He is a virtuoso, gifted and brilliant guitarist, he is also a guitar teacher who has taught great and famous guitarists like Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett (Metallica), and Alex Shkolnik (Testament), Larry Lalonda (Primus), and more.
He is also a member of the supergroup "Chickenfoot", briefly replaced Blackmore in "Deep Purple" and was the founder of the "G3" as part of the hosted the spearhead of the world's guitarists, such as: Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert, Michael Schenker, Steve Morse and more.
He's the best-selling instrumental artist in the world. Up until today, he released 17 studio albums (as a solo artist) and we have not started talking about dozens of collaborations with artists like Mick Jagger, Ian Gillan, Brian May, Alice Cooper, "Blue Öyster Cult", "Crowded House", "Steve Miller Band" and more, and he has won quite a few awards and titles.
This very special man is called Joe Satriani and he's celebrating his birthday today, so let's honor him with 30 interesting facts!
(Photo: Theo Wargo)
1. He was born in Long Island New York on July 15, 1956, as Joseph Satriani.
2. He played drums from age 9 to age 11.
3. At the age of 14 he was inspired by the death of Jimi Hendrix and started playing guitar.
4. As a child he attended the same school as Steve Vai on Long Island.
5. He was influenced by guitarists Brian May, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, and Jeff Beck, among others.
6. His first guitar was the "Hagstrom" electric.
7. Since 1988 he has only played his Ibanez's JS Series signature guitar.
8. In 1974 he began to study music professionally, among others from jazz guitarist Billy Bauer and blind jazz pianist Lennie Tristano.
9. In 1978 he moved to Berkeley California and began teaching guitar. His students include Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett, Alex Skolnick, and more.
10. One of his first bands was "Squares" from San Francisco. He later moved on to the Greg Kihn Band.
11. With the money he earned from the performances he financed the recording of his first solo album.
12. Steve Vai returned him a double favor. He connected him to the record company "Relativity Records" with which he recorded his first album "Not Of This Earth" from 1986, and also introduced him to the Ibanez guitars. Joe played one specially made for Vai, got excited, and has been with the company's guitars ever since.
13. Did you know that Satriani also sings? In 1986 he sang background vocals on the "Crowded House" debut album.
14. It gave him the courage to sing on his solo albums as well. The first album he did so was 1989's "Flying in a Blue Dream".
15. In 1988 Satriani helped produce "The Eyes of Horror" - an EP of the death metal band "Possessed".
16. In the same year he participated in the album "Imaginos" by Blue Öyster Cult.
17. 1988 was a busy year for Satriani who was recruited by none other than Mick Jagger to accompany him on his first tour as a solo artist.
18. In 1991 he played on Alice Cooper's album "Hey Stoopid".
19. In the same year he won the title of "Outstanding Guitarist" in "BAM Magazine" music awards.
20 years later he played on "Spinal Tap's" "Break Like the Wind" album.
21. In 1993 he briefly joined "Deep Purple" as a replacement for Ritchie Blackmore who left the band.
22. In 1996 he founded the "G3" show in which he hosts the top guitarists in the world.
23. In 2004, Satriani contributed a guitar solo to keyboardist Jordan Rudess's "Rhythm of Time" album.
24. In 2006 he played on Ian Gillan's solo album "Gillan's Inn".
25. In 2007 he was one of the artists who contributed their voice to the speech segment in the song "Repentance" from the album "Systematic Chaos" by the band "Dream Theater".
26. In 2008 he filed a lawsuit against "Coldplay" claiming that the song 'Viva la Vida" "borrowed" elements taken from his 2004 album - "Is There Love in Space?". The parties reached a compromise outside the walls of the court when Satriani received payment for the same "question".
27. That same year he formed the supergroup "Chickenfoot" with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of "Van Halen" and Chad Smith of the "Red Hot Chili Peppers".
28. The band has released two studio albums, with Satriani writing most of the material.
29. In 2015 he was awarded with the “Maestro” title from the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame".
30. He is ranked fourth in the world in Grammy nominations without having won even once.
And now in it, we will listen to his latest album released in 2022: Click Here.