ERIC BAZILIAN

The Hooters frontman/ guitarist talks gear, massive Eighties success, his one-take “All You Zombies” guitar solo ond forging hits with Cyndi Lauper, Joon Osborne and Mick Jogger

- Joe Bosso

ERIC BAZILIAN IS nothing if not patient. The Hooters singer-songwriter and guitarist has waited a long while to be featured in Guitar World — 40 years, to be exact — so he was understandably elated to sit down for an interview. “I don’t think I’ve ever been mentioned in any guitar magazine before,” he says. “Finally — here we go!”

While it’s certainly true that the guitar cognoscenti (we include ourselves in that group) has traditionally focused on the tried-and-true legends, there’s still dozens of gifted and notable players — even those who have sold millions of albums — who, for one reason or another, get overlooked. And make no mistake, Bazilian deserves recognition; the man can play. As he points out, “I’ve written and played guitar riffs that people sing.”

He’s quick to mention some examples: “‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’ — I saw the Barbie movie, and all they used was my guitar riff. People hear those first three notes, and they know what the song is. I played that, but I didn’t get credit for myself because I was paid as a session musician. And there’s ‘One of Us’ [Bazilian wrote Joan Osborne’s 1995 smash]; people hear that riff and they know the song. I’ve heard from bands that want to cover Hooters songs, and they’ve asked me for help. ‘And We Danced’ is a bitch. I mean, for me it comes naturally, but it’s not your father’s rhythm guitar part.”