Renowned guitarist Gary Moore passed away in his sleep yesterday while on vacation in Spain. He was 58.

Moore hailed from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and throughout a storied career became one of the preeminent blues/rock players after stints with Thin Lizzy and as a solo artist. Moore was to known for embracing a range of genres, most notably blues and hard rock, and performed onstage and in the studio with a range of major artists, such as B.B. King, Albert Collins, and Albert King. He was even offered the guitar spot in Ozzy Osbourne’s first solo band, but turned it down. On his own, Moore released 20 solo albums.

The guitarist received some of his earliest critical acclaim as a member of Skid Row and Thin Lizzy in the early ’70s, but worked with Lizzy on and off throughout the decade. The apex of this collaboration was the acclaimed 1979 album, <em>Black Rose</em>. His solo work kept him at the forefront of guitar heroics, and he achieved solo success via singles like "Parisienne Walkways," a cover of the Yardbirds classic "Shapes of Things," and "Out In The Fields," a hard-rock duet with his old Thin Lizzy pal, singer/bassist Phil Lynott. His 1990 song "Still Got the Blues" is a perfect example of the fat, sustaining tone created by the Gibson Les Paul Standard set to its neck pickup and played through 100-watt Marshall heads and 4×12 cabs.

The May issue if <em>VG</em> will include a recent interview with Moore, as well as a retrospective of his music, his gear, and his career.