Forgotten Heroes

Forgotten Heroes: R.L. Burnside

April 3, 2017

Ted Drozdowski

How a cotton-chopping farmer and guitar-slamming badass brought the Mississippi hill country sound to the world.

Forgotten Heroes: D. Boon

January 10, 2017

The visionary Minutemen guitarist shattered the rock 'n’ roll rulebook, and in the process created a punk-fueled legacy of scaldingly eccentric music.

Forgotten Heroes: Sonny Sharrock’s Footprints on the Moon

August 30, 2016

Ted Drozdowski

How the father of free-jazz guitar fought for his uncompromising musical vision—and changed the landscape of improvisation.

Forgotten Heroes: East Bay Ray

July 7, 2016

The Dead Kennedys guitar guru talks about recording his trademark clean tones, writing classic songs, making amps sing onstage, and the DIY lessons of a career in punk.

Forgotten Heroes: Reggie Young

June 2, 2016

On working with Elvis, opening for the Beatles, and playing with the cream of the crop as a session ace in Memphis and Nashville.

Forgotten Heroes: Robert "Kool" Bell

December 29, 2015

Joe Bosso

The funk bass legend and coleader of Kool & the Gang talks about developing his low-down sound and his secrets for riding the tide of music history for 50 years.

Forgotten Heroes: Pete Cosey

November 19, 2015

A look at the life and legacy of the guitarist Miles Davis recruited in the mid ’70s when he wanted virtuosic playing on par with Hendrix and Muddy Waters.

Forgotten Heroes: Denny Walley

August 18, 2015

While playing with Zappa and Beefheart, this blues guitarist pushed the limits of traditional form within avant-garde rock.

Forgotten Heroes: Pops Staples

June 23, 2015

The gospel guitarist who took his tremolo-shaken country blues from Sunday mass to the masses.

Forgotten Heroes: Hillel Slovak

March 17, 2015

The first guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers helped pioneer a punk-funk-rock movement in ’80s L.A.

Forgotten Hero: Ollie Halsall

November 20, 2014

The rise and fall of one of the most original guitar players to emerge from the 1960s British Invasion.

Forgotten Heroes: Curtis Mayfield

October 6, 2014

Explore the life, music, and legacy of the ’60s soul and funk pioneer.

Forgotten Heroes: Emily Remler

July 29, 2014

A nice New Jersey girl changed jazz guitar forever by getting so good that people had to listen to her unleash her inner Wes Montgomery.

Forgotten Heroes: Bruce Langhorne

June 9, 2014

You may not know his name, but “Mr. Tambourine Man” helped pioneer ’60s folk-rock with his amplified Martin flattop.

Staff Picks: Unsung Heroes

April 27, 2014

Premier Guitar Staff

Traffic’s Dave Mason joins PG editors and our Reader of the Month in celebrating our forgotten heroes—masterful players who’ve impacted the course of guitar history but perhaps never got their dues.

Forgotten Heroes: Paul Kossoff

December 6, 2013

The life and techniques of Free’s legendary lead guitarist told through anecdotes from friends and fans, including Paul Rodgers and Joe Bonamassa.

Forgotten Heroes: Ted Greene

September 26, 2013

The life and legacy of one of the most brilliant and influential guitar instructors who ever lived.

Forgotten Heroes: Terry Kath

May 11, 2013

A founding member of Chicago—one of the first rock bands to incorporate a horn section—Kath helped forge a path for this band that included eight platinum albums in as many years.

Forgotten Heroes: Big Jim Sullivan

January 9, 2013