Brian Setzer
Latest about Brian Setzer

Meet 30 players who tapped, twanged, sweep-picked and shredded the 1980s to its greatest glory
By GP Editors last updated
From Eddie Van Halen and Stevie Ray Vaughan to Daniel Ash and Jamie West-Oram, we present the decades' greatest players across the genres

Rockabilly legend Brian Setzer reveals auto-immune disease prevents him from playing guitar
By Christopher Scapelliti last updated
Setzer said the effects of his illness became apparent during the Stray Cats' 2024 summer tour, the group's first road stint in five years

Brian Setzer played Eddie Cochran's guitar just as he left it in 1960: "He was way ahead of his time with how he strung it."
By Mark McStea last updated
Today is Eddie Cochran’s birthday. We asked Setzer what made the '50s guitar icon such an innovator. Here's what he told us

That time forgotten rockabilly guitar hero Cordell Jackson dueled with Brian Setzer – in a Budweiser commercial
By Jackson Maxwell published
The ad was a rare moment in the spotlight for Jackson, a trailblazing Mississippi native who amused audiences with her grandmotherly appearance before leaving them slack-jawed with her raw, overdriven playing

“I was 17 years old and found it in this local paper. It said, ‘Gretsch guitar, 100 bucks.’ I called the guy up and asked, ‘Is it like Eddie Cochran’s?’ He was like, ‘Who?’”: How Brian Setzer forged his trademark twanging tone
By Jackson Maxwell published
The rockabilly legend attributes landing on his guitar and amp of choice at a young age mainly to “destiny”

"I wrote a few songs with Joe Strummer. I don't know if they'll ever see the light of day. I like to think that I guard Joe…" Brian Setzer opens up on old friends, new music – and shows us his gear
By Gary Graff published
Brian Setzer made rockabilly cool again and revitalised the big band sound in the era of grunge. With a blazing new album, The Devil Always Collects, he opens up on his creative processes and shows us some of his amazing guitars

“The Sound Is Monstrous, Dirty and Twangy”: Watch Brian Setzer’s “Girl on the Billboard” Music Video Featuring the Quintessential Rock and Roll Tone of a 1957 Gretsch Jet Fire Bird
By Rod Brakes published
Video This tremolo-drenched single appears ahead of Setzer's new solo album, ‘The Devil Always Collects’

Watch Stray Cats Reignite ‘50s Rock and Roll at the 1981 Montreux Jazz Festival With Their Classic Hit “Stray Cat Strut”
By Christopher Scapelliti published
Video Brian Setzer reinvigorated the art of virtuoso rock and roll guitar playing and raised the bar for every guitarist who dug a plectrum into rock and roll’s classic catalog
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