The other day we were discussing with a group of young people (< 25 years) what we consider to be the dismal condition of popular music these days. Astonishingly, we didn't hear the usual "you can't compare it to rock 'n roll forty years ago" or "well, your parents didn't understand Woodstock," or "you need to stop playing stuff from your high school days and tune into what's happening now." Rather, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that a good portion of songs stored in their iPods are actually classics from the 60's and 70's.

Then we posed what we thought to be an impossible question for kids their age: “Who’s your ultimate guitarist from that era?” Out of the blue came, “Louie Shelton.” Swear to God.

After extending our congratulations, we wondered how the heck they came up with Louie Shelton. Had they been spending their spare time reading the liner notes of our vinyl albums?

They obviously know who they’re talking about. Besides being a Platinum Elite Guitarist member, Louie Shelton has an incredible recording career history. Last year he was inducted in to the Musicians Hall of Fame and very recently he gave this interview to All About Jazz.