John Sykes a young lad from Reading, England changed the map of rock with his massive guitar sound on the well-received 1987 Whitesnake album. He got his big break by hooking up with Thin Lizzy bassist and frontman Phil Lynott through the producer of Tygers of Pan Tang, Chris Tsangarides. In 1982 John and Phil wrote and recorded the song "Please Don't Leave Me”. This led Sykes to join Thin Lizzy and to be featured on the 1983 album Thunder and Lightning. He also co-wrote the song “Cold Sweat” with Lynott, which has become a classic metal anthem. Sykes went on to join Whitesnake and toured in support of their 1984 album Slide It In. John re-record guitar parts on the title track for the American market, which reached top 40 on the Billboard 200 charts. Hence, the stage was set for what would become the groundbreaking self-titled Whitesnake album. This is an album where everything was aligned correctly, and everyone came of age. Just listen to the studio recording of “In The Still of the Night” which is a testament to his sound, writing and force. In addition, Sykes went on to form Blue Murder with legendary drummer Carmine Appice and bass phenomena Tony Franklin.

GUITAR TRAX is hosted by mulit-Emmy award winning guitarist Brian Tarquin featuring in- depth interviews with today’s hottest guitar legends and airs every Monday night from 10pm-12pm on NPR's WFIT 89.5FM on the Florida space coast and can be streamed on WFIT.org. Brian Tarquin & Heavy Friends lifted up the spirits of our veterans through music with Beyond The Warrior’s Eyes which peaked at #1 Top Fusion Album on Roots Music Reports and #5 on Relix/Jambands charts. In 2023 Brian’s music video “Speed of Sound” featuring Joe Satriani won Best Video of the Year by the Josie Music Awards. His all star album Brothers In Arms topped the metal radio charts peaking #7 on the NACC Loud Rock charts and #11 on the Metal Contraband charts. Both in 2022 & 2023 the Josie Music Awards nominated Tarquin for "Musician of the Year (Guitar)" and "Music Producer of the Year." In 2023 the Hollywood Independent Music Awards nominated his company BHP Music-Guitar Trax Records for "Independent Record Label of the Year."