Max Bell

Late guitar innovator Jeff Beck lived rock'n'roll history - but was much more interested in the future

The story behind Tom Petty’s classic 1979 album Damn The Torpedoes and its follow-up Hard Promises

Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells A Story arrived by accident, was rescued by some last-minute songs, a fat slice of luck and a dozen hard-drinking hombres – and helped launch Rod Stewart’s solo career

When Rory Gallagher passed away it was widely reported that his former drummer, Rod de'Ath, had died years earlier. Only thing was, he hadn't

In 1978, The Grateful Dead and their entourage landed in Egypt for three gigs at the Pyramids of Giza. This is what happened

Joe Cocker was the unlikely Sheffield superstar loved by The Beatles – but drink, drugs and debauchery almost sent him over the edge

"My last memory was of Bonham’s hairy backside disappearing, illuminated by a spotlight"

There was a time when all rock and pop roads led to London; you couldn't move without tripping over an icon or a star. Those days are long gone

Country, rock’n’roll, a whole lot of attitude – Jason And The Scorchers were destined to be huge, but they were their own worst enemies

Late New Orleans legend Dr John on that time he drank a case of Blue Nun with Frankie Miller, and other stories

Rock's grumpy old man Steve Miller on fame, the Grateful Dead, and why kids should think twice about becoming rock stars

Growing tired of the tensions in CSN&Y, Stephen Stills moved to the UK to record his debut album, with a little help from Jimi, Ringo and Eric

With hits like Mony Mony and Crimson And Clover, Tommy James should have had the time of his life. Instead, he found himself robbed and threatened by the Mafia

Eric Clapton loved him and Mark Knopfler borrowed his style, but singer and guitarist JJ Cale never had the success to match his massive influence

The unlikely story of psychedelic pioneer and folk swing vaudevillian Dan Hicks

"We were like four students living on top of one another, surrounded by filthy crockery and unmade beds" - Steve Winwood on Traffic's early experiments with communal living

The Doors' Robby Krieger reveals how he came to write Love Her Madly, how Jim Morrison loved it, and how their producer didn't

Famously, Dennis Wilson was the only member of the Beach Boys who surfed - but on land, his life was chaos

With a classic funk-rock sound, the rise of rock'n'roll cowboys the James Gang looked unstoppable, inspired by a real kick-ass guitarist who would both make and break the band

From boozy beat poet to avant garde conductor of the 'Junkyard Orchestra', a guide to Tom Waits' best albums and the work of a musical maverick

In 1976, punk was on the verge of exploding. But rock was far from done – and Bad Company were making a stand with Run With The Pack

Jim Croce's finest moment was poignant and heartbreaking: Tragedy meant he never enjoyed its eventual success

Roy Wood, Trevor Burton and Bev Bevan look back at The Move, the psychedelic pioneers who paved the way for the Electric Light Orchestra

The Grateful Dead's best albums are a kaleidoscopic, loose-limbed, ever-adventurous alchemy of psychedelia, country, folk and blues

Little Feat look back on "the Orson Welles of rock", Lowell George