Uli Jon Roth is a guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and music director from Düsseldorf, Germany. Born in 1954, he becomes internationally known through his work in hard rock and heavy metal, and through his role in shaping neoclassical guitar playing.

Career

Roth serves as lead guitarist and one of the main songwriters for Scorpions from 1973 to 1978. During that period, the band releases five albums, including several gold records, and the live album Tokyo Tapes sells nearly one million copies. He later forms Electric Sun, which operates from 1978 to 1985 and releases three albums: Earthquake, Fire Wind and Beyond the Astral Skies. He also appears as a member of G3, Dawn Road and Sky of Avalon.

Composition and later work

After his work with Electric Sun, Roth writes four symphonies, two concertos and numerous songs. His large-scale pieces include Sky Concerto, Aquila Suite for solo piano, Europa ex Favilla, Symphonic Rock for Europe, Hiroshima de Profundis and Requiem for an Angel, the last of which is dedicated to the memory of Monika Dannemann. He also serves as music director for a Jimi Hendrix television project on German TV's Rockpalast, and later acts as mastermind and music director for Symphonic Rock for Europe.

Style and instruments

Roth writes his own musical scores and arrangements and is known for producing his own albums and directing his own videos. He invents the Sky Guitar, a custom 6-octave instrument that becomes closely associated with him. His work is identified with hard rock, heavy metal, neoclassical metal and psychedelic rock.

Other artistic work and recognition

Outside music, Roth paints realistic oil paintings and writes poetry. He is also recognised as an influence on many guitarists and is inducted into the Walk of Fame by Europe's only Rock & Pop Museum in Gronau, Germany, at a concert in London in 2003.