Adrian Belew

Adrian Belew, born in 1949, can make a guitar do things guitars aren't supposed to do: squawk like a barnyard, groan like heavy machinery, then turn around and play something fluid and pretty. That knack has made him a sideman of choice for some very adventurous people. He's played with Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson and Nine Inch Nails, added color to hits by Paul Simon and Tom Tom Club, and from 1981 to 2009 he was the guitarist and frontman of King Crimson.

His solo records are where the playful side runs free. Lone Rhino, in 1982, brought "Big Electric Cat" and "The Momur", and Mr. Music Head, in 1989, found his pop instincts sharper than ever: "Oh Daddy", a cheeky, bouncing tune, became a top ten hit in the US. Young Lions followed in 1990 with "Pretty Pink Rose".

He's also played in the Bears and fronted GaGa before all that, and he's forever tinkering, helping Parker Guitars design his own Parker Fly signature model.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.