Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs

Boz Scaggs is the Zelig of classic rock—he spent time as a blues-rock guitarist in London during the swinging years of the mid-'60s, moved among the hippies in San Francisco during the Summer of Love, and recorded his first solo album at Muscle Shoals in 1970. His distinctive guitar appears on the Steve Miller Band's "Gangster of Love"; the backing band for the 1976 solo album went on to become Toto.

For all of that, though, Scaggs remains something of a mystery for anyone under 40, a familiar name that's hard to pin a song title or chorus hook or guitar solo to. But you might know more than you think—either the cynical white-boy R&B jive of "Lowdown" or maybe the rolling boogie of "Lido Shuffle"—and it's never too late to find out, especially since he's co-headlining with ex-Doobie Brother Michael McDonald next week at the Tennessee Theatre. (Matthew Everett)