Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce had reportedly just come back from seeing Jimi Hendrix perform in London, when they set about crafting this riff-driven classic. “The way the song happened was the riff came first,” Bruce told Ultimate Guitar. “I just played the riff on the double bass. And then I knew that that had to become a song, but it took a while. Eric came up with the turnaround part. So…

“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” The Rolling Stones
As Keith Richards, the riff’s writer, explained to NPR, “I go to bed as usual with my guitar, and I wake up the next morning, and I see that the tape is run to the very end. And I think, ‘Well, I didn’t do anything. Maybe I hit a button when I was asleep.’ So I put it back to the beginning and pushed play, and…

“You Really Got Me,” The Kinks
“There was this record my brother Ray and I liked by Jimmy Giuffre, called ‘The Train and the River,’ which went ba-ba ba-ba,” Dave Davies told The Guardian. “Ray was messing around on the piano in the front room at home, inspired by this song, and came up with the two-note riff, which I played on guitar. When ‘You Really Got Me’ came out, it was so different. I…

The Slash Anaconda Burst Strikes!

The Gibson Custom Shop unleashes the raucous, reptilian-green replica of the Les Paul wielded by the legendary Slash on one of the highest-grossing tours in world history. Guns n’ Roses’ Not In This Lifetime tour has thus far earned over $230 million. Welcome to The Ltd Run Six-String Custom Shop Jungle:  25 signed flame top, 25 signed plain top, and 250 unsigned plain top Anacondas currently…

George Harrison Rosewood Telecaster

To honor George Harrison’s venerable career, Fender has created the George Harrison Rosewood Telecaster, a limited-edition commemoration that embodies Harrison’s elegantly restrained playing style and sound. Based on the original Telecaster created for Harrison by luthier Roger Rossmeisl, this model remains true to its heritage with a classic look and the unique tone only an all-rosewood guitar can produce. The body is chambered for reduced weight and increased…