Steve Morse Special | Guitar Interactive Magazine

Steve Morse is a phenomenon. There really are few guitarists out there who have such illustrious careers and who command the respect of the guitar playing community as he does.

Levi Clay

Accompanying Jamie Humphries' Steve Morse live interview and style analysis, Levi Clay pays tribute to one of the most influential and respected guitarists in Rock history.

Steve Morse is a phenomenon. There really are few guitarists out there who have such illustrious careers and who command the respect of the guitar playing community as he does. From the Dixie Dregs to Deep Purple, via Kansas and the Steve Morse Band, Morse has been setting the guitar world alight since 1970 and been a source of inspiration to technical wizards like John Petrucci and Shawn Lane. So the question is: just what made the man the legend he is today?

Morse was born in Ohio, July 28th, 1954 and spent most of his childhood in Ypsilanti, Michigan before ending up in Augusta, Georgia, where things really started to happen for him. This time was tumultuous to say the least, and there are many stories Steve tells about how he spent most of his time trying to avoid cutting his hair (one such story even tells how he starting wearing a wig with his ponytail under and then his battle with the school when they decided to bring in a no wig