Gotta put Santana in there.
And, Hendrix.
Amongst others; too damned late to think of many, though.
Don Ross
Andy McKee
Antoine Dufour
Loved Page when I was a kid.
As I get older, Clapton continues to blow me away:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2sfelvHAlU (Layla Live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRsJlAJvOSM (TIH)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-ENAsy7RcE (My Father's Eyes)
Still like a lot of Bluesy stuff, Cray, BB, Pagey blues, Beck, and dig a lot of Harrison too.
SRV is in a world all his own, of course.
But Clapton ...
rb
Saw Carlos three or four times at the Greek. Unreal show, even without chemicals.
Kenny Wayne Shephard.
That said, Slow Hand, is always just...... damn.........
Saw Carlos three or four times at the Greek. Unreal show, even without chemicals.
No chemicals? Dude, that's so against the rules.
Would have loved to see Greg Allman too. Dude smoked.
rb
Yeah, and a lot of REAAAAAALLY good schit, at that...........
Yeah, that Page. His blues guitar is something else ... after I got over the heaviness of Led Zep, the bluesy stuff kept me around a LONG time.
You want goosebumps? Picture a packed arena, lights go out, lighters everywhere, crowd is yelling, screamin, on and on, dark stage, dark stage, dark stage, nothin, nothin, dark, on and on, and then Jimmy, after what seems like a half hour, hits the first five notes of "Since I Been Lovin' You."
Duuude.
rb
OMG, and I thought Chet Atkins, Les Paul and Segovia were good..
BTW - rb, good to see you post on something again.
Chet, Knopfler, Billy Joe Walker Jr, Randy Scruggs, Buddy Guy, Ry Cooder, Jimmy Page, SRV, BB King.
You must have missed my election coverage.
Traffic is at all time highs. It's hard to see everyone.
rb
Way before my time, but Hendrix was #1!
You must have missed my election coverage.
Traffic is at all time highs. It's hard to see everyone.
rb
Naw, I caught it. Too bad the rest of your state, and both of mine, didn't.
Saw Buddy at Spice in Hollywood about fifteen years ago. Man he was good, until he started to get sick. When he went backstage to get well, they played some old video of Billie Holliday that still rocks my world.
She was dopin' too (in the video), and when Buddy came back, he was good again. Great show.
Ah jeez,I can't believe I forgot Jeff!
Jeff Beck-Cause We've Ended As Lovers"Blow By Blow" is one of the better guitar albums ever made.
WB.
Agree with the others but here are a few more.
Mark Knoffler from Dire Straits
Diferent kinda pickin but Brad Paisley can play
Both Knopfler and Paisley can play the strings right off a guitar.
Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler-LaylaWB.
Agree with the others but here are a few more.
Mark Knoffler from Dire Straits
You mean as in:
Chet, Knopfler, Billy Joe Walker Jr, Randy Scruggs, Buddy Guy, Ry Cooder, Jimmy Page, SRV, BB King.
And, FWIW...I'm a huge Chet Atkins fan and have an interview on tape where he said in his opinion the best pickers he'd ever worked with were 1)Mark Knopfler 2)Billy Joe Walker Jr. 3)Randy Scruggs 4)Jerry Reed 5)Les Paul and 6)Tommy Emmanuel
Just for conversation's sake...
Agree with the others but here are a few more.
Mark Knoffler from Dire Straits
You mean as in:
Chet, Knopfler, Billy Joe Walker Jr, Randy Scruggs, Buddy Guy, Ry Cooder, Jimmy Page, SRV, BB King.
Yep that's the one...Started the post and got called away for a minute...Ya beat me to it...
Gary Moore
Buddy Guy
Derek Trucks
Eric Clapton
Robert Cray
John Mayer
BB King
A good start, and in no particular order.
Jeff
~laughing here~ Just yankin' your chain - to the tune of "even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while.."
Lindsey Buckingham can pick it too...
I'd also add, that though some consider the Wyndham Hill posse typecast and formulaic, that Ackerman, Harkness, de Grassi, Cullen and Hedges don't exactly suck...
Manuel Barrueco
Julian Bream
Early Parkening
Al Dimeola
.......................dj
Andres Segovia, Laurindo Almeda, Charo...she studied with Segovia and isn't all "cuchi-cuchi"...a wonderful guitarist.
...and Parkening, too...I saw him when he was just starting out at a recital at U of NV many years ago.
Forgot to add Roy Clark, a master of anything with strings...amazing!
years back in Guitar magazine Clapton was asked what he thought about being picked as the greatest guitarist ever, He said nope it's not me it's Phil Keaggy, anyone that has seen him play knows what he was talking about.
ML
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Stevie Ray Vaughn
3. Jimmy Page
4. Robin Trower
5. Akira Takasaki
Here's one of the best guitarists you've never heard of.Most famous for being Eddie Van Halen's hero,and his famous statement,"I don't really like the guitar to tell you the truth."
Allan HoldsworthMntngoat,
Clapton did not say that-Hendrix did,and it's disputed if he even said it in the first place.Keaggy is a superb player though,particularly when he was with The Glass Harp.
In reality,it's well documented that Hendrix's favorite guitarist was Billy Gibbons.
WB.
Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Kieth Richards, R. L. Burnside, Duanne Allmann, Jerry Garcia, The Edge, Johnny Marr, Andy Summers... too many to mention
Chet Atkins BB King Mark knopfler Leo Kottke. Bear
Steve Howe of Yes.
One of the best tunes of all time, IMO. As a younger man I saw them a bunch of times, but seeing this from the 3rd row of the Boston Garden (original one) was a religious experience. Really. My organs were vibrating before Chris Squire's bass on that one. From 6:00 minutes of this vid to the end...Please listen, folks. Man, it still gives me chills. The Preacher the Teacher. Wow. I'm about to get a wee bit emotional...Must be getting old.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmU4tTDejqw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcwr1nbmWLI&feature=relatedYou just don't get any better than Felder/Walsh on this song, at this point in time.
I admit I have not checked all of the links posted, but I'm amazed that Eddie Van Halen has only been mentioned in passing.
Other favs...
Vince Gill
Michael Schenker
Jonny Lang
I'm a huge Knopfler fan, for sure. Glad to see Vince Gill get mentioned too - the man can pick it.
Didn't see these fellows mentioned:
Clarence White
Tony Rice
Jerry Douglas (dobro)
Ronnie Montrose
Kelly Joe Phelps
Jerry Reed
Stephen Stills
There's been lots of good Pickers and these will show my personal tastes a bit no order or anything.
Jerry Reed Roy Clark(yes heehaw roy could play!) Eddie van halen Hendrix Clapton SRV(that's Stevie Ray Vaughn) Les Paul B.B King Duane Allman Kirk Hammett Vince Gill and one i've heard twice Dimebag Darrell.I guess these picks make me a Country/Blues/Southern Rockist.
For me, in no particular order:
SRV
Hendrix
Carlos Santana
Jerry Garcia
Clapton
Hound Dog Taylor
SRV
Les Paul
Peter Green
Duane Allman and Dickey Betts
Albert King
Toy Caldwell
Steve Howe
SRV
Dime Bag Darrell
Eddie Van Halen
Pretty tough to beat Tommy Emmanuel for a one man show.
Skaggs does a pretty tolerable job on a mandolin and a fiddle too.
And then don't forget Vince Gill. He's got the touch.
Billy Gibbons.. Roy Clark..
Has NO ONE mentioned Ted Nugent????
Django Reinhardt
Pat Metheny
Jaco Pastorius
Bucky and John Pizzarelli
Phil Keaggy
etc...
Mostest favorite is my wife
Django Reinhardt
Pat Metheny
Jaco Pastorius
Bucky and John Pizzarelli
Phil Keaggy
etc...
Cool a bass player made the cut!
You�ve got good taste in pickers my friend I�ve got some cool stuff with Django and Stephan Grappelli on a gig between the wars in Paris and John Pizzarelli has one of the best Beatles tribute�s I�ve heard. John�s brother plays bass on all his stuff and he�s a monster too. O�l Bucky was a hell of a sire along with a 7 stringer.
I'm pretty unsophisticated when it comes to identifying guitarists and their work. One song that I really liked that was guitar-oriented was "Sleep Walk" by Santo and Johnny.
Forgot to add this guy,and I haven't seen anyone mention him yet,which is a shame,as he's most likely one of the very best guitarists to ever play.
Paco De LuciaWB.
In no particular order:
Phillip Catherine (Jazz Fusion, but started out with Focus(Hocus Pocus) )
Larry Coryell
Pat Metheny
Frank Zappa
John McLaughlin
Jim Stafford (Have you ever seen his 1-man band act with "Classical Gas"?)
Carlos Santana-- more for his early stuff
Leo Kottke
R L Burnside
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Django Reinhardt
Pat Metheny
Jaco Pastorius
Bucky and John Pizzarelli
Phil Keaggy
etc...
Cool a bass player made the cut!
You�ve got good taste in pickers my friend I�ve got some cool stuff with Django and Stephan Grappelli on a gig between the wars in Paris and John Pizzarelli has one of the best Beatles tribute�s I�ve heard. John�s brother plays bass on all his stuff and he�s a monster too. O�l Bucky was a hell of a sire along with a 7 stringer.
You've "obviously" got good taste too
Stephen Grappelli is absolutely GREAT!
Wow, 7 pages and no David Gilmour?
Robert Johnson
Richie Blackmore
Jimmy Page
Carlos Segovia
Django Reinhart
Hendrix
Wes Montgomery
Charlie Christian
Duane Allman
Sorry guys but SRV doesn't do much for me. Neither does any 80's guitarist that has fretboard diarrhea.
How about Alvin Lee with "Ten Years After" doing "Going Home" at Woodstock. Or Leo Kottke.
I have a Santana story. My cousin was doing a roofing job at Santa Cruz on the house next to Santana's, who had his wife's Mercedes for sale. Some people looked at the car and stopped to ask my cousin some directions. When asked if they talked to anyone about the car, they said that they talked to Carlos, the gardener. Carlos was watering his flowers.
Here are a couple of new names given to me by my nephew. Joe Bonamassa and Walter Trout. He works in a guitar store.
Yeah, that Page. His blues guitar is something else ... after I got over the heaviness of Led Zep, the bluesy stuff kept me around a LONG time.
You want goosebumps? Picture a packed arena, lights go out, lighters everywhere, crowd is yelling, screamin, on and on, dark stage, dark stage, dark stage, nothin, nothin, dark, on and on, and then Jimmy, after what seems like a half hour, hits the first five notes of "Since I Been Lovin' You."
Duuude.
rb
Grand slam home run right there. I still get goosebumps listening to that version. Funny that it was left off the Song Remains the Same and only included in the latest remaster. I always considered it one of the best from that concert.
If you don't have BBC Sessions, you owe it to yourself to check it out, there is another version on there.
My list:
Jimmy Page
Jimi Hendrix
Duane Allman and Dicky Betts
Billy Gibbons
Mark Knopfler
Wow, 7 pages and no David Gilmour?
I'll give an honorable mention to Gilmour, Blackmore and Robert Johnson.
Bob Bain
Django Reinhardt
Chet Atkins
Les Paul
SRV
Clapton
Eddie Van Halen
Phil Keggy
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Stevie Ray Vaughn
3. Jimmy Page
4. Robin Trower
5.
Akira Takasaki Ha.....Loudness, hell yeah!! I remember those guys!!
My favorite guitarist are and in no specific order:
1. Stevie Ray Vaughan
2. BB King
3. James Hetfield (riffmeister!!)
4. Pat Travers
5. Gary Moore
6. Dimebag Darrell (pure metal)
7. Harvie "the Snake" Mandel
8. Jimmie Page
9. Clapton
10.Jimi Hendrix
11.Eddie Van Halen
12.Toni Iommi
13.Dave Mustaine
14.Buddy Guy
15.Alex Lifeson
Jeff passed away a few months ago at the age of 41 due to cancer.He left behind a wife and two kids.
He was a superb player with a totally unique style.He will be missed.
WB.
Has NO ONE mentioned Ted Nugent????
or Angus Young?
There's a huge difference in electric/accoustic, steel/nylon,
flatpick/fingerstyle... please don't overlook Earl Klugh.
Just off the top of my head:
Stevie Ray Vaughan
BB King
Jimmy Page
Eric Clapton
Buddy Guy
Roy Buchanan
Eddie VanHalen
Alvin Lee
RickBin,
You are so very right, Clapton is quite simply amazing.
Mind you I still can't get through this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRsJlAJvOSM totally, the tears come faster than I can tell you.
Lynn
YES! Love it !!!!
Lynn
My interests vary.
Roy Clark
Steve Wariner
Mark Knoppler
Eric Clapton
Vince Gill
Phil Keaggy
Carlos Villalobos (La Esperanza)
Ricky Skaggs
and, of course Chet.
Clapton,Zappa,Buchanan,Satriani and the rest
Good call...That my friends is what we call a guitar solo.
A lot of my faves already mentioned ... yet I still get bumps when I hear Mason Williams "Classical Gas".
Frampton.
Fogarty.
Santana.
Eagles.
Mike Bloomfield
Elvin Bishop
Eric Clapton
Freddie king
Jan Ackermann
Martin Barre
Richie Blackmore
Zal Clemenson
Rory Gallagher
David Gilmore
Steve Howe
Greg Lake
Joe Satriani
Alex Zivojinovich
Victor Wooten rhapsodizes on [i]Amazing Grace.[/i]Not precisely a guitar solo, but more impressive to the likes of me. Involves some dynamic retuning.
But the king of retuning a bass is
Michael Manring, seen here with a Zon Hyperbass. Each of its four strings has a lever at each end that can be used to tune between two almost-arbitrary pitches. That's four pitches per string, for a total of 256 distinct tunings available almost instantly.
I know I'll never get to Manring's level on the bass, so I've been
thinking about getting myself one of these things. Pretty expensive, though.
Mike Bloomfield
Elvin Bishop
Eric Clapton
Freddie king
Albert King
BB King
Roy Buchanan
Joe Walsh
Carlos Santana
SRV
Johnny Lang
kenny Wayne Sheppard
First that come to mind are Clapton, Atkins, SRV, and Leo Kottke.
Jeez,can't believe I forgot Bloomfield-one of my all time favorites."The Lost Concert Tapes" is a superb album,as is "My Labors".
WB.
Totally forgot about Wariner. Heck of a player.
Neither does any 80's guitarist that has fretboard diarrhea.
"Shred-metal... just never did a thing for me, because a lot of it to me just sounded like porky pig reciting the Gettysburg Address."
Vinny Roth
Vintage Guitar Magazine
July '08 p26
Not that I agree, but a heck of a funny quote.
A lot of my faves already mentioned ... yet I still get bumps when I hear Mason Williams "Classical Gas".
He was a certifiable genius...
and wrote most of what he played, was a Smothers Bros Show writer...artist...
That album is one of my top 5 favorite albums.
BTW,check this Australian girl out.
OrianthiWB.
Victor Wooten is a freak of nature. I loves me some Flecktones!
I don't think that any mentioned Robbie Robinson from The Band or bluegrass man Doc Watson.
I think Rush Limbaugh likes ZZ Top
I'm still a Steve Vai and Stevie Ray Vaughn guy, Dick Dale is decent too, along with Joe Satriani. Les
I think Rush Limbaugh likes ZZ Top
He loves ZZ Top-supposedly he's been baggering Billy Gibbons to do him some special drops for the show for years now.
WB.
Gotta love Uncle Ted-
Uncle Ted's Thoughts On Gov't"You can't stop a bad guy with a middle finger and a roll of quarters." CLASSIC!
WB.
Victor Wooten is a freak of nature.
Yup, that's about right.
Has NO ONE mentioned Ted Nugent????
Thanks, Kat, better not forget Uncle Ted! And so much more than just a guitar picker.
Forgot to mention David Gilmore!!!
I'll put in another vote for Alex Zivojinovich (aka Alex Lifeson) of Rush. And a nod to Geddy Lee on the electric bass, while I'm at it.
Leon Kotke,...hands down,
GTC
Billy Zoom
Pat Martino
Gil Orr (My Uncle - The Chantays, and The Duo-Tones with Paul Johnson)
Leon Kotke,...hands down,
GTC
Like all things, taste is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder... Leo Kottke is a virtuoso, no doubt. But his music has never done much for me...
Eddie VanHalen
Jimmy Page
Mike McCready (Pearl JAm)
Zappa, Peter Green, Jerry Garcia, Joe Walsh(no Eagle stuff though!)
Duke Robillard
what he said...
hands down... #1... all time.....
Randy Rhoads one of the best metal guitarists ever
25 yrs old is way to young to die !!
RIP Randy 1956 - 1982
Randy Rhoads - 3 best guitar solos
Just checked in. Has anyone mentioned Albert Lee, James Burton, Steve Cropper?
Danny GattonDanny was one of the very best.Too bad we lost him way too soon.
WB.
Many of those mentioned so far are excellent players and would apear on my list. Two more that come to mind are Robben Ford and Merle Travis.
Robben is an absolute master of the guitar.He can play every genre,with ease.
For his very best playing,pick up "Discovering The Blues" and "Sunrise".These are both live albums recorded when Robben was about 19 years old.This was back when his main axe was a Gibson Super 400 jazz box pluged into a medium sized Fender amp.He's never been able to get that kind of tone since he ditched that setup,although he still sounds superb.
WB.
I agree with you about Robben's skill with a guitar. I have seen him live three times and was amazed each time. Didn't quit grinning for a couple of days! I have "Discovering the Blues" along with most of his more recent work but I do not have "Sunrise" (yet). Thanks for the tip.
Another great player just came to mind. Sonny Landreth. Excellent live show!
After 100+ replies, I cannot believe that nobody has mentioned Pete Townsend as a favorite.
Here's a good song for the aftermath of the political season:
Won't Get Fooled Again, on youtube.
You may recall that he bashed Abbie Hoffman off the stage at Woodstock!
--Bob
Another great player just came to mind. Sonny Landreth. Excellent live show!
ded7 .... awesome call
I can't believe I forgot about Sonny.
He lives 10 minutes from my house and I try to see his local shows when he comes back in town from touring
awesome slide guitar !!
Sonny Landreth and Mark Knopfler - JAM !!
It's funny you guys bring up The Nuge. He was on a hunting trip in Montana 3 or 4 Septembers back. I ran into him in a real hippie bar in Whitefish. It was on a Tuesday night, that I remember clearly. All the hippies were saying [bleep] like "Man, just look at him sitting there, all proud of himself because he likes to kill animals" and "He's just part of the Coorporate Machine..." I looked over to see who the hell they were talking about (he had a group around him that were buddies he brought with him) So I walked over and introduced myself and had a few with his buddies (I don't think he was drinking, unless it was a Coke or something) I told him right to his face that his music never did anything for me, but I thought he had a huge pair of balls for his un-popular (for an entertainer) opinions. He thought that was cool. Very interesting 3 beer conversation. I told him he should run for President some day. You know if Nuge was president, you wouldn't have to worry about your hunting and gun rights... In real life he's a very grounded "for real" person. Not uppity, arrogant, or snobbish at all. More than I can say for the rest of the celeb types that blow through Whitefish... Wish I was bartending the day that Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen got 86'd out of Casey's... At 9 AM!!!
Guitarist I used to love when I could still hear, Alvin Lee (Ten Years After "Going Back to Birmingham") Always gave one of the best concerts imaginable. Same for Little Feat. Wow. Saw one of the last shows they did while all members were still alive. Best live 1 song performance I ever saw was Humble Pie doing "I Don't Need No Doctor" close enough at an outdoor show in Birmingham to get sweat slung on you.
And the best Rock N Roll song ever I'll say is between Derrick and the Dominos "Layla" and the Allman Borthers Band "Whipping Post" (or maybe "One Way Out")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owAj5LiXG5wHere's a young kid from France that tears it up. Remember his name (Matt Rach), I think he's going to be very big someday.
Like all things, taste is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder... Leo Kottke is a virtuoso, no doubt. But his music has never done much for me...
Try Adrian Legg.
What a great thread. I saw SRV in KC outside at the Starlight. I eased up front as people moved from their seats to use restrooms. I got to the third row. His hands were larger than Dr. J's. Clapton is king. Check out "The Last Waltz" (The Band's last show 1976) in CD or cheap DVD from Amazon. Clapton, Howlin Wolf, Dylan, Neil Young, ect,ect,ect....
Stranglehold was GREAT guitar work...I was fortunate enough to see him perform at CalJam II at Ontario Motor Speedway back in 77 ??? Another goodie from the past...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oowuyzxgmtg
As a long-time guitar player (since the late 70's) I have many "favorite" players...
However, I'll put Hendrix right at the top of the list for combining technical brilliance, feel, and sheer mindblowing pyrotechnics. What a stud. I don't know what I'd give to be able to live in his head/body for a day, back IN the day, but it'd be a lot.
As far as RECENT players, the guy from Radiohead is SICK. All of you classic-rock lovers should run, don't walk, to iTunes or whereever and buy the album "OK Computer". It's the "Dark Side of the Moon" of this last decade or so; just a huge, gorgeous album. In addition to some very cool songs, I promise you will hear some guitar sounds and tones and playing that will open your head up in ways you can't imagine.
I saw Randy Rhoads with Ozzy (of course) in 1982 in Albuquerque right before he died. His command of the instrument LIVE (which is a whole other thing than in the studio) was incredible. Ozzy was pathetic, couldn't sing his way out of a paper bag... and didn't bite the head off any bats or small children... but Randy was amazing...
Leon Kotke,...hands down,
GTC
Like all things, taste is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder... Leo Kottke is a virtuoso, no doubt. But his music has never done much for me...
I always felt the same way about John McLaughlin. Maybe I'm just not 'smart' enough to understand what he's doing.
I have a Robert Johnson story. It is said that the first time Keith Richards heard a Robert Johnson record he asked who the other guy was.
Most of my favorites have been mentioned.
I'll add in a dash of Albert Collins (Master of the Telecaster), and couple shakes of Angus Young.......
Neil Young needs mention as well. CDN boy.
Have to say
Jerry Donahue and Will Ray (from the Hellecasters)
Roy Buchanan
Lenny Breau
Brent Mason
Sonny Landreth, David Benoit.
Marc Olsen... He's amazing. Also my brother (g).
You guys have some good taste- I like everyone rnentioned here pretty much. It has made me realize, though, that I put more stock in vibe and songs and tone these days, than in sheer shred- like Daniel Lenois, or Radiohead as I mentioned before. Sonic Youth is another favorite. If I could turn you guys onto two albums (other than Marc's) they'd be Radioheads "OK Computer", and Sonic Youth's "Dirty". The latter in particular has some guitar EXPLOSIONS.
I'm listening right now to a duet with Brad Paisley and Steve Warner. Both are very good. I like Andy McKee, and recently bought all his stuff. Historically, I like ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughn and James Taylor.
I always felt the same way about John McLaughlin. Maybe I'm just not 'smart' enough to understand what he's doing.
You have to
really be into the guitar and prefferibly a player,to apprechiate McLaughlin.He does
not make any music that's "easy listening",which is the reason he's never really made it "big".
FWIW,you might enjoy this-
John McLaughlin,Paco De Lucia and Larry Coryell-Guardian AngelWB.
I always felt the same way about John McLaughlin. Maybe I'm just not 'smart' enough to understand what he's doing.
You have to
really be into the guitar and prefferibly a player,to apprechiate McLaughlin.He does
not make any music that's "easy listening",which is the reason he's never really made it "big".
FWIW,you might enjoy this-
John McLaughlin,Paco De Lucia and Larry Coryell-Guardian AngelWB.
I am a player (well, closer to a hack) but still don't get it.
I have that same song on my 'Friday Night in San Francisco' disc, though it is diMeola/McLaughlin/de Lucia.
KDK,
That's cool.McLaughlin does a lot of atonal stuff that leaves the vast majority of folks (including myself at times),scratching their heads.
WB.
Has Roger McGuinn been mentioned?