CLASSIC CORNER
STEVE
VAI
NEIL
YOUNG
“Heartbreaker” by Led Zeppelin. I would
play that unaccompanied solo – do it for
about a day. He was bending the string at
the nut. Then I would hack when it was
really grinding because nobody could really
play that solo like Page. It was just a flurry
of notes. That was the biggest song for me.
That really inspired me to be a guitarist.
I used to bring my friends over to listen to
it. I knew what sound-on-sound recording
was and I thought that solo was overdubbed
with two guitars. I would say, “listen to
this. This is one guitar – one guy playing.”
And I thought I was lying. I thought he had
overdubbed it because it was just a flurry of
notes. When you listen to it now, with today’s
guitar standards, it sounds different. But still,
when that song comes on the radio – that or
“Black Dog,” there is no way I can carry on a
conversation with anybody. I’m still stunned.
Music is history. It is for everybody and
everybody has their own favorites. There’s
a song called “Bop-a-Lena” by Ronnie Self
(1958) that was pretty radical. When I first
heard that I went, “Oh my God. That is the
most rock & roll thing I’ve ever heard. I have
to do that.”
AUG/SEPT
2
DIGITAL EDITION
3
21