   shawn lane (march 21, 1963 â september 26, 2003) was an american musician who released two studio albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians including ringo starr, kris kristofferson, johnny cash, willie nelson, waylon jennings, reggie young, joe walsh and many others. after studying the piano, he rapidly mastered the guitar, which he played with exceptional speed. one of the most technically accomplished players of all time with a melodic ear, lane was named by the american guitar institute as the "greatest guitarist who ever lived". ==youth== born in memphis, tennessee, lane began playing piano with his sisters at the age of eight, but did not play guitar seriously until he was ten. at age 12â13 he began to practice heavily. at fourteen, he became the lead guitarist for black oak arkansas (boa), alongside members including drummer tommy aldridge toured over the next four years opening shows for bands including reo speedwagon, ted nugent, outlaws, cheap trick, molly hatchet and blue Ãyster cult. during 1979 shawn played in the streets recording studio demos with andy tanas on bass, chris craig on drums and jimmy henderson on guitar almost securing a deal with epic records.  at age fifteen lane saw allan holdsworth play guitar with the progressive band u.k., which inspired him to develop his own style of playing guitar.hallebeek, richard (marchâapril 2001). "shawn lane + lesson". richardhallebeek.com. retrieved 2012-01-30. lane also played in savage innocence with singer jim "dandy" mangrum, guitarist keith plunk, keyboardist billy batte, drummer chris craig and bassist kinley wolfe who then played with the cult. as the original members dropped out, lane replaced them with players from his high school days. lane began to play a style close to [[
1963_births 2003_deaths American_composers American_rock_guitarists Deaths_from_lung_disease Lead_guitarists People_from_Memphis,_Tennessee Warner_Bros._Records_artists