Alan Paul

Alan Paul

Alan Paul is the author of three books, Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Vaughan, One Way Way Out: The Inside Story of the Allman Brothers Band – which were both New  York Times bestsellers – and Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues and Becoming a Star in Beijing, a memoir about raising a family in Beijing and forming a Chinese blues band that toured the nation. He’s been associated with Guitar World for 30 years, serving as Managing Editor from 1991-96. He plays in two bands: Big in China and Friends of the Brothers, with Guitar World’s Andy Aledort.

Articles by: Alan Paul

Robbie Robertson

“His solos and fills always captured the mood, emotions and significance of the songs. They were never just good licks”: Robbie Robertson’s 10 greatest guitar tracks

By Alan Paul published

With a little help from Warren Haynes, GW sifts through the late Band legend’s discography for the ultimate Robertson guitar playlist

Robbie Robertson and Bob Dylan

“Playing with Bob Dylan was like entering The Twilight Zone of music. You thought, ‘They’re going to wake me up tomorrow because all of this is impossible’”: Robbie Robertson reflects on his remarkable career and the end of the Band

By Alan Paul published

In his final Guitar World interview, the late guitar legend shares his earliest guitar influences, what it was like to get booed onstage with Dylan and why the Band’s final days were so heartbreaking

Gary Rossington

How Gary Rossington played through the pain to define the quintessential Southern rock sound with Lynyrd Skynyrd

By Alan Paul published

We pay tribute to the ultimate survivor, who broke every bone in his body and still kept the music going with a style that inspired generations of players

Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd performs at Shoreline Amphitheatre on August 31, 1991 in Mountain View, California.

Gary Rossington recalls the making of 10 landmark Lynyrd Skynyrd tracks: “The more wild experiences you have the better songs you can write”

By Alan Paul published

In this classic interview, the late Southern rock icon discusses Ronnie Van Zant's habit of writing lyrics in the shower, how Sweet Home Alabama started as a joke and why the band's record label begged them not to include Free Bird on their debut album

Steve Miller and T-Bone Walker

Steve Miller explains how he ended up getting guitar lessons from T-Bone Walker

By Alan Paul published

Aged nine, T-Bone Walker gave Steve Miller lessons. Crazier still, Les Paul taught him his first chords. Here Miller tells the story... And it involves Chuck Berry, too

Bob Weir

Bob Weir: “I’ve pretty much abandoned signal processing. The guitar itself has such variety to offer and it’s so much more elemental”

By Alan Paul published

Bob Weir and company take classic Grateful Dead songs to bold new places on Live in Colorado, his first live album with the Wolf Bros. Also up for discussion? How he and Jerry Garcia dealt with stage fright

Bonnie Raitt performs on stage at Barclaycard present British Summer Time Hyde Park at Hyde Park on July 15, 2018 in London, England.

Bonnie Raitt: “I didn't see anybody play slide, so I just figured it out in my room – and I put the bottleneck on the wrong finger!”

By Alan Paul published

The blues-rock master takes us inside her bold new album, Just Like That…, and charts her never-ending journey through the world of slide guitar

Billy Strings

Billy Strings: “There was a guitar hanging on the wall with a light shining down on it, like light from heaven – and I needed that guitar”

By Alan Paul published

It turns out one of the world’s hottest young bluegrass pickers knows his way around a Slayer song

Warren Haynes

Warren Haynes: “I go into a project hoping to do no overdubs. It rarely works out like that, but I feel like all my best parts are when I’m playing live with the band”

By Alan Paul published

Believe it or not, Gov’t Mule’s latest album, Heavy Load Blues, is Warren Haynes’ first foray into full-on blues – and it all happened while they were recording another album entirely

Charlie Starr

Blackberry Smoke's Charlie Starr: "Everybody wishes they could re-record their debut album – unless you're Led Zeppelin!"

By Alan Paul published

The venerable frontman/guitarist looks back on 20 years on the road – and the rhinestones-meets-rock ’n’ soul formula behind their seventh studio album, You Hear Georgia

James Taylor

James Taylor: “All music is reiteration... We just pick stuff up and use it again. I mean, there are just 12 notes”

By Alan Paul published

The fingerpicking maestro discusses auditioning for George Harrison and Paul McCartney as an unknown 20-year-old – and working with jazz master John Pizzarelli on his latest release

Billy Gibbons

Billy F. Gibbons: “We let off steam by letting it rock... Hardware is a raging rocker but always mindful of the desert’s implicit mystery”

By Alan Paul published

Why the ZZ Top legend headed to the California High Desert to seek rock ’n’ roll inspiration

Tedeschi Trucks Band

Derek Trucks on how Tedeschi Trucks Band partnered with Trey Anastasio to perform Derek and the Dominos' Layla in its entirety

By Alan Paul published

“Being slightly unsure of how Trey worked, I learned all the guitar parts myself… When we got to the first rehearsal, it turned out Trey had done the same thing!”

Billy Gibbons, Joe Bonamassa, Nita Strauss, Tom Morello

16 pro guitarists name the live shows that changed their lives

By Joe Bosso, Alan Paul published

Featuring Billy Gibbons, Joe Bonamassa, Nita Strauss, Tom Morello and many more...

allman betts band

Allman Betts Band: “We're totally focused on marching forward and continuing our own body of work just like our fathers did“

By Alan Paul published

Devon Allman, Duane Betts and Berry Oakley Jr. prove to be more than chips off the old block

Meet Thomas Tull - the billionaire movie mogul, Slash collaborator and guitar aficionado

By Alan Paul published

"I’m well aware that I’m one of the luckiest people walking the planet," says the businessman and Ghost Hounds guitarist

“It was like watching a Polaroid develop": An oral history of Stevie Ray Vaughan's earliest days on the road

By Alan Paul, Andy Aledort published

Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, Vaughan's former bandmates and more recall the development of one of the greatest guitarists of all time

Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram: “I can’t be the kid wonder forever”

By Alan Paul published

Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram is the future of the blues. Here, he discusses his fiery debut album

The Allman Betts Band: "This is really about our chapter, and we’re still writing it"

By Alan Paul published

Devon Allman, Duane Betts and Johnny Stachela discuss how they carry the Allman Brothers torch, while forging their own impressive sonic path

Blues-Rock Guitar Powerhouse JD Simo Talks New Album, 'Off at 11'

By Alan Paul published

'Off at 11' is another step toward the 34-year-old Chicago native establishing himself as a contemporary blues rock giant.

How Tedeschi Trucks Band's Triumphant New Album, 'Signs,' Was Shaped by Sadness and Grief

By Alan Paul published

"I think people are really craving to hear someone swinging for the fences."

The Genius and Vision of Guitarist Shawn Lane

By Alan Paul published

"There is a lot of fretboard pornography—a focus on how fast Shawn could play. Of course he did and it was fantastic but what made it fantastic is what he played.”

John McLaughlin and Jimmy Herring Talk New Album, 'Live in San Francisco'

By Alan Paul published

“It was just wonderful, a real joy." Two fusion guitar legends discuss their new live album with GW.

Blues-Rockin' Phenom Marcus King Talks New Album, 'Carolina Confessions'

By Alan Paul published

At 22, Marcus King is already one of the most compelling blues-based guitarists around. Here, he discusses his brilliant new album with GW.

Scott Sharrard, Gregg Allman's Longtime Guitarist, Talks New Album, 'Saving Grace'

By Alan Paul published

Scott Sharrard, longtime musical right-hand-man of Gregg Allman, discusses his powerful new album.

Other versions of this page are available with specific content for the following regions: