kirk Lee Hammett was born on November 18th, 1962 in San Francisco, California. He got his first guitar at the age of 15, a Montgomery Ward Strat copy from a friend for ten dollars and a Kiss album ("Dressed To Kill").

As a youngster, Kirk kept to himself. The family moved from San Francisco to a suburban area in East Bay. He suffered from culture shock, and the music he would listen to, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix or Cream set him apart from the other kids even more. But playing his favorite songs like "Purple Haze", "Wild Thing" and "Communication Breakdown" on the guitar made him feel closer to the music he was listening to. The first real good guitar Kirk bought was a blonde Strat with a maple neck, because of Hendrix. After listening to UFO, with Michael Schenker, he bought a black Flying V, which can be heard on the first three or four Metallica albums.

By then, he had formed a band called Exodus, and they would play Thin Lizzy, UFO, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden cover songs.
Exodus opened a couple of shows with Metallica and Kirk was very impressed by them and their original sound. When lead guitarist Dave Mustaine got expelled after a fight with James Hetfield, Kirk was invited to an audition in New York and he was asked to join the band.

In 1982, a few weeks before Metallica recorded their debut album, "Kill 'Em All", Kirk took lessons from Joe Satriani. "Kill 'Em All" would mark the beginning of an incredible rise in the bands popularity.

Hammett's playing has evolved since the early years of "Kill 'Em All". Witnessed on "And Justice For All", where he showed off his speed. But on the "Black Album" and subsequent albums "Load"/ "ReLoad" Kirk dropped some speed in favor of a more bluesy playing style and experimental sounds.

Tony Levin

Tony Levin was born in Boston on June 6, 1946. He grew up in the suburb of Brookline and began playing upright bass at 10 yrs old. In high school, he picked up tuba, soloing with the concert band. He also started a barbershop quartet. But he primarily played classical music on the upright, most notably performing at the White House with a youth orchestra for John and Jackie Kennedy.

He then attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and played in the Rochester Philharmonic. Also at the school was Steve Gadd, now a renowned drummer, who introduced Tony to playing a higher level of jazz and rock. He traded in his Ampeg baby bass for an old (at that time) Fender Precision bass, which was his only instrument for many years.

In 1970, Tony moved to New York City, joined a band called Aha, the Attack of the Green Slime Beast, with Don Preston of The Mothers of Invention. Soon after, he began working as a session musician and through the 1970's he played bass on many albums.

In the late '70s wanting to do more live playing, Tony joined Peter Gabriel's band. He had met Peter through producer Bob Ezrin (with whom Tony had recorded Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare, and Lou Reed's Berlin .) Tony has played with Gabriel, both on the road and in the studio, since then. On that first Peter Gabriel album, Tony played some tuba as well as bass, and directed a short barbershop quartet version of a song.

It was in these early years with Gabriel that Tony developed his playing of the Chapman Stick. More recently, the song Big Time, from Gabriel's So album, inspired the development of Funk Fingers, which are chopped off drumsticks used to hammer on the bass strings. Levin credits Gabriel with the idea, and Andy Moore, his tech at the time, with actually making them workable.

In 1978, Tony moved to Woodstock NY, to join the band L'Image , which included his old friend Steve Gadd, as well as Mike Mainieri and Warren Bernhardt. The band, which did some very special music, broke up after a year, and Tony stayed in Woodstock, where he still lives.

On Peter Gabriel's first album, Tony met Robert Fripp and, in 1980, after having played on Fripp's solo album Exposure, he became a member of the '80s incarnation of King Crimson.

Through the years, Tony has toured with quite a few artists including: Paul Simon (with whom Tony appeared in Simon's 1980 film "One Trick Pony"), Gary Burton, James Taylor, Herbie Mann, Goro Noguchi, Judy Collins, Joe Yamanaka, Carly Simon,Peter Framptom, Anderson/Bruford/Wakeman/Howe, Tim Finn, Richie Samborra, and Claudio Baglioni.

In 1984 Tony released "Road Photos," a collection of black & white photos taken during his travels with Crimson, Gabriel, Simon and others. Tony's brother, Pete, is a New York keyboardist and writer who is best known for his work with Gil Evans. Back in the 70's, Tony and Pete collaborated with Steve Gadd in the comedy band The Clams. Tony still threatens to release some Clams material some day.

Robben Ford

The third of four sons born to Charles and Kathryn Ford, Robben (born in 1951) grew up in Ukiah, California - a small town two hours drive north of San Francisco. Both parents loved music and had talents of their own. Charles had performed professionally as a young man singing and playing guitar.

Throughout his high school years Robben continued to enjoy and explore music of all types. The rock idiom was full of energy and was itself being influenced by different musical styles. Rock was growing up and leading the way were artists like Jimi Hendrix, the Yardbirds, Cream, Steve Winwood, and of course the Beatles. Like Robben, many of the artists he enjoyed the most had also been influenced by the blues idiom to one degree or another

He joined Charlie Musselwhites band in 1970 Charlie often had Robben playing sax on such instrumentals as Ray Charles' "Hard Times" or Robben's own "Blue Stu".

It was the gig with Charlie Musselwhite that gave Robben his first serious exposure to the blues community. As he was only eighteen years old and just out of school it was also his first professional gig with a road band and provided him his first real recording experience when Charlie recorded his "Takin My Time" LP.

After a year with Charlie he left with his brother Patrick to form the Charles Ford Band, along with brother Mark, and friend Stan Poplin. This band lasted less than a year but had a major impact on the West Coast blues scene. Muddy Waters had just convinced Chess Records to offer the Charles Ford Band a contract when Mark decided to leave the music business for awhile. Luckily, several months after their breakup, Chris Strachwitz of Arhoolie Records asked them to go into the studio for two days of recording, saying it would be a shame for the band not to leave something behind on disk. So came about the Charles Ford Band LP. It still sells in CD form to this day and is considered by many to be a modern blues classic. This was Robbens first recording where he was a featured artist.

After leaving Witherspoon in 1974 Robben was invited to join the LA Express for a tour of the US and Canada along with Joni Mitchell. This became a two year relationship and was Robben's introduction to the style of music known as "Fusion". It not only resulted in Robben recording a fusion release for Elektra Records, his first solo recording, but also led to the the formation of the band, The Yellow Jackets, which continues to have a world wide following today.

Robben became an in-demand guitarist in LA, but always preferred live performance. His reputation was to land him tours and recordings with the likes of Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Michael McDonald, David Sanborn, Randy Crawford and even a one-year stay with his most important musical icon and mentor, Miles Davis.

It was in 1982, ten years after their breakup, that Robben reunited with the other members of the Charles Ford Band to play and record a series of gigs and release an LP dedicated to the brothers' Father who had just passed away. These recordings were released on Patrick's newly formed Blue Rock'It Records as The Charles Ford Band - "A Reunion".

During the next two years Robben continued his LA based career but as Charles Ford Band members had enjoyed doing the reunion gigs they did the same again in 1983 and 1984 and in fact took the band to Europe for a few dates with Charlie Musselwhite. Music from the US dates led to another Blue Rock'lt release years later, "As Real As It Gets".

Deciding it was time to form his own group, Robben put together a band composed of two of LA's finest musicians, Russel Ferrante and Vinnie Colaiata, along with Texas bassist Roscoe Beck. This band was to record the "Talk To Your Daughter" album for which Robben was to receive his first Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Recording. This release was to open eyes world wide to Robben's talents as a true blues artist.

Robben is without a doubt one of the most creative and honest men to play, write, and arrange in the blues field. He feels it as well as understands it.

Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz was born to TV News producer Sy Kravitz and the late actress Roxie Roker in New York on May 26, 1964. as a little boy, Lenny showed a strong interest in music. As a toddler, he would surround himself with pots and pans, and use them as a makeshift drum set. His parents encouraged his interest, and by the time he was 10 he had seen several performances including: Duke Ellington, James Brown, and the Jackson 5.

In 1964, the Kravitz family relocated to Los Angeles. The move was initiated by Lenny's mother because of her work as Hellen Willis on The Jefferson's. It was there that he auditioned for and won a place in the prestigious California Boy's Choir. He also began to teach himself to play several instruments including the guitar, and by 1978, his parents used their connections to get him into Beverly Hills HighSchool. (which boasted a superior music program)

Kravitz seemed to have found his calling, but lost interest in his studies. He named himself Romeo Blue, and started to spend more and more time away from home. He eventually started to live out of his Ford Pinto. He managed to graduate from high school in 1982.

Much to his father's disappointment, Kravitz decided not to attend college. His father agreed to finance his attempts to gain a record deal. It seemed, though that his sound wasn't "black enough" to get him a deal. For three years he struggled, and his difficulties were compounded by his parents divorce in 1985, which had a major effect on him. However, by the end of the year, his prospects were looking up. He was introduced to actress Lisa Bonet during a backstage gathering after a performance by New Edition. The two became fast friends, and by early 1986 the two were living together. In the same year, the couple moved back to New York where Kravitz met his mentor and kindred spirit, recording engineer, Henry Hirsch. The two started work on his first album, Let Love Rule.

In November 1987, Lisa and Lenny got married in Las Vegas, and 12 months later, his daughter Zoë was born. Shortly after Zoë's birth, Kravitz released his first album Let Love Rule, with the title song becoming a smash hit. Kravitz started living the rock and roll lifestyle, and rumors soon started circulating about his indiscretions after he produced the hit for Madonna titled Justify My Love. This proved to be more than Bonet could bear, and in 1991 the couple separated.

Kravitz's next album Mama Said seemed to be more introspective. It was released April 1991. It sold to platinum status, and featured guest appearances by Slash and Sean Lennon.

In the spring of 1993, he released Are You Gonna Go My Way? Soon after he began to work on this album, he found out that his mother had terminal cancer. Kravitz's personal life spilled into his music. The title track earned him an MTV Video Award for Best Male Video, as well as a Grammy Nomination for Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Vocal Performance.

In 1995, Kravitz released another album entitled Circus. It was clear that there would be no themes of peace and love on this album. The lead track bore the name Rock and Roll is Dead.

On December 2, 1995, 1 day after his daughter's birthday, his Mother, Roxie Roker succumbed to her illness. With the events of his life being more than he could bear, Kravitz retreated to the Bahamas in the summer of 1996. With his Grandmother and Daughter by his side, he spent much time relaxing and reflecting on his musical direction. Bonet visited often, and the two were able to re-establish a healthy friendship.

In 1998, after Kravitz felt he could begin working again, he began to play with different sounds and samples. He started to record using digital technology. As a result his latest album 5, is his most eclectic work to date. The album includes a tribute to his Mother, Thinking of You, and a gift to his Daughter, Little Girl's Eyes. The single Fly Away won him a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.

In April and May of 1999, Kravitz teamed up with the Black Crowes and Everlast for a North American tour. On the last day of the tour, after playing for 40 minutes, Kravitz collapsed reportedly of heat exhaustion. He took a brief break and then began a tour of Europe that summer.

Kravitz also did a remake of The Guess Who's American Woman which appeared on the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me sound track.

Kravitz, despite his personal adversity, has always maintained his own musical style. He writes songs that cross all boundaries with abandon, but at the same time uses a rock and roll virtue. He is a talented guitarist, and is an avowed Les Paul player. There is certainly more success in his future.