Rock Legends: Top 10 Greatest Rock Guitar Players

© 2012 by Theocharis Vagelis

This is my humble effort to present to you my Top 10 Greatest Rock Guitarists of all times. This of course does not mean that I am pretending to be a critic or an expert. I am just a guy who is a hard-core rock fan and who occasionally plays the guitar and keys with his friends. Many of you may not agree with my picks. I am sure that there are other extremely good performers that could easily fit in the list; but what can I say…there are no objective criteria when it comes to “judging” the value of musicians. It is most probable that if I ever make again such a list, its members may be different (or not).

Furthermore, have in mind that my list is focused upon Classic Rock and Hard Rock music. I tried to avoid including the so-called Gods of Heavy Metal Guitar (i.e. Petrucci, Malmsteen, Vai, Satriani, etc) and of course the American R&B Legends such as Buddy Guy, Albert King, BB King etc. It would not be fair and the criteria would have to change.

Last but not least, I have not included Dave Gilmour as I am positively biased towards Pink Floyd.

Enjoy!

Ronald Franklin Sheton was born in Washington DC.

He was not a nice guy…he was the guitarist of the Stooges and that is enough.

Asheton was found in his home dead in 2009. He had been dead for several days.

Jeff’s birth name is Goeffrey Arnold Beck and he was born in Wallington, Surrey in England.

He was one of the 3 star guitarists of The Yardbirds (the other 2 were Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page). After leaving the band in 1967, Jeff Beck formed his own heavier version of the Yardbirds, the Jeff Beck Group.

Jeff Beck’s commercial peak came in the mid-1970s, with an idiosyncratic style of jazz fusion. Jeff Beck is famous for his instrumental releases, which have artful melodies, roaring distortion and jazz fusion bars.

Jeff Beck has appeared as a session musician or a guest on albums by Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Kate Bush, even Cyndi Lauper.

John Frusciante was born in 1970 in New York.

John Anthony Frusciante auditioned for his favourite band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1988. The Peppers had just lost their guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died of a drug overdose. John had never played in a band before but he passed the audition easily.

Frusciante is influenced by the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. He favors vintage guitars and analog recording.

Frusciante abruptly left the band in 1992 whilst on a tour. He left a huge hole (Dave Navarro did not fill his shoes) that was finally filled in 1999, when he returned to the band “clean” after a long term detox.

Lee Ranaldo was born in Glen Cove, Long Island.

He teamed up with Thurston Moore to form the “Sonic Youth”. He used to attack his axe guitar with drumsticks and screwdrivers. On Sonic Youth’s masterpiece Daydream Nation, he created a new blissful guitar noise.

He is not considered a virtuoso such as Morello, but a professional soundsmith.

Stevie was born and raised in Dallas. He kicked off a blues-rock renaissance.

He became famous for his brass-knuckled and funky twang playing with his Fender Stratocaster. He encompassed many styles, including jazz, rock, rhythm and blues and ballads.

Stevie Ray Vaughan won many awards, including 6 Grammies and 5 W. C. Handies. He has sold more than 15,000,000 only in the USA.

Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash after leaving a concert where he had just played with Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jeff Healey and Robert Cray.

Peter Allen Greenbaum was born in London in 1946.

He is the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac and got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

He is famous for idiomatic playing and the technical and authoritative use of bending and vibrato.

His compositions and songs have been covered by many artists, such as Santana, Judas Priest, Aerosmith and many more.

One of my personal favorites, Thomas Baptiste Morello was born in Harlem to Ngethe Njoroge and Mary Morello. He is of Kenyan descent on his paternal side and of Italian descent on his maternal side.

Tom Morello was won a Grammy Award and is mostly famous for his work with Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave.

He is not considered to be one of the “speediest” guitarists but he handles the toggle switches like a DJ. His unique playing incorporates feedback noises, hybrid riffs, picking and tapping and extreme guitar effects.

Tom Morello has used dozens of guitars (Stratocaster, Ibanez, Telecaster, Goya Rangemaster de Greco, Gibson, Ovation Breadwinner, Gibson Les Paul) but his most famous guitar is a Mongrel Custom “Arm the Homeless” guitar.

The dark lord James Patrick Page was born in Middlesex in 1944.

He began his career as a session musician (for the Kinks, the Everly Brothers and more) and became a member of the Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968.

Following the Yardbirds, Jimmy Page formed Led Zeppelin, the most famous hard rock band of the 70s. The technical authority and exotic reach of Jimmy’s playing together with his iron riffs made Led Zeppelin one of the most successful rock bands ever.

Jimmy Page is also famous for his interest in the occult, especially in the works of Aleister Crowley. In the early 70's, Page owned an occult bookshop and small publishing house.

Jimmy Page recorded most of Led Zeppelin’s LPs playing his Gibson Les Paul. However, he was occasionally using Fender Telecasters, Stratocasters, a Danelectro, a Vox 12-string and a Harmony Sovereign. Jimmy Page has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, one in 1992 (The Yardbirds) and one in 1995 (Led Zeppelin).

Brian Harold May was born in London in 1947 and he is the founder of the rock band “Queen”.

Funnily enough he is also a well known astrophysicist (he is appointed Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University!!!!). Brian May has also been made “Commander of the Order of the British Empire” for his contribution to music.

His flamboyant guitar playing made him being globally noticed even though he was performing next to one of the most gifted frontmen, Freddie Mercury.

Brian mostly performed with his custom made guitar “Red Special” but also favored Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, Fender Stratocaster Pre-CBS and Ovation Pacemaker 12-string.

Brian currently owns a company that manufactures guitars that are modeled after his very own “Red Special”.

James Marshall Hendrix was born in Seattle. There is not much to say about Jimi Hendrix apart from the fact that he is widely considered to be the greatest guitarist in musical history. He popularized the wah-wah pedal and he used high bends, legato, stereophonic phasing effects and complex guitar playing. He was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Jimi Hendrix has a dedicated star on the Holywood Walk of Fame. Jimi owned and used many guitars but his personal favorite was a Fender Stratocaster. Hendrix occasionally used right-handed guitars, turned upside down and restrung for left-hand playing. Jimi Hendrix died in 1970 due to consumption of pills. However, James Wright, a roadie of the Animals rock band, published a book in 2009 claiming that his manager Mike Jeffery had killed Hendrix due to contractual disagreements.

Personally, I believe that Jimi Hendrix died because God wanted guitar lessons...

The following is a list of other loved Rock Guitar Heroes:

• Eric Clapton
• Duane Allman
• Angus Young
• Fred Sonic Smith
• Robby Krieger
• Neil Young
• Mark Knopfler
• Keith Richards
• Pete Townshend, and many many more...

Manos Hadjidakis: The Story of a Musical Genius

Pink Floyd: Perhaps the Best Band ever (?)