Uli Jon Roth

"Uli Jon Roth" was born Ulrich Roth on December 18, 1954 and is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Academy and designer of the Sky Guitar. He is the older brother of fellow guitarist and artist Zeno Roth (1956–2018).

Billy Corgan has stated he is a huge fan of Scorpions and cites Roth's guitar playing as a major influence. He wrote the solo for "Tarantula" thinking how Roth could have played it. Scorprions were coincidentally recording their sixteenth studio album, Humanity: Hour I, at the same time and at the same studio as The Smashing Pumpkins were recording Zeitgeist. Corgan ended up singing vocals on the Scorpions track, "The Cross".

At the Rock am Ring festival in Germany on June 2, 2007, Roth joined The Smashing Pumpkins on-stage for their epic closing song "Gossamer". He also performed at the two other Rock am Ring dates that same year. He made another appearance with the Pumpkins upon their return to Germany on February 26, 2008, and again on two dates in summer 2013.