An article listing the top ten guitarists in history popped up on my computer the other day - quite out of the blue.
I took a look to see how that list compared with my favourites.
[Image courtesy of posters.es]
Well, there were quite a few in common. eg Eric Clapton, Dave Gilmour, Brian May, Jimmy Page and Carlos Santana, but astonishingly, no Peter Green, Mark Knopfler nor Joe Walsh.
Other contenders
I took a look at other top ten lists. The same four or five guitarists were on most lists, but, frankly, I'd never heard of some names on these lists.
At the end of this article are the five websites I looked at - the first five on my Google search, in fact.
My top ten
Here is my definitive list. I've excluded classical guitar maestros like Andres Segovia and John Williams and focused only on pop/rock/blues guitarists since 1960.
I list them alphabetically, although I do have a stand-out number 1, which I shall reveal at the end!
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Jeff Beck RIP
- as a young man Beck played with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers before joining The Yardbirds. He was a very under-rated yet top guitar player. He sadly died in 2023, aged 78.
Eric Clapton
- A young Clapton played with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers before moving on to form Cream and then Blind Faith. He left them after one tour and one album, and despite a long solo career Clapton never achieved greatness on the guitar again.
Clapton was distracted by his obsession with Patti Boyd, the wife of his best mate George Harrison ..... and later by the death of his 4-year-old son Conor, who fell from a balcony at his estranged wife's home. Now aged 78 he is no longer active.
The late Jeff Beck [Britannica] Eric Clapton [El Español]
David Gilmour
- Pink Floyd improved when he joined the group following the disappearance of Syd Barrett. I’ve always rated Gilmour highly. His playing on Dark Side of the Moon make it my favourite album of all time.
A young Dave Gilmour with Pink Floyd [Britannica] Gilmour in 2024, aged 78 [Wikipedia]
Peter Green RIP
- Peter Green also "trained" with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers before going on to form the original Fleetwood Mac, where he was sensational as the front man. But after he fried his brains on drugs, and spending years in rehab, he never produced great guitar playing again. He is now dead.
Mark Knopfler - Mark Knopfler as the lead guitarist of Dire Straits, proved himself over a decade. Subsequently played with The Traveling Wilbury's alongside Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and Roy Orbison. Outstanding!
Peter Green in Fleetwood Mac [Primicias] Mark Knopfler in Dire Straits [Reddit]
Hank B Marvin
- Hank was a pioneer on the guitar. His playing on those great instrumental hits by The Shadows in the 60s was superb.
Brian May
- was as important to Queen as the late Freddie Mercury. Their "Bohemian Rhapsody" was fantastic and gets in my top three songs of all time. His playing on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Golden Jubilee in 2002 was astonishing.
Hank Marvin [Wikipedia] Brian May on the roof at Buckingham Palace [Photo: X]
Jimmy Page
- Led Zeppelin without Jimmy Page wouldn’t have achieved greatness, despite having a great drummer in John Bonham and a wonderful singer, Robert Plant. Page also played with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in his younger days.
Carlos Santana
- Carlos Santana is amazing. His distinctive playing dates from the 1970s. He still plays live concerts, although he is now 77 years old.
Jimmy Page [YouTube] Carlos Santana still going strong, aged 77 [La Razon de Mexico]
Joe Walsh
- Joe Walsh of The Eagles was a great guitarist who contributed hugely to the success of this California folk rock band.
Joe Walsh [Billboard] [Photo: rafabasa]
Others who came close to getting on this list were George Harrison RIP, Jimi Hendrix RIP, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor and Pete Townshend.
These are links to the other top ten lists:
The Top 10 Greatest Rock Guitarists Of All Time - Forbes
Top 10 Best Guitarists of All Time - The Top Tens
The Top 10 Guitarists of All Time (Sep 2023) | LedgerNote - Ledgernote
Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time, Ranked - Rolling Stone
The Top 10 Guitarists Of All Time - American Songwriter - American Songwriter
And my number one guitarist of all time?
The virtuoso blues guitarist Peter Green.
His playing for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and the original Fleetwood Mac was the soundtrack to my late teens and early 20s.
His early capitulation to drugs, mental instability, an ill-advised comeback and early death do not mar his short legacy in any way.
Peter Green RIP [The Irish Times]
Quiz question:
Who are the musicians on the sleeve of this emblematic album? [Clue: They are all still alive and kicking except Mayall, who died in July 2024, aged 90.
Album sleeve [Amazon]
Check out these links:
https://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/theculturevulture/23537/guitar-legends.aspx
https://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/theculturevulture/23258/the-best-guitarists-and-drummers-since-music-came-alive-in-1950---revised-and-completed.aspx
https://www.eyeonspain.com/blogs/theculturevulture/23191/viva-la-musica.aspx
© The Culture Vulture
Photos:
Amazon, Billboard, Britannica, El Español, La Razon de Mexico, posters.es, Primicias, rafabasa, Reddit, The Irish Times, Wikipedia, X, YouTube,
Acknowledgements:
John Mayall, Paul Whitelock, The Culture Vulture
Tags:
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