Many words have been said about this unique musician. A rock music legend who celebrated 50 years of creative activity last year. He continues to delight fans with his compositions to this day. It's all about the famous guitarist who made his name famous for many years, Uli Jon Roth.
Childhood Uli Jon Roth
66 years ago in the German city of Düsseldorf, a boy was born who was destined to become a star. Ulrich Roth became interested in playing the guitar at the age of 13, and two years later he mastered the instrument perfectly. At the age of 16, the guy created the group Dawn Road. Together with Jurgen Rosenthal, Klaus Meine and Francis Buchholz, he performed successfully for three years. True, they did not achieve world fame, as Uli dreamed of.
As part of the legendary Scorpions
1973 proved to be a very difficult year for the German rock band Scorpions. It was on the verge of breaking up after the departure of guitarist Michael Schenker. The participants were looking for a replacement for him, realizing that they would have to pay a significant penalty if the planned concerts were disrupted. The decision to invite Roth was so timely, and his playing was very virtuoso. The composition of the group decided to invite Uli to the group on a permanent basis.
Solo guitarist Roth from the first days of work in the new team became its leader. He not only played virtuoso, but also wrote songs, and some he performed himself. For five years of work in the team, the Scorpions recorded four albums, traveled all over Europe and conquered Japan. The fifth live album sold millions of copies.
All over the world, the group became very popular, but Uli, on the wave of success, decided to leave. Disagreements regarding the style of play, personal relationships and ambitions forced him to seek his destiny outside the team.
electric sun
In the same year, Uli John Roth created a new rock band, Electric Sun. And together with bass player Ole Ritgen, he recorded three singles in which he revealed himself as a guitarist.
His style of play cannot be confused with others. Classics, arpeggios and rocker modes, which other musicians rarely used, became his "trick". The first single of this rock band was dedicated to the memory of Uli's friend Jimi Hendrix. The group was very popular. And Uli became the most famous guitar virtuoso in the world of rock music.
After 17 years, in 1985, the last Electric Sun album was released, released especially for fans. And the group ceased to exist. Uli had new ambitious plans, and he began to implement them.
Solo career of Uli Jon Roth
It may seem surprising, but most of Roth's work from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s was devoted not to rock, but to the classics. He wrote symphonies, composed etudes for pianoforte, participated in joint European tours with a symphony orchestra.
For example, the play "Aquila Suite" (1991), later released as part of the album "From Here to Eternity", was a set of 12 studies. They are written for piano in the style of the Romantic era.
In the same 1991, Uli tried himself as the host of a musical television program. Two years later, he participated in a new musical project on German television and in the Symphonic Rock for Europe Special program. There, together with the Brussels Symphony Orchestra, Roth performed the first rock symphony, Europa Ex Favilla.
The return of Uli Jon Roth to rock venues
In 1998, after a long break, Uli returned to the long-awaited "fans" of rock music. Together with the G3 team, he participated in tours of Europe. Then, in 2000, an album dedicated to her friend Monika Dannemann was released. The album consisted of two parts, it features both studio and live recordings.
Among them were both rock and classical. Chopin, Mozart and Mussorgsky arranged by Uli, Hendrix and Roth's compositions organically fit into the concept. In 2001, remembering the successful Japanese tour in the distant past, Roth went to this country.
In 2006, he returned to the Scorpions for a short period of time. Then he opened a music school and released a new studio album, which included neoclassical music with hard rock.
Our days
Returning to the stage, Uli never left it again. He periodically gave concerts, recorded albums and headed a company that produced guitars designed by the musician. The unique six-octave instrument "Heavenly Guitar" is Uli's pride. According to experts, in his hands any guitar sounds unusual, even the simplest in the hands of a virtuoso genius turned into a heavenly guitar.
A major world tour has been planned for 2020. Roth planned to visit Europe again, the Americas, Asia and finish the tour in Europe. But all plans were disrupted by the pandemic. But the latest technology makes it possible to go on a virtual tour with the musician using the 360 VR video format on YouTube.
