Guitarist Nita Strauss Celebrates Birth Of Son Maxwell James

Nita Strauss is a mom after she and her husband, Josh Villalta, welcomed a baby boy on May 28.

How Nita Strauss Introduced Her New Baby

The Alice Cooper guitarist and solo artist shared photos on Instagram, introducing Maxwell James to her followers.

“He came into this world surrounded by so much love and he’ll be loved even more with every passing day. Max is already so special and we truly believe he’s destined for greatness,” Strauss said in her message.

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This is the first child for the 39-year-old Strauss. She and Villalta, who also plays drums when Strauss performs solo and serves as her manager, did an exclusive photo shoot with People to announce the birth.

The magazine reports Max weighed 7 lbs., 6 oz. and was born at 8PM local time.

Strauss went public with her pregnancy in an April 13 social media post.

The Story Behind Nita Strauss’s Son’s Name

Strauss closed her Instagram message with the line, “May you always live your life to the MAX, little man.” It’s the same mindset she and Villalta had in mind when selecting a name for their son.

“Whatever he does in his life, we hope he does it to the max,” Villalta told People. The child’s middle name, James, is in honor of Strauss’ father.

James Strauss was a bass player in the ’70s rock/jazz-funk act Jiva, who were signed to George Harrison’s Dark Horse Records in 1975.

What’s Next For Nita Strauss

For now, Strauss is spending as much time as possible with baby Max. That also means learning on the fly as a first-time mom.

But she also hasn’t ruled out Max going along on the tour bus once she is ready to get back out on the road.

“We’re excited for every phase of this new chapter, from right now as we’re learning to care for a newborn to bringing our son along for the ride on tour when the time comes,” she said on Instagram. “It’s going to be amazing, chaotic and exciting and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Keep scrolling to see where Nita Strauss lands on our ranking of the top 75 hard rock and metal guitarists of all time.