JOHN 5 Is One Of HOWARD STERN's Favorite Guitarists: 'I Love This Guy'

Howard Stern has long praised the chops of current MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5, so on Wednesday (February 21),the SiriusXM host was pleased to announce John 5 as the latest guest host for "Songs I Want To Hear", a Howard 101 series where musicians play some of their favorite tunes.

"I love this guy John 5 — he's one of my favorite guitarists," Howardsaid of the CRÜE guitarist, who also had long stints with ROB ZOMBIE and MARILYN MANSON. "He's one of these guys like Billy Joel — you name a song, and he can play it."

In addition to playing riffs from AC/DC, RUSH, OZZY OSBOURNE and more, John 5 at one point demonstrated how he would play "The Star-Spangled Banner" with his teeth as a child. "I chipped my tooth, and my mom was so mad at me," the musician recalled during the special with a laugh.

"Isn't this great?" Howard noted. "The guy does a great special for us and it’s all filled with that kind of stuff."

"Songs I Want to Hear With John 5" airs on February 23 at 7 and 10 p.m. on Howard 101.

For over 30 years, John 5 has been one of the most in-demand guitar players on the planet. As well as a songwriter/guitarist for hire, John 5 has shared the stage as axeman for ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON and JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford. He has also worked with an impressive array of names, from all walks of music, including Steve Perry, KD Lang, Rod Stewart, David Lee Roth, Alice Cooper, Tina Guo, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, Meat Loaf, Ricky Martin and Steven Adler.

John 5 has worked with a varied range of artists, performing as guitarist for some of the biggest headlining rock bands in the world. Slash has called John 5 "one of the most mind-blowing guitarists around" and Rob Zombie has dubbed him "a fucking shredder". John 5 has released seven solo albums to date, as well as a remix album.

In 2015, following a series of web shows to celebrate the release of his solo album "Careful With That Axe", John 5 decided to take his solo set on tour and formed THE CREATURES band to support his live shows. Initially joined by long-term friend Rodger Carter on drums, the band continues touring to this day, and now work as a unit on 5's solo albums, including "Season Of The Witch", the live album "It's Alive", "Invasion" and 2021's "Sinner".

In October 2022, it was revealed that John 5 would be joining MÖTLEY CRÜE as their guitarist following the announcement that Mick Mars would be retiring. John 5 recently spent time on the road with MÖTLEY CRÜE as part of "The World Tour" with DEF LEPPARD.