Anthony Taylor of Miami who gets Chop Shop Classic on Big 105.9 sen in this email:

“Can you please do a show about some of the 80s best and most overlooked guitarists. Vito Bratta (White Lion) and Derek Frigo (Enuff Z’nuff), Also can you please feature Steve Stevens.”

We do feature under-rated guitar players all the time, and Steve Stevens has been my guest on the show 3 times, but Miami is a fairly new affiliate, so Anthony had no way of knowing that. I am going to take that as an invitation to blog about 4 or 5 under-rated guitar players however.

If you get the time, check out Ronni Le Tekro and his band TNT. They are VERY 80s due to the high end vocals, but the music is melodic with a dash of prog. And Ronni is skilled beyond belief. The “Intuition” CD is a mast-have for guitar players.

Gary Moore is a big name in guitar circles but if you’re not familiar with all his work check out the “Back on the Streets” album with instrumental jazz fusion tracks like “Flight of the Snow Moose” and “What Would You Rather Bee or a Wasp”. Plus his guitar hero era stuff like “End of the World” and “Over the Hills and Far Away”, and then his blues stuff which he is most famous for.

Ty Tabor, and King’s X for that matter may be the most under-rated of them all. Ask musician after musician and they will all tell you that they should have been as big as the Beatles. They have everything. Brilliant songs, fun melodies, layered harmonies, diverse music styles and some of the finest guitar work the world has ever know.

Steve Lukather is another monster player, and he does get a lot of credit from his peers but he’s got Clapton, Beck and Brain May talent and most people will never know his name.

Also, I’ve been listening to some of my old Suicidal Tendencies stuff lately, so don’t forget Rocky George. The music is not very commercial, but Rocky is a clever, raw powered guitarist that made that band what it was….and by the way what was it?