Rock Flashback: One Day, Two Guitarists

Much of rock's history is shrouded in the haze of legend, or even in danger of being forgotten. Join J.A. Bartlett of the Hits Just Keep On Comin' each Saturday as he reminds us why we love this music like we do ...

The date was July 19, 1947. On that day, in two cities 4,000 miles apart -- London, England, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA -- two notable rock guitarists were born.

Brian May was born in Hampton, which is part of the Greater London area. Although he took up the guitar as a kid (and even designed one of his own by the time he was 16), he intended to be a physicist. He got college degrees in physics and mathematics and began working toward a doctorate studying interplanetary dust. He put his studies aside in the early 1970s when Queen caught fire, and for almost 20 years, his distinctive guitar work was as important to Queen's sound as Freddie Mercury's voice. Following Mercury's death, he formed the Brian May Band with a shifting cast of players, which was active until 1998. In 2004, he joined the reformed Queen + Paul Rodgers project. During this period, he returned to his study of astrophysics. In 2007, he was named chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, replacing the outgoing Cherie Blair, wife of Britain's former prime minister. May finally received his doctorate in 2008 with a dissertation titled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud.

After the jump, check out May's science-fiction tale "39" from A Night at the Opera, performed live in 1977, with Mercury on lead vocals, and read about the other guitarist born 62 years ago this weekend.

Bernie Leadon was a high-school classmate of Tom Petty and Don Felder in Gainesville, Florida. While still in high school, he joined Felder's band, replacing another guitarist named Stephen Stills. By the time Leadon became an original member of the Eagles in 1971, he already had a significant country-rock pedigree, having played with the Flying Burrito Brothers and in bands with various members of the Byrds, and would bring a bluegrass-inflected sound to the Eagles. In addition to guitar, he also played mandolin, banjo, and pedal steel guitar.

Leadon's preference for bluegrass served the Eagles well on their first couple of albums, but as the band's direction began to change in the mid '70s, he didn't fit in as well. When Felder was invited to join the band during sessions for On the Border, Leadon's role was reduced. He finally left the group late in 1975 in what he called "an act of survival," wanting to escape the band's incessant touring schedule. Tensions between Leadon, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey contributed to his departure as well -- legend has it that he announced his intention to quit by pouring a beer over Frey's head. After a year off, Leadon returned to work with various combinations of artists as bandleader, sideman, and producer, including a stint with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. In 1998, Leadon performed with the rest of his Eagles mates when the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Here are the Eagles in 1973, performing Train Leaves Here This Morning, a song Leadon wrote with Gene Clark of the Byrds.

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