He’s played alongside Paul Kossoff, Mick Ralphs, Jimmy Page and Brian May. As he releases a new solo album, Paul Rodgers reflects on his charmed guitar life, his famous axe partners, and the stroke that nearly killed him.
BY KEN SHARP
As the lead singer of Free, Bad Company, and the Firm, Paul Rodgers is hailed as one of the greatest vocalists in music. He’s the singer’s singer, with fans that include Robert Plant, Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams and Chris Robinson, to name a few. Inspired by the likes of Otis Redding, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, Rodgers has put his rich and vibrant voice to use on timeless hits like “All Right Now,“ “Can’t Get Enough,” “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” “Shooting Star” and “Rock And Roll Fantasy.”
While his place in the pantheon of greatest vocalists of all time is assured, Rodgers is less celebrated for his accomplished and underrated guitar work. After all, he crafted the bruising riffs on “Rock Steady” from Bad Company’s self-titled 1974 debut, and played the exquisite acoustic guitar textures that frame “Seagull” and “Crazy Circles.” He also laid down the lead guitar on “Rock & Roll Fantasy,” the harmony lead solo on “Can’t Get Enough” and the solo on the Firm’s “Radioactive.” As with his singing, Rodgers’ guitar playing favors economy over flash, and swagger and soul over studied technique. Through the years, working alongside Paul Kossoff in Free, Mick Ralphs in Bad Company, Jimmy Page in the Firm and Brian May in Queen, Rodgers has partnered with his share of rock’s elite six-string slingers and can lend witness to their creative brilliance. Despite this, he remains modest about his guitar playing.
“Well, I have to be humble, because I’ve been in such amazing guitar company,” he tells Guitar Playerwhen we catch up with him. “When you look at the guitarists I have played or sang with — whether it’s Paul Kossoff or Jimmy Page, Mick Ralphs or Jeff Beck, Brian May or Neal Schon — they’re amazing people and amazing personalities.”
But the 74-year-old’s days as a rock and roller nearly came to an end a few years ago. He suffered a stroke in 2016. It was followed by 11 minor strokes and another major stroke in 2019 that left him unable to play guitar or sing. Surgery and therapy saved him, but as his wife, Cynthia Kereluk Rodgers explains [see page 68], it was ultimately the guitar that gave him back his spirit, not to mention a new release, Midnight Rose, his first new solo album of original material in almost 25 years. The record was
