6 years ago today, on the 26th of September 2003, one of the greatest electric guitar-players ever to walk the Earth passed away. Shawn Lane was only 30 years old, and not really widely known; Shawn was certainly not a household name, despite stories such as that of the first time Billy Gibbons heard him play: it is said that the Rev. literally fell off his barstool.

Shawn was not only one of the most technically mind-boggling guitar-players I (or the world for that matter) have ever heard; he was also wonderfully musical and inventive, with a wonderful compositional sense, which resulted in some fantastic music.

Since today is the anniversary of his death, I thought to pay my respects by recording a cover of another of his songs, and also collecting in a blog post all the Shawn Lane covers I could find on YouTube (Shawn himself is easily found on Willjay’s YouTube channel).

First up (because it’s my blog) is my latest Shawn Lane cover: Gray Pianos Flying:

I know it’s uptempo and rather upbeat – but I think it’s good to celebrate all the wonderful music that Shawn gave us: the joyful as well as the sad and reflective.

Now for the various YouTube covers. Having started, I’ve found so many that I’m going to do a bunch of posts: One for covers of Get You Back - as they’re the most numerous), and another for the rest.