Melissa Etheridge's technical dexterity and songwriting chops can be heard on established classics like I’m The Only One, I Want to Come Over, Come to My Window, and Bring Me Some Water, as well as on her latest single, Bein' Alive, from her upcoming album, Rush. “I’m a slightly technically trained guitar player,” she tells Guitar World when asked about her roots and the evolution of her playing style. “I had the greatest guitar teacher in Leavenworth, Kansas, Don Raymond, and had my first lessons in 1972. He was an old blues and big band guy from Kansas City. He had his own band, and then, in the late ’60s, he was in a terrible factory accident that cut his fingers off at the knuckles.”Etheridge explains that Raymond was falling into a deep depression, when a guy from a music store suggested that teaching could be a viable second career option. He also had some keen students lined up, including a 10-year-old that would become the Melissa Etheridge.
“He kind of scared me ’cause he didn’t have any fingers, and he was really grouchy. But he saw that I didn’t give up… he always said, ‘No, she’s too young. She’s gonna stop playing, and her fingers are gonna bleed.’ I was like, ‘No, I’m not.’”Aside from teaching her the essential guitar skills, Etheridge says that he taught her the most valuable lesson she's ever learned.“He had a little footstool, like the ones that would raise up, and he would sit there and tap his foot. He would say, ‘I don’t care what notes you play, just never go out of time.’ So, he taught me the importance of time and rhythm." As Etheridge very aptly puts it, "Man, you can play wrong notes, but if you play out of time, you’re done.”Guitar World's interview with Melissa Etheridge will be published in the coming weeks.In more recent news, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced the nominees for its Class of 2026 – and the list includes Etheridge.
