In 2021, Brian May told Guitar Player he’d been inspired to develop his two-hand tapping chops after witnessing an unnamed electric guitar supremo use the expansive technique during a gig in Texas.
That anonymous virtuoso was again referenced by May in an interview with Classic Rock, and though he was never explicitly identified by the Queen guitarist, sources suggested that mystery virtuoso was Rocky Athas.
A Texan native, Athas cut his teeth jamming with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Johnson, and was reportedly admired by the likes of Billy Gibbons and the late Dimebag Darrell.
Well, it turns out it was Athas who inspired May to two-hand tap – and Athas recalled the exact moment it happened in an upcoming interview with Guitar World.
“When Guitar World published the Brian May interview that mentioned it last year, my phone blew up!” Athas says of May's initial revelation. “My friends… They all knew it was me.”
By the time Queen went to Dallas during their tour with Thin Lizzy in 1977, Athas and his band, Lightning, had already developed a reputation as one of the city’s hottest acts “for putting on an amazing live show”.
Lightning – who opened for The Kinks, Ritchie Blackmore, Alice Cooper and countless others – pulled out all the stops for their shows. Apparently, the drummer would do backflips at the end of the gig.
It was under these energetic circumstances that May witnessed the playing of Athas, who was evidently intent on bringing some six-string showmanship of his own to the table. That came in the form of two-hand tapping.
“The word was out, and we were happy to show off everything in our arsenal,” he continues. “Our reputation preceded us when Queen came to town in 1977 with Thin Lizzy.
“Brian came to Mother Blues [live music venue in Dallas] with the guys from Thin Lizzy, and at the end of our show, Brian walked up to me and said, 'Hey, I dig that thing you do with your right hand.'
“I was finger-tapping with my right hand. Then he says, 'I'm going to nick that from you.' I was cocky in those days and said to him, 'Go for it!'”
May did indeed “go for it”, and would introduce tapping into his technical repertoire, using it on songs such as It’s Late – another cut that May said actually inspired Eddie Van Halen’s tapping style.
According to Athas, he and May have not spoken since that night in 1977, but the blues supremo would like to cross paths again, if only just to reflect on the Mother Blues gig: “I would love to have a chat with him now if that could be arranged. I'd love to hear how he remembers that night.”
Keep your eyes peeled to GuitarWorld.com for the full interview with Rocky Athas.
