Although he is known as a Progressive Rock musician, his playing influenced musicians from other genres like Eddie Van Halen.
He may not be as famous as his bandmates from "Genesis", but he is the most prolific of them all, continuing to release great albums to this day.
He has Jewish roots and has collaborated with so many artists, even the Israeli "Orphaned Land".
Ladies and gentlemen, let's get to know one of our favorite guitarists Steve Hackett:
(Photo: Tina Korhonen)
1. He was born on 12 February 1950 as Stephen Richard Hackett, in London England. He has Jewish roots on his mother's side.
2. He was born one day before Peter Gabriel - his friend from "Genesis".
3. His younger brother John Hackett is a flutist who has participated in his solo albums.
4. In his youth, Hackett learned to play the harmonica and flute.
5. At the age of 12 he began teaching himself to play the guitar.
6. The early musical influences on him were on the one hand from Classical music and Opera and on the other hand artists like Peter Green, John John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers ", Jimi Hendrix, and "The Beatles".
7. Between the years 1968-1970 Hackett played in three different bands, with one of them - "Canterbury Glass", he even recorded an album in 1968.
8. In 1970 he moved to the band "Quiet World", where his younger brother John Hackett also played the flute. The band released the concept album "The Road" that same year.
9. Hackett left "Quiet World" that year and published an ad in the melodic newspaper, in which he stated that he was looking for a band. The ad was answered by Peter Gabriel who was just looking for a replacement for guitarist Anthony Phillips along with members of the band "Genesis".
(Photo: Dennis Stone—Express)
10. Gabriel advised Hackett to listen to the album "Trespass" which was released exactly that year, before the audition.
11. Hackett of course passed the audition and his first appearance with Genesis was on January 24, 1971.
12. Immediately upon joining the band, Hackett helped the band to shape its sound, thanks in part to his very unique playing style. In addition, Hackett was the one that advised the band members to make use of the mellotron instrument.
13. The first album he recorded with Genesis was "Nursery Cryme" from 1971, which included several notable solos, including the one in the song "The Musical Box" (starting at 4:10).
14. Contrary to popular belief Hackett was the one that used the "Tapping" guitar technique and not Eddie Van Halen. Hackett was told by Eddie Van Halen himself that he was at a "Genesis" show in the early 1970s, where he learned the technique from him.
15. In 1972 he released "Foxtrot" together with "Genesis", in which beyond the usual writing partnership, he demonstrated his abilities in composing and performing the classic piece "Horizons".
16. In 1973 he was a part of writing and playing in the masterpiece album "Selling England By The Pound", in which he used the tapping technique as well as the "Sweep Picking" technique in the song "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight". The sweep-picking technique will be famous years later, among others, by guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen.
17. This album also features one of Hackett's great solos and probably also one of the great moments of his career, the immortal guitar solo in the song "Firth of Fifth", which proved that Hackett is far beyond his incredible technique, he has so much emotion in playing.
18. During the recordings of the double album "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" in 1974, Hackett went through a divorce proceeding.
19. After Peter Gabriel left "Genesis" and everyone thought that the band was not going to survive, he released his first and excellent solo album "Voyage of the Acolyte". The album also featured his "Genesis" friends Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford as well as Sally Oldfield, sister of ...
20. Hackett also participated in first two Collins era Genesis' albums - "A Trick of the Tail" from 1976 and "Wind & Wuthering" from 1977. But then he felt he was not exhausting all his abilities and that not enough ideas and songs he was bringing to the band are reflected in the final product, so he decided to leave.
21. The last release of Hackett with "Genesis" will be an EP called "Spot the Pigeon", which was released in 1977 and included three songs that were originally written for the album "Wind & Wuthering" but were left out.
22. After the end of the tour that accompanied the album "Wind & Wuthering", while in the mixing stages of the live album "Seconds Out", Hackett left Genesis claiming that he needed more creative freedom.
23. His first solo al m after "Genesis" - "Please Don't Touch!", was released in 1978. This album featured among others vocals from Steve Walsh known from "Kansas".
24. In 1986, Hackett and his fellow guitarist, Steve Howe, formed the supergroup "GTR". (Short for Guitar). The band released an album that year. The album entered 11th place in the Billboard 200 sales chart and included the hit single "When the Heart Rules the Mind".
25. In 1986 Hackett was also a part of the "Box of Frogs" project including the ex-"Yardbirds" Chris Dreja, Paul Samwell-Smith, and Jim McCarty. Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Rory Gallagher also played guitars on the project.
26. In 2001, Hackett participated in the soundtrack of the movie "Outwitting Hitler".
27. Hackett is without a doubt the most prolific solo artist among the members of "Genesis". He has released no less than 27 studio albums, including one blues-style album and four classic-style albums.
28. In addition to the aforementioned solo albums, Hackett released in 2000 an album in which he collaborated with his brother John Hackett and was called "Sketches of Satie".
29. In 2009 he began collaborating with the Hungarian jazz-rock and fusion band "Djabe". He has released 7 albums with them to date.
30. In 2012, Hackett co-founded the excellent project "Squackett" with bassist Chris Squire. As part of which, he released the album "A Life Within a Day".
31. In addition Hackett has participated in the albums of many artists including "Orphaned Land", John Wetton, Ian McDonald, Steven Wilson, Steve Rothery, and Alan Parsons.
32. Mira Awad and Kobi Farhi from "Orphaned Land", were featured on his album "The Night Siren".
33. Hackett entered the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" in 2010, along with the rest of "Genesis" members.
34. Hackett's playing has influenced many guitarists including Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Brian May, Steve Rothery, and more.
35. On May 5, 2012, Hackett performed in Israel at Hangar 11, and definitely left a taste of more ...