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Richie Sambora’s Guitar Face: The Good, The Bad & The Pouty

Richie Sambora celebrates his birthday on July 11, and in addition to being a prolific guitarist, he also has one of the best “guitar faces” in the game.

Richie Sambora performs on stage during Rock in Rio Festival on June 4, 2010 in Arganda del Rey, Spain.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Richie Sambora celebrates his birthday on July 11, and in addition to being a prolific guitarist, he also has one of the best "guitar faces" in the game.

What's a "guitar face," you may ask? It's the many facial expressions a guitarist makes while they're playing guitar, whether it's when they're crushing a solo or bending a note. As far as "guitar face" goes, Birthday Boy Sambora's is iconic.

Want proof? Just scroll through our gallery below and see for yourself!

But First: What's New With Richie Sambora?

This past year has been a rather eventful one for Sambora. He notably was featured in the Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. As previously reported, Sambora said he believes Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story was Jon Bon Jovi's "project" and "perspective" and noted he viewed things differently than the frontman.

Sambora told Allison Hagendorf in May that the four-part docuseries could've been "more of a celebration" of Bon Jovi's music. He also said he would have cut the five-hour docuseries down to two hours.

When asked whether he would change anything about Thank You, Goodnight, Sambora replied, "Everything. There's one thing that's not in there, and it's everything. Like I said, to me, this is Jon's baby."

Following the release of Thank You, Goodnight, Sambora shared a clip to Instagram that he captioned, "From the cutting room floor of #ThankYouGoodnight." The clip shows an alternate angle of one of Sambora's sit-down interviews from the docuseries. While some of the clip below was included in Thank You, Goodnight, some was cut from the docuseries.

Part of Sambora's comments that were cut from the docuseries included him talking about a lack of compassion for what he was going through in his personal life, which included his addiction issues and other issues related to his ex-wife Heather Locklear, the mother to his daughter, Ava.

Sambora says, "I was in this organization for 31 ½ years, and everybody has their personal tragedies and things like that, but I didn't receive a lot of compassion coming back for what I was going through. I believe everybody had their own perspective on fame and fortune. Everybody experiences that at different speeds. That's how life can get whacked from one guy to the next and blah blah blah. I was essential because I spent more time with Jon than even his wife and was more honest."

He added, "We spent a lot of time in a room with no windows for the beginning stages of just writing the material ... I was a fan, too. I could be a fan of Jon and go, 'I don't want to hear you sing that.' I wrote him from the song on up, also. 'This is what I would like to hear from you, if I'm a fan in the audience,' that kind of thing. I think that was one of my primary roles, besides being his right hand and an accurate mirror, so to speak."

Good...

Richie-Sambora_Good_I.jpgMichael Loccisano/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame

Sambora just looks really cool here. His face shows he's *really* feeling the note he's playing. Plus, that hat is dope, and you can't go wrong wearing all black. It's science!


Bad...

Richie-Sambora_Bad_I.jpgSergio Dionisio/Getty Images

Sambora is a handsome man. So, when we saw this photo, we were definitely taken aback. Also, the more we stare at it, the more we can't stop staring at it. It's a trainwreck of a photo.


Pouty...

Richie-Sambora_Pout_I.jpgScott Gries/Getty Images

Now, this is MUCH better! This is the Richie Sambora we're used to seeing. He's practically doing "Blue Steel" and is making it look great! Derek Zoolander would be so proud.


Good...again.

Richie-Sambora_Good_II.jpgChristopher Polk/Getty Images

Seriously, Sambora just looks SO cool here. He looks strong and powerful. It's as if the spirit of rock and roll is coursing through his veins! Photographer Christopher Polk had to have been super proud of getting this shot. 10/10. No notes.


Bad...again.

Richie-Sambora_Bad_II.jpgSkip Bolen/Getty Images

Fine, we'll just say it: Sambora looks gassy in this photo. For real, he looks to be mid-fart. Sure, we've all been there, but most of us have been fortunate enough to not have that moment captured in a photo. Let's just chalk this one up to an unfortunate moment, much like being gassy.


Pouty...again.

Richie-Sambora_Pouty_II.jpgRobert Cianflone/Getty Images

In theory, this pout shouldn't work. However, Sambora finds a way to pull it off. What an icon! How fortunate are we to have a gifted guitarist and performer like Sambora? Frankly, in our opinion, he's often underrated and doesn't get the credit he deserves overall. (That wasn't for you, Bon Jovi fans. You've known Sambora's greatness for years!)

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights