“I was pissed off at Steve Thompson – he was sitting on the chair there, razzing me. So I said, ‘Let me just practice it once.’ He rolled it, and I was just in his face”: How Frank Hannon accidentally wrote one of Tesla’s most iconic guitar solos

Guitarist Frank Hannon performs on stage with Tesla on September 19, 2014 in El Cajon, California.

Frank Hannon's songwriting prowess was one of the key ingredients in Tesla's rise to fame during the hair metal boom of the ’80s and, more importantly, for the band's enduring success – no mean feat, considering the fickle nature of rock ’n’ roll.

Love Song, from the band's 1989 album, The Great Radio Controversy, would not only cement Hannon's status as a top-tier songwriter, but the searing solo that defines the power ballad would also establish him as a force to be reckoned with on electric guitar. However, that solo – played on a Gibson EDS-1275 – was far from pre-planned.