With the Top Gun franchise fresh in mind, Stevens reveals how he came to play on the original film's theme, the gear he used, and how he structured his parts and the solo
(Image credit: Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
Top Gun: Maverick has been burning up the box office of late, and is already one of 2022's most successful films, less than a month after its release.
Last week, it was revealed that session ace and PRS endorsee Lexii Lynn Frazier was the player behind the film's goosebump-inducing electric guitar highlights. It was Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens, however, who lent his six-string talents to the soundtrack of the original Top Gun film, which was released way back in 1986.
With the Top Gun franchise fresh in mind then, Guitar Techniquesrecently asked Stevens about his experience recording the original's iconic Top Gun Anthem – how he came to play on it, the gear he used, and how he structured his parts and the solo.
Harold Faltermeyer - Top Gun Anthem (Official Audio) - YouTube
"The guitar used [on Top Gun Anthem] was a Charvel San Dimas that I had grown really fond of back then," Stevens told Guitar Techniques. "The amp is my ’68 Marshall plexi which is completely stock. I used a Boss GE7 pedal to push the gain a bit on the amp."
Stevens said that he first met the piece's composer, Harold Faltermeyer, when the latter was recruited to play on an Idol album.
"Harold Faltermeyer had come in to record keyboards for the third Billy Idol record, Whiplash Smile," Stevens said. "He was friends with our producer Keith Forsey. He then asked if I’d be interested in having a crack at recording guitars on the film’s theme after hours."
The song, Stevens says, "was completely composed by Harold. When I recorded my guitars I was able to track to a completed recording. I thought since the ending of the solo stayed on the same G chord for four bars climbing intervals, tapping those intervals on the open third string would be a great finale."
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Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.