Popular American guitarist John 5 made headlines on Friday, October 28, when he was announced as the new touring guitarist of the famous band Motley Crue. He is also the replacement of Mick Mars, the co-founder and guitarist of Motley Crue, who announced his retirement on Thursday, October 27.

In its statement regarding the inclusion of its new member, Motley Crue called John 5 an “absolutely outstanding musician” and confirmed that the 52-year-old will join remaining band members Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx before their world tour along with Def Leppard.

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Who is John 5?

John 5 is a popular American guitarist and songwriter who joined the band Motley Crue as a replacement for its co-founding member Mick Mars recently. His original name is John William Lowery and was born on July 31, 1970, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, US.

He became interested in guitars from an early age and began playing the instrument from an age of seven. His earliest introduction to guitar was watching Buck Owens and Roy Clark’s popular television show Hee Haw along with his father. John’s parents supported his interest as long as it did not create interference with his studies. He went on to take lessons from Robert Gillespie, a Detroit-based guitarist, in classic blues and rock ‘n’ role.

As per John 5, his earliest inspirations were the Monkees, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix and others. He picked up his stage name, John 5, in 1998, when he became a member of the rock band Marilyn Manson as their lead guitarist, replacing Zim Zum. He also joined Rob Zombie later and left them in 2022 to become a member of Motley Crue.

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John 5 has recorded 10 guitar albums including Vertigo (2004), The Devil Knows My Name (2007), Careful With That Axe (2014) and Invasion (2019). His last guitar album was Sinner, which he launched in 2021.

The guitarist married pornographic actress Aria Giovanni in 2002, before divorcing four years later in 2006. He is currently married to Rita Aghajani, a hair stylist, since June 7, 2009. He has two sons, Jeremy and Andres and a daughter, Nicole.