Randy Holden (born July 2, 1945) is an American guitarist best known for his membership of the West Coast acid rock group Blue Cheer and performance on their third album, New!
[2] While playing in the Sons of Adam, Holden opened for the Rolling Stones at their first show at the Long Beach Sports Arena.
Holden was heavily influenced by Keith Richards' guitar and amp set up, which helped change his own attitude towards equipment and tone.
[1] The album was released multiple times in bootleg forms over the years, with no official re-release until a limited issue in LP in 2005 and finally a remastered CD in 2008.
No other American guitarist was as skilled at creating the kind of sustain-heavy, snaky guitar lines pioneered by Jeff Beck in the Yardbirds.
His recordings with the Fender IV, the Sons of Adam, Ugly Things, the Other Half, and Blue Cheer, as well as his solo recordings, don't only contain some feverishly innovative playing, they also chart the overall rainbow of changes undergone by California 1960s rock guitar as a whole, from surf to pseudo-Merseybeat to psychedelia, hard rock and heavy metal.
"[6] In 2010, Holden began working with Randy Pratt (Cactus) and drummer Bobby Rondinelli (Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Blue Öyster Cult) on Population III, released by Ridingeasy Records on July 1, 2022.