This Day in Guitar History: September 22
Edited by Cadence · Updated
September 22 is a heavy birthday in rock. Joan Jett, the Runaways co-founder and self-made 'Queen of Rock and Roll,' was born on this day in 1958. Nick Cave, frontman of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, was born in 1957, and David Coverdale, the voice of Deep Purple and Whitesnake, in 1951. Three different rock lifers, one calendar date.
On September 22 in guitar history
1951 · Born
David Coverdale is born
David Coverdale was born September 22, 1951, in England. He fronted Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, founded Whitesnake in 1978, and later cut the platinum Coverdale-Page album with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page. His hard-rock roar sat on top of some of the era's most guitar-forward bands.
Source: David Coverdale
1957 · Born
Nick Cave is born
Nicholas Edward Cave was born September 22, 1957, in Australia. As frontman of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, he built a catalog defined by his baritone voice and a guitar-driven band that swings from noise-rock menace to spare piano balladry.
Source: Nick Cave
1958 · Born
Joan Jett, the Queen of Rock and Roll, is born
Joan Marie Larkin was born on September 22, 1958. As Joan Jett she co-founded the Runaways in 1975 as a teenager, then built Joan Jett and the Blackhearts after every major label passed on her solo debut. A rhythm guitarist to the core, she turned stripped-down power chords into a signature, from the record later reissued as 'Bad Reputation' to the 1981 album I Love Rock 'n Roll, which reached number two on the Billboard 200.
Source: Joan Jett
Why we track this
Guitar history keeps getting made on every date on the calendar, not just the ones with round-number anniversaries. This page collects what is actually documented for September 22, and it grows every time we verify another event for the date. If you landed here because today's news desk came up quiet, this is what a strings site does with a quiet day instead of padding: real dates, real sources, filed for good. And if the date has you reaching for your own guitar, the Ernie Ball Regular Slinky is still the closest thing the instrument has to a default set.
Start your own September 22
Whichever name on this page pulls you in, from Joan Jett's power chords to David Coverdale's arena rock, the through-line is six strings under someone's hands. If yours need a change, our history of guitar strings guide covers how we got from gut to cobalt, and the set below is the one we point most beginners to first.
Regular Slinky
Why this one: A .010-.046 nickel-wound set that has been the reference point for rock rhythm guitar for decades: light enough to bend, stout enough to drive power chords. The set most players, from beginners to lifers, reach for first.