Slash The Ultimate Sideman

07/26/2011
. (Gibson) Slash has been the guitar star for Guns N' Roses, Snakepit, Velvet Revolver and, currently, his own "solo" band. But Slash also has played sessions that would make many guitarists-for-hire weep. Sure, the fame of his name got him many gigs, but Slash's session story is a whole world in itself: 2004 and 2007 are the only years since 1988 when Slash hasn't guested on at least one other artist's recordings. From rock to metal, from blues to R&B, from hip-hop to pop, Slash's Gibson Les Pauls have been places you wouldn't necessarily know. And not on other songs you thought he was on.

With Alice Cooper� Guns had only just hit big when Slash made his first guest apperance in 1988's The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, appearing on "Under My Wheels" by Alice Cooper. Slash later spilled some insane guitar wailing on Cooper's "Vengeance is Mine." He also played on Cooper's "Hey Stoopid" and on the live album, A Fistful of Alice.

With Michael Jackson� The King of Pop and Slash were unlikely friends. After Jackson's death, Slash even described himself and MJ as "very similar people, it was always all about the music." That said, Slash also was at pains to clarify what he did and did not contribute to Jackson hits. Speaking to CNN in 2010, Slash said of a popular misconception: "I never played on 'Black or White.' I played on 'Give in to Me' [also from Jackson's Dangerous album] and in the 'Black and White' video, when Macaulay Culkin was trashing around, that's me playing." "Black or White"'s recorded guitars are played by co-writer Bill Botrell and the solo by L.A. session player Tim Pierce. But Slash did famously play with MJ on a medley at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1995. Slash also played on that year's "They Don't Care About Us" and "D.S." and "Morphine" (from the 1997 remix album Blood on the Dancefloor.) A lot more here

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