Famous Guitarists Who Named Their Guitar

B.B. King - Lucille: A black Gibson ES-355.

Edward Van Halen - Freankenstrat: Rebuilt stratocaster named after the Frankenstein monster, a creature made up from many different bodies.

George Harrison - Lucy: A Gibson Les Paul given to him by Eric Clapton.

Brian May - Red Special: Custom built, also called The Old Lady.


Eric Clapton - Blackie: Fender Stratocaster auctioned off in 2004 to raise money for his Crossroads addiction recovery center.

Billy Gibbons: 1959 Gibson Les Paul.

 Neil Young - Old Black: Gibson Les Paul.

Willie Nelson - Trigger: A Martin N-20 acoustic guitar.

Bo Diddley - Twang Machine: Custom built "cigar box" guitar. Later produced by Gretsch.

Prince - Cloud: Custom built guitar used during the Purple Rain era.

Keith Richards - Micawber: 1953 Fender Telecaster. Named after a character in Charles Dicken's David Copperfield.

Stevie Ray Vaughn - First Wife: 1963 Fender Stratocaster with a 1962 neck.

Tony Iommi - Monkey:  1965 Gibson SG.

Yngwie Malmsteen - Duck: 1971 Fender Stratocaster which had a Donald Duck sticker on it.

Edward Van Halen Quotes

"I never dreamt of being a musician for my livelihood."

"I'm a musician, Dave's a rock star."

"We're musicians. We make music for a living. It's that simple. Nothing else matters."

"Nirvana was huge, but it didn't appeal to everyone."

"It's always a Catch-22 situation. They hate you if you're the same, and they hate you if you're different."

"I grew up on a lot of early Beatles, DC5, Cream, Clapton, Page, Beck and Hendrix."

"Music kept me off the streets and out of trouble and gave me something that was mine that no one could take away from me."

"The piano ia a universal instrument. If you start there, learn your theory and how to read, you can go on to any other instrument."

"I destroyed a lot of guitars trying to get them to do what I wanted, but I learned something from every guitar I tore apart, and discovered even more things."

"The name Van Halen, the family legacy, is going to go on long after I'm gone."

"As long as my brain and fingers work, I'm cool."

Great Rock & Roll Guest Appearances

Edward Van Halen's guitar solo on Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' (1982).

Eric Clapton's guitar solo on the Beatles 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' (1968).

John Lennon playing guitar on David Bowie's 'Fame' (1975).

Mick Jagger singing back up on Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain' (1972).

David Bowie Singing a duet with Bing Crosby on 'Peace On Earth / Little Drummer Boy' (1982)
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David Gilmour playing guitar on Paul McCartney's 'No More Lonely Nights' (1984).

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Keith Moon singing background vocals on the Beatles' 'All You Need Is Love' (1967).

Roy Harper singing lead vocals on Pink Floyd's 'Have A Cigar' 91975).

Jimmy Page's guitar solo on the Kink's 'You Really Got Me' (1964).

U2 performing on Robbie Robertson's 'Sweet Fire Of Love' (1987).

k.d. lang singing with Roy Orbison on 'Crying' (1984).

George Harrison playing rhythm guitar on Cream's 'Badge' (1968).

Rock Bands Named After A Group Member

Van Halen: Formed in 1974, named after Dutch born brothers Edward (Guitar) and Alex (Drums).

Bon Jovi: Named After lead Singer Jon Bon Jovi (real name John Bongiovi).

J. Geils Band: J. Geils (real first name John) is the guitarist for the band.

Montrose: Guitarist Ronnie Montrose formed the group in 1973 with Sammy Hagar as lead singer. This means Hagar fronted two bands named after guitarists.

Manfred Mann: The name of the group and their South African born keyboard player. Later name changed to Manfred Mann Earth Band.

Alice Cooper: Stage name of Vincent Furnier was also originally the name of the band. Cooper didn't go solo until 1975's "Welcome To My Nightmare".

Alan Parsons Project: Parsons worked as an engineer at Abbey Road Studios on both "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and  "Dark Side Of The Moon". Formed the Alan Parsons Project in the mid seventies.

Spencer Davis Group: Spencer Davis was the group's guitarist but it was keyboardist and vocalist Stevie Winwood who would go on the be the star.

Other Groups Named After A Member: Winger, Slaughter, Dave Clark Five, Fleetwood Mac, Santana, Cool And The Gang, Mumford & Sons.

Famous Rock & Roll Brothers

A list that proves nepotism can make for some great rock & roll.

Oasis: Noel Gallagher (Guitar), Liam Gallagher (Vocals). The Gallagher brothers are almost as famous for not getting along as they are for their music.

ACDC: Angus Young (Guitar), Malcolm Young (Guitar). Back In Black (1980) is one of the biggest selling albums of all time.

Van Halen: Edward Van Halen (Guitar), Alex Van Halen (Drums). One of the biggest selling American music artists of all time.

The Kinks: Ray Davies (Vocals, Guitar), Dave Davies (Guitar). Had top ten hits with "You Really Got Me" and "All Day And Into The Night".

 Allman Brother Band: Duane Allman (Guitar), Gregg Allman (Vocals, Keyboards). Considered one of rock's greatest guitarists, Duane died in a motorcycle accident in 1971 at the age of 24.

Black Crowes: Chris Robinson (Vocals), Rich Robinson (Guitar). Had multi-platinum success with the albums "Shake Your Moneymaker" and "Southern Harmony And Musical Companion".

Beach Boys: Brian Wilson (Vocals, Bass), Carl Wilson (Vocals, Guitar), Dennis Wilson (Drums). Had number one hits with "I Get Around" (64), "Help Me Rhonda" (65) and "Good Vibrations" (66).

Creedance Clearwater Revival: John Fogerty (Vocals, Guitar), Tom Fogerty (Guitar). Biggest hit album was "Cosmo's Factory" (1970).

10 Facts About Edward Van Halen

1. Born In Holland (January 26th, 1955)

2. Named his son Wolfgang after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

3. Played the guitar solo on Michael Jackson's Beat It, off the album Thriller (1982).

4. Fans named Eddie's famous red, white and black stripped guitar "Franken-Strat" because he had rebuilt it so many times.

5. Edward's middle name is Lodewijk, after Ludwig Van Beethoven.

6. According to Gene Simmons, Eddie tried to join Kiss in 1982 as a replacement for Ace Frehley.


7. Was married to actress Valerie Bertinelli.

8. Appeared on the TV show "Two And A Half Men" (2009).

9. Had hip replacement surgery in 1999.

10. His father, Jan Van Halen, plays clarinet on the song Big Bad Bill, off the album Diver Down (1982).

Best Michael Jackson Songs

Superstar Michael Jackson had many hit songs (13 number ones on Billboard singles chart) these are possibly his biggest and most defining:

1. Beat It (1982): With it's sizzling Eddie Van Halen guitar solo, this track helped Jackson cross over from R&B to mainstream rock / pop. The video features Michael in his iconic red leather jacket.

2. Billie Jean (1982): Michael mania really takes off with this track, the second single off the Thriller and the album's first number one.

3. Thriller (1982): The video was directed by John Landis (An American Werewolf In London, Coming To America) and featured monster make up by Rick Baker (also An American Werewolf In London). Horror actor Vincent Price makes a guest appearance on the single.

4. Smooth Criminal (1987): The seventh single off the album Bad. It was also featured in the movie Moonwalker (1988).

5. Say Say Say (1983): The first single off the Thriller was the duet with Paul McCartney The Girl Is Mine. The follow up collaboration between the two was Say Say Say, released off Paul's Pipes Of Peace Album.

6. Bad (1987): The title track off Michael's long awaited follow up album to Thriller. The video was directed by Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull).

7. Black Or White (1991): The first single off Dangerous. The video was also directed by John Landis, and co stars Macaulay Culkin and George Wendt (Norm from TV's Cheers).

8. Rock With You (1979): From the album Off The Wall

9. Man In The Mirror (1987): One of Jackson's most emotional songs. This song was co written by Siedah Garrett, who also duets with him on I Just Can't Stop Loving You. The video is very powerful to watch and features many famous people including Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Gandhi and John Lennon.

10. Don't Stop Til You Get Enough (1979): The first single from the album Off The Wall and Michael's first Number one since Ben (1972).

Great Songs About Cars

Little Deuce Coupe - The Beach Boys (1963): This song was originally released as the B-side to Surfer Girl. It is one of many tracks about cars that the band recorded; Fun Fun Fun, Little Honda, 409 etc.

Low Rider - War (1974): Released off the Why Can't We Be Friends album, this track reached #7 on the billboard singles chart. Over the years it has been featured on many films and TV shows including both The Simpsons and Family Guy.



I'm In Love With My Car - Queen (1975): This song is written and song by drummer Roger Taylor. Along with Radio Ga Ga, it is his most famous recording with the band.

Long May You Run - The Stills Young Band (1976): Neil Young wrote this song about his Buick Roadmaster Hearse. He performed the song during the closing ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Mercury Blues - David Lindley (1981): A cover of a song written in 1949, there are many versions but David Lindley's is the most famous.

Red Barchetta - Rush (1981): This song from the Moving Pictures album is about a boy and his uncle restoring an "illegal" motor car and outracing the authorities, who are in flying cars (I'd rather have a flying car). Barchetta is an Italian word for a two seater convertible.

Little Red Corvette - Prince (1983): This track from the album 1999 is actually about a woman, not a car. Prince feels it's the woman who's "...movin' much too fast".

Panama - Van Halen (1984): Panama is the nickname of David Lee Roth's car. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen would record music onto a cassette, give it to Dave, and Dave would have someone chauffeur him around L.A. playing the cassette while he wrote lyrics.

Pink Cadillac - Bruce Springsteen (1984): Originally released in 1984 as the B-side to the single Dancing In The Dark. A few years later Natalie Cole would score a hit with her version. It was also the title of a Clint Eastwood film.

Dragula - Rob Zombie (1998): Dragula is the name of the car from the TV show The Munsters.

Van Halen Quotes

David Lee Roth: "What's rock & roll without a little drama? A little mix it up?"

Edward Van Halen: "We're musicians. We make music for a living. It's that simple. Nothing else matters."

Michael Anthony: "I'm not a rockstar, I'm a bass player."

David Lee Roth: "I don't do well with support. I do better with abuse."




Sammy Hagar: "I had a solo career before Van Halen. My fan base filtered through Van Halen with me and came right on out the other side with me."

Alex Van Halen: "The Beatles will never get back together and David Lee Roth will never again sing with Van Halen."

Gary Cherone: "Dave thought he was bigger than Van Halen the band. So there was this catfight going on for ten years."

Edward Van Halen: "I never took guitar lessons. I took classical piano lessons from the age of six when we lived in Holland."

Sammy Hagar: "When they brought Roth back into the picture, obviously I didn't go along with that too well."

Alex Van Halen: "Whatever our personal differences are, there are no bigger fans of this band than the people who are in this band."

David Lee Roth: "I look at heavy metal music, Van Halen's brand of heavy metal music rather, as a combination of religion and hockey."
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