Portraits in Rock n Roll Badassery:Ringo Starr

Classic Axes: Jimi Hendrix's Stratocaster

 In his short lifetime, Jimi Hendrix was able to singlehandedly change the sound of rock through his innovative guitar style and inexplicable raw talent. An intense performer, Hendrix was known to “sacrifice” his guitars by lighting them on fire. Fortunately, the 1968
Stratocaster he played during his legendary rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock was spared this fiery fate


After Jimi’s death in 1970, the guitar was put into storage until it was sold at auction to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for $1.3 million.

Classic Axes: Keith Richards' Micawber

   Supposedly named after a character in Charles Dickens’ book David Copperfield, Micawber has been Keith’s main guitar since Exile on Main Street. Of course, when asked about the meaning behind the uncommon name,  Keith coyly says: "There's no reason for my guitar being called Micawber, apart from the fact that it's such an unlikely name. When I scream for Micawber everyone knows what I'm talking about." 
   The 1952 butterscotch Fender Telecaster is kept in the Human Riff’s trademark open G tuning, so it’s always ready to tear through such classics as "Before They Make Me Run,” "Brown Sugar", and "Honky Tonk Women.”

 

Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks teaming up for concert tour

The pair made their announcement and performed on an episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." This concert will feature both artists focusing on the biggest hits from their careers, according to a spokeswoman for Live Nation, the tour's promoter.

Classic Axes: Stevie Ray Vaughn's Lenny

In 1980, Vaughan caught sight of a used Stratocaster in an Austin pawnshop, which cost $350. Vaughan couldn't afford it, so his wife, Lenny, found seven people with $50 and bought the guitar. She presented it to him for his birthday before performing at a club, Steamboat Springs, in Austin. He named the guitar "Lenny”.

Lenny was a 1965 maple-neck Fender Strat with a rosewood fingerboard. It originally had a three-color sunburst finish, though it was sanded down and refinished with a mahogany stain, giving the guitar a smoother, softer contoured body. Lenny also had a mandolin pickguard from the early 1900s inlaid into the body under the bridge. In late 1981, Vaughan received a one-piece Charvel maple neck from ZZ Top member Billy Gibbons.  He installed the neck with non-stock screws, with one going under the fingerboard and also scratched "Stevie Ray Vaughan '80" on the neckplate. Baseball legend Mickey Mantle even autographed the back of the guitar when Vaughan played "The Star Spangled Banner” at the Houston Astordome in 1985. In 1989, Vaughan added "SRV" stickers found at a truck stop.  In 2004, Lenny was sold to Guitar Center for $623,500 at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Auction.

Classic Axes:Brian May's Red Special

 

While still attending school, Brian May built himself a guitar, which he refers to as “The Red Special”. The guitar was built from an 18th century fireplace. 

May not only continues to use that unique guitar, but uses it in an equally unusual way. Instead of a standard guitar pick, Brian prefers to use coins, especially a sixpence. He says that their rigidity gives him more control in his playing.

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Pixies by Adan Chance