Rufus Publications has joined forces with Brad Whitford for an all-new book, which will take a deep-dive into the life and career of the iconic Aerosmith electric guitar player.
Titled Listen To Whitford and compiled by esteemed music photographer Ross Halfin, the 300-plus-page piece contains an abundance of photos and features taken from Halfin’s own personal collection, comprising unseen snaps of the band live and behind the scenes.
Each copy in the 500-book run, due to go up for pre-order tomorrow (September 2), will be personally signed by both Whitford and Halfin, and will feature an introduction from Metallica man Kirk Hammett.
“He’s a monster of a player,” writes Hammett, “and deserves every inch of credit that’s coming to him in his book, so yeah… check out his solos. Listen To Whitford, you’ll be surprised.”
Other literary contributions come in the form of forwards by Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro and Stone Temple Pilots’ Dean DeLeo.
After replacing Aerosmith’s original guitarist Ray Tabano in 1971, Whitford became a stalwart in the band’s lineup, helping them record all 15 of their studio albums.
It’s the most recent addition to the publishing house’s extensive library of guitar-related literary pieces – and the newest one authored by Halfin – following the recently released Randy Rhoads by Ross Haflin.
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Other titles available in Rufus’s catalog include the Peter Green-dedicated The Albatross Man, the Eddie Van Halen photo collection and a number of other works dedicated to AC/DC, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and many more.
Listen To Whitford will measure 240mm x 340mm, and will be designed, printed and bound in the United Kingdom.
The book will be available for £200, with pre-orders set to open on September 2 at 3pm BST (10am ET).
To find out more, visit Rufus Publications.
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Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
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