Epic *American* Rock guitarists.....

[fNord]

Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2017, 04:04 AM - Edit history (1)

My boyfriend and I have been discussing this for a few months, and we're having trouble thinking of the great American rock guitarists. Most of what we come up with are Brits, with the occasional Canadian, and of corse, the legendary Irishman, Rory Gallagher.

--reporter to Jimi Hendrix: "How's it feel to be the greatest guitarist in history?"
--Jimi: "I don't know man, you should go ask Rory Gallagher."

In the states, we've got Jimi. (Mic drops................................."boom!&quot
We have Eddie Van Halen.
Also Joe Perry, I guess.........before that whole "Break" thing

......That can't be it, right?
We invented Rock N' Roll, but we're getting spanked by the overwhelming British Invasion.

So I'm asking you, the Lounge Lizards, to prove me wrong.
Show me some American Rock badasses. Not Blues, we own that (mostly.). Not metal, the Sweeds own that (mostly.). I just mean Rock N' F'n Roll



Criteria:

No three chord wonders, or fret tapping hair band leads, I'm looking for Guitarists.

Check your choices (Slash from G N' R is British, for example)

Finally, please no newbies or one hit wonders, I'm looking for heavyweights! Folk who can stand with the likes of Brian May, Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Kieth Richards.

I know there out there, help me find them:



*edit for

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

1. say what?

you don't know the work of Duane Allman? Skunk Baxter? Frank Zappa? Stevie Ray Vaughn? Lonnie Mack?

[fNord]

3. Zappa.

I forgot Zappa; Vaughn and Lonnie are light weight in the company mentioned; Allman was more folk than rock and I don't know Baxter, but I'll thank you and look him up. Btw, I grabbed my boys iPad, so this is the bf.

[Charles Bukowski]

9. SRV, lightweight?

He'd blow Keith Richards off the stage with his amp on standby.

Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Lindsay Buckingham are monster guitarists as well.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

10. Allman is more folk?

I think not, and how could I forget Johnny Winter, Roy Buchanan and Mike Bloomfield?

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

135. Another Allmans

[lastlib]

57. Stevie Ray Vaughn is no lightweight!!

That dude could hammer-down ROCK and ROLL!!

[busterbrown]

78. This imo, is best guitar/song writer out there.. Doyle Bramhall 11

His father recently deceased was drummer for Steve Ray Vaughn ...His new album “Rich Man” fantastic..
Recently Doyle was 2nd guitar player for Clapton on several tours and he also played with Pink Floyd on Tour in middle 2000s..

This is the 1st song on new Album..Not much soloing, but shows you his style.. Drummer played with Temptations..Doyle can play with the best..Just completed Hendrix Tour ...

[Mendocino]

109. Good choice

I liked him with Steve Winwood, Clapton and Derek Trucks performing Can't Find My Way Home.

[unblock]

79. if srv is a "lightweight", then forget eddie van halen. so he's fast, big deal.

[fishwax]

8. Duane Allman was the famous one; Dickie Betts was the good one

At least, that's what Duane said. Truth is: both could play.

[fNord]

12. As much as I love Dickie, he was Bluegrass....

Doesn't count

But will give Solid respect to Waren Haynes!

[fishwax]

15. no, definitely not bluegrass

and Duane Allman wasn't folk...

and SRV wasn't a lightweight (though I'm not a huge fan, personally, he was undeniably talented)...

and Robert Plant isn't a great guitarist (Jimmy Page, on the other hand)...

Are you just yanking our chain?

[fNord]

19. What was it said about checking......

, yeah, I definitely meant Page.....going to edit that.....thanks for the heads up

No, not yanking, not this time......


But STV....no respect. Just like Steve Vie.....if I put a pice of translucent paper on top of an M.C. Escher drawing and copied it, I shurley wouldn't bet called a brilliant artist......

[fishwax]

20. yeah, I've been there ;)

For your listening pleasure, here's the rendition of Whipping Post from Fillmore East in 1970. This was a show they played with the dead. Oh to have been there.

It's a long jam of a short song, and you get the chance to see Duane Allman and Dickie Betts covering quite a bit of ground on the guitar:

&list=RDFUvxRjYqjEQ

[Simon_Moon]

24. UM... Rock?

I'm sorry to chime in on my third post with a dissension, but the OP, i think, was talking proper shredding rock. Nobody would ever dispute Betts and Allman having the ability to kick all butts involved when it comes to laying down the licks, especially for an extended jam, but if the question is who fills a stadium with hard electric ass-kickery (ala those mentioned above) in that respect, I for one don't think that Jerry gives us what even Frusciante did in his early years (and i will take jerry any day). Its apples and oranges. I'd take Warrren Haines any day of the week over Dave Navarro, but if we're talking about persons that lay down the harder stuff like Joan Jett, then the guys you're talking about are a different kind of blues.

Much love....

[fishwax]

28. I'm not sure Frusciante ever filled a stadium, and certainly not in his early years

But I'm sure they played some decent arenas before he left the band. With his influences, I'm not sure whether he'd fit the OP's mold or not. But there are others from roughly the same era that I would include, like Morello (whom I mentioned elsewhere) and Kim Thayil.

I agree with you that they're apples and oranges, though. And welcome to DU!

[Simon_Moon]

34. Many Thanx

Glad to be here.

[fNord]

98. Ok, one more "my bad"

I'd don't know why, especially since I've seen them both live....but my mind always gets Dicky Betts and Bella Fleck mixed up. Not the music, just the names. Definitely not bluegrass Solid right on for that.....sorry about the mixup, was almost as drunk last night as I am now..... where's my lighter....I need to clear my head............

[Hoyt]

2. Clarence White.

[Mendocino]

110. RIP

White was the best guitarist the Byrds ever had, better range than Mcguinn. Ever see the young Clarence playing on the Andy Griffith Show?

[Hoyt]

112. I have seen the Andy Griffth tapes, and the Byrds. My favorite muscian ever was Gene Clark,

but he was pretty much an acoustic strummer. White on Lover of the Bayou and 8 Miles High was killer.

[Mendocino]

116. I'm quite fond of this one

[link:

|

[redstateblues]

129. More of a influential Country picker

[Hoyt]

130. This ain't country . . . . . .

But he could pick an acoustic too.

[redstateblues]

143. Definitely not. Tho he is a much revered guitar player in Country music.

[fishwax]

4. Randy Rhoads, Tom Morello, Prince

[lastlib]

60. Tom Petty

[dchill]

155. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers GUITARIST...

Mike Campbell.

[lame54]

166. Love him...

Not a "Guitar Hero"

But a bad-ass all the same

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Prince.

[montana_hazeleyes]

27. I was going to say Prince if someone hadn't already.

Absolutely! He was so talented in so many, many ways.

[LNM]

124. Definitely Prince.

I heard that Eric Clapton was once asked what it was like to be the greatest guitar player in the world. He said "ask Prince"
Prince starts at 3:30.

[dchill]

156. Yep.

[fishwax]

6. Carlos Santana, Jerry Garcia, Joe Walsh

[fNord]

13. Santana, not American. Jerry, not rock.....

Both kick ass, can't be denied. But I'll totally give you Joe Walsh......

[fishwax]

17. Yeah, Santana was (and is) American

He was born in Mexico, but moved to San Francisco, where he went to high school, became an American citizen, started Santana. You mentioned Slash, and while he's a dual citizen I've heard him say he favors his British heritage, so if you want to exclude him I guess I'm okay with that. But I'm gonna have to insist on Santana.

As to Jerry Garcia--I guess maybe we're just defining Rock differently. If you define "Rock" as "British Invasion," then yeah, most of the great guitarists will wind up being British. But American musicians responded to the challenge of the British invasion by, in part, expanding on the southern blues influences that so heavily influenced early Rock and Roll and then the Stones, Beatles, Yardbirds, Zeppelin, etc. Because those guys were doing Blues-filtered rock better than Americans were. So you have American musicians in the late 60s turning to other sources to expand their sound in response. So you get bands like The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, Creedence, CSNY (Stills is a helluva guitarist, by the way), The Byrds (yeah, McGuinn is pretty good too) and so on.

[fNord]

21. Slash is an American citizen, but I still count him as British.....

My bf and I debated back and forth on Carlos, and will now go with your recommendation. Hell yeah, we got one more! Please don't misunderstand the point of this post....I'm not a nationalist....I love music too much to pin it down to a nation. This was simply a conversation that I wanted help with, but certain perimeters were set at the beginning. American (born and bread,) rock; not blues, folk, metal, or bluegrass......
And Giants, not flash in the pan quickies.

I love the Dead, but Jerry is a Bluegrass player who lended himself to folk rock. I do give love and respect to Steve Sills, but most of the cats you mentioned were blues/folk.


By the way, Nobody bends a 12string like Rodger McGuinn

[fishwax]

25. I guess I don't get why Jerry's influences should DQ him anymore than Clapton's blues

influences would DQ him, or Page's blues influences would DQ him. Again, it seems to me to be a rather narrow definition of rock which is, by nature, going to be Brit heavy. But while the Grateful Dead were influenced by folk (and jazz and blues and so on), their catalog isn't folk any more than Led Zeppelin is blues.

Following the British Invasion, American rock took a folk/country turn, and if you don't count groups like that as rock then you will, by definition, be eliminating a lot of the best American guitarists. (It eliminates plenty of Brits, too, of course, like Dave Gilmour and Mark Knopfler and Richard Thompson and so on. It's also why the date range of your list is pretty limited, with all of the names in your OP except for Eddie Van Halen surfacing between 1965 and 1970. By the late 1970s, the heavy, blues-influenced rock that gave rise to Clapton, Page, and so on had given way to other forms.)

I think your exceptions sort of prove the rule. You mentioned Joe Perry, and of course Aerosmith was the most notable American band that followed the British Invasion rather than responding to them. And Jimi moved to London in the mid 60s, so he's naturally going to have more contact with that sound then, say, Lou Reed was. Of course, they're your parameters, so you can set them as you wish, but I think that's the reason that you're not going to find a lot of American names in the category as you've defined it.

[Simon_Moon]

32. Not so sure

Perhaps the perimeters have been set too tight. I did mention the various Peppers guitarists earlier and those guys often border on funk, but I think that acts like Thuroughgood and the Destroyers deserve a mention within those narrow settings. That said, Reed spent his own time in London and even married a Brit. But Working Man blues kinda did it for Grateful Dead as far as proper rock goes , with few exceptions.

Certainly Jerry jamming an acoustic with Grisham shouldn't DQ him any more than Clapton playing blues with King should DQ him, but neither are rock, rock.

I kinda think you're full of it, but I mostly agree with you. The OP did set limits, but the question was why americans didn't fit those limited perimeters. As you've answered, it's because the brits filled that space and the americans, (at lease at that time) headed elsewhere. CCR's three albums in three years had little of what could be called definitive "rock" but they charted something like over two dozen singles in that time.

Nice to hear from someone that knows they're music.

[fNord]

35. Ok, the perimeters may have been too tight....

What is Rock?

Btw, welcome to Du

[Simon_Moon]

41. um.....Robert Hunter wrote all those songs

[fNord]

42. Lol.......

And a few by Shel Silverstein.......

[fNord]

47. Don't kid yourself.....

Eris wrote them alll.....

There's some RAW for you......

Ok, I'm now in desperate need of sleep

[Beaverhausen]

67. The lyrics, yes

[Hassin Bin Sober]

145. Somewhere I have a print of that framed (8x11 size)

Hmmm, where did it go.....

[red dog 1]

190. + 1

[Warpy]

26. Carlos Santana was here by the time he hit middle school

I wonder why no one has mentioned people like Sister Rosetta Tharpe. If you don't think that lady rocked out on an electric guitar, you need to go cruising over on You Tube.

She and Santana are the best this country has produced, IMO.

[kwassa]

102. another vote for Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a pioneer of the electric guitar.

[Warpy]

117. Thanks, too many people don't know who she is. Without her, no Chuck Berry

or any other rock guitarist. She was fantastic and a complete innovator.

[kwassa]

132. and I must post her in performance.

[hexola]

100. I guess Bill Grahm was wrong when he called Jerry "the godfather of rock and roll"

they were the most rock and roll of all...

[red dog 1]

191. + 1

You're absolutely right!

Although Garcia began his career as a guitarist playing bluegrass. folk, blues & "jug band" music
("Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions" evolved into "The Warlocks&quot
he definitely evolved into a "Rock & Roll" guitarist.

(Bill Graham was right!)

[Docreed2003]

7. Duane Allman...

Clapton considered him one of the best guitarists he had ever worked with. That haunting guitar solo in "Layla"?? That's Allman.

[Sedona]

11. Johnny Winter

[Beaverhausen]

14. Randy Rhoades, Todd Rundgren

[VMA131Marine]

16. Neil Schon from Journey

Lindsay Buckingham also should qualify
Johnny Ramone
Tommy Shaw - Styx
Joe Walsh - Eagles, etc
Dave Grohl - Foo Fighters

[ProfessorGAC]

162. I See A Couple I Can't Buy

Dave Grohl isn't even the best guitar player in his own band. Don't get me wrong, i like Dave and his band, but the lead player is far better than he is.

Johnny Ramone is DQ'd by the OP. That's three chord wonder stuff. (That and i don't think he could play none.)

Tommy Shaw is pretty darned good as well, so that's a good dark horse. Joe Walsh was mentioned elsewhere here, so we have some level of consensus on that. But, when he was in the Eagles with Felder, he was at best tied for best player in the band. They were both quite good.

[brush]

18. Santana, and Chuck Berry from early rock and roll

Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2017, 11:19 AM - Edit history (1)

[hurple]

22. Some new ones...

Jack White
Dan Aurebach

And Brian Setzer is no slouch, although he falls back on rockabilly cliches a bit too often.

[LuvLoogie]

174. I really like Jack White.

He pays homage to the great guitar grooves before him, bringing great tone and fresh hooks to the mix.

[cemaphonic]

183. I've been growing to appreciate him more and more lately

I didn't exactly dislike the White Stripes when they were active, but I thought they were wildly overpraised. But a lot of the stuff that he's done since then has been pretty interesting.

And I agree, he does a lot to promote and showcase great music from the past, while still putting an original spin on it.

[Tikki]

23. Billy Zoom and East Bay Ray...and the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce..

May not be you and your friend's rock & roll..but rock and roll it is..

&list=RDAL_U0e285FY

Tikki

[fNord]

30. I sooooo want to give you East Bay Ray.....

But punk is.....well, punk.

[Tikki]

126. There is no law that says you have to have 3 minute guitar solos to be a great guitarist....

at least I don't think so.

Tikki

[fNord]

141. I love East Bay Ray......

But punk rock is, well, punk......just like I responded to the folk posting Jerry Garcia, I was looking for Rock n' Roll guitarist, not bluegrass folk rock, and not punk. Also not metal, and not blues......

But I suppose the definition of Rock N' Roll is both broad and narrow, so, what the hell.....

Either way, badass guitar work......it's was like if The Beach Boys' balls had finally dropped, and then they took some acid......respect

[C_U_L8R]

59. The Johnny's

Johnny Thunders and Johnny Ramone.

And... Poison Ivy Rorschach

[Tikki]

66. Yes, yes, yes...

Tikki

[Coventina]

72. Thank you! The "Johnnys" and Poison Ivy don't get enough love.

on edit: grammarz

[Tikki]

81. So many great new bands...

Ivy was an influence in so many bands today...
I really like this Memphis band...

https://bust.com/music/17082-memphis-punks-nots-channel-feminism-through-blazing-post-punk-bust-interview.html

Tikki

[Jack Bone]

29. John Mayer is one hellava player

Gary Clark Jr. too

Joe Bonnamossa

[fNord]

31. ............

[Jack Bone]

158. Nothing like a killer Jimi cover...

To prove your chops...enjoy

[sweetloukillbot]

33. Steve Lukather

Absolute monster who has played with everybody. Got his start with Boz Skaggs while still a teen, is currently playing with Ringo Starr. In between there's been Toto and almost every album made in the 80s, including "Thriller".

Scotty Moore and James Burton - who isn't more RnR than Elvis?

Dave Alvin - the Blasters were pure rock n roll.

David Hidalgo - completely underrated.

Trey Anastasio - I'm not a Phish fan but you can't deny his talent.

Tommy Bolin and Steve Morse - two Americans who were able to replace Richie Blackmore in Deep Purple.

John Patrucci - may be too metal for your scale, but damn.

Steve Vai and Joe Satriani - more than just metal or "fret-tapping hair heads"

[LunaSea]

36. Steve Morse

[JDC]

40. Stevie Ray Vaughan

[lastlib]

55. YES!!

El Numero Uno!

[cemaphonic]

43. Did you somehow forget Chuck "invented rock guitar" Berry?

Eddie Hazel
Bo Diddley
Dave Navarro

Peter Buck isn't a solo wizard, but was probably one of the most influential rock guitarists from the 80s on.

[cemaphonic]

69. He's like the American Johnny Marr

They rarely come up in "best guitarist," or even "most underrated guitarist" lists, but just about every professional guitarist that grew up in the 80s namechecks one or both of them as a big influence.

[red dog 1]

192. If you like Chuck Berry, you should rent or buy the movie "Cadillac Records"

It's the story of Leonard Chess, the co-founder of Chess Records.

Chess Records recorded early 1950s blues performers such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and
Little Walter.
Later on in the movie comes rock & roller Chuck Berry and the legendary singer, Etta James

The script is superb, imo, and so is the acting, especially:
- Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters
- Columbus Short as Little Walter
- Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf
- Beyonce Knowles as Etta James
and especially
- Mos Def as Chuck Berry

The movie is well-directed by Darnell Martin, although it's definitely a "fictional" film, leaving out important Chess Records personnel such as Phil Chess, Leonard,s brother and co-founder, as well as Bo Diddley, one of Chess Records most popular recording artists.

[Trailrider1951]

49. Jimi Hendrix

Gone way too soon.

[jcboon]

52. Roger McGuinn, Steve Cropper, Ry Cooder, Steven Stills

John Fogerty, Link Wray, Danny Gatton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray
How soon we forget

[NNadir]

53. Walter Becker, Larry Carlton and Dean Parks come to mind.

Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2017, 10:10 AM - Edit history (1)

[ProfessorGAC]

163. Since You Brought Up Walter Becker

How about Elliot Randall? He played most on the leads on the first album, particularly the lead on Reelin' in the Years. That's some good stuff.

[NNadir]

171. Well, the first album wasn't my favorite, perhaps because I met Denny Diaz.

We said, um, "Hi, nice to meet you," and that was pretty much it.

He was a good friend of a one time casual friend of mine, Mark Leon, who actually was involved (unhappily) in the early days of Steely Dan. My girlfriend at the time was renting a room in Mark's mother's house and Mark threw a huge party for Diaz, at which Diaz stayed for maybe twenty minutes.

I actually heard the album before it was publicly released. Mark had an advance copy. I thought it was pretty good, but I had no idea what it would become.

It was before they were real famous; I saw them live; they were playing as the back up band for Cheech and Chong when I saw them; it was at Westbury Music Fair on Long Island.

Diaz was kind of cold to his old friend. Years later, on the internet, I learned the back story, but I didn't know it then.

It seems like centuries ago.

I love Steely Dan music though, but I just think that when Becker started playing guitar instead of bass, well, his guitar playing is extremely clean, extremely tasteful. I think what he plays today easily outstrips anything on the first album. But for me, somehow the first album doesn't really do it for me.

And then there's Jeff Baxter. As Fagen sang many, many years later... "That right wing hooey sure stunk up the joint..."

[independentpiney]

54. Leslie West -Mountain

[link:

|

[lastlib]

56. John Weldon "J. J." Cale!

Last edited Thu Mar 2, 2017, 11:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Eric Clapton called him "the best goddamned guitar player in the world!" Mark Knopfler, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Tom Petty, and Eric Clapton have all called him one of the most important musical influences in the rock 'n' roll pantheon.

http://www.jjcale.com/bio.html

Rolling Stone said, "There was Hendrix; there was Clapton; there was J.J. Cale--then there was everyone else who ever picked up a guitar."

[red dog 1]

194. + 1

Died way too young.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

58. Phil Upchurch

[Dr Hobbitstein]

61. Roy Buchanan.

[Charles Bukowski]

68. Awesome choice, totally forgot about him.

Roy was the kind of guitarist who could break your heart with just a few notes. His tone was breathtaking.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

85. One of my absolute favorites. nt

[DBoon]

62. Dick Dale

Surf guitar is metal without the distortion

[Dr Hobbitstein]

63. Also, Slash was born in Britain to an American mother.

He's American.

[Mendocino]

64. Jorma Kaukonen

Robbie Krieger
Mike Campbell
Nancy Wilson
Link Wray
Mike Bloomfield
Elvin Bishop
Lowell George
Randy California
Buddy Holly
Bonnie Raitt
Derek Trucks
Nils Lofgren
John Cippollina
Steve Hunter
Dick Wagner
Doug Sahm

[red dog 1]

193. Good list!

I'm surprised that Robbie Krieger hasn't been mentioned before..or Bonnie Raitt,
or Elvin Bishop..or Mike Bloomfield, either.

[Mendocino]

196. I should have included

Wayne Kramer and Fred Sonic Smith of the MC5.

[Dave Starsky]

65. Oyster Boy Buck Dharma doesn't get enough love.

But then, I'm a lifelong fan of those guys.

[dchill]

154. True enough.

[ProfessorGAC]

164. I Met Him When In High School

Around 1972 i think. When we met him backstage at a summer show, he told us "call me Don." Buck was STRICTLY a stage name i guess.

Since they came around every summer for 4 or 5 years, we went backstage to see them and talk with them every summer. He was always "Don".

The modal solo on "Reaper" is a thing of beauty and the main riff of Transmaniacon is awesome.

[Dave Starsky]

172. Don Roeser, I should say.

The Buck Dharma appellation was something their producer made him do, as I recall.

Anyway, he's one of my musical heroes. I think he plays that stick with a unique voice that resonates.

[cemaphonic]

70. I don't think you can just discount metal like that.

All the 80s metal guitarists were pretty much the direct descendants of the 70s rock guitarists in your OP. I agree with others ITT that you are artificially constraining rock to "British blues-rock" and then wondering why all the guitarists are British.

Also, all of the big 90s Seattle bands except for Nirvana had great lead players.

And I don't think anyone has mentioned the Lynyrd Skynyrd dudes or Billy Gibbons yet.

[Coventina]

71. Brian Setzer??!?!?!? Hello?!?!?!?

Can't believe he hasn't been mentioned yet.

[unblock]

80. good one! never paid much attention to the stray cats, but he's amazing in brian setzer orchestra.

[Coventina]

82. I was lucky enough to catch the BSO a few months ago.

Amazing to see him do his stuff live.

No studio tricks to rely upon!

[unblock]

83. caught him live years ago in austin. amazing, indeed!

[progressoid]

177. I saw the Stray Cats open for the Stones in the 80's.

Those three guys on that huge stage were amazing. The crowd was stunned.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

73. BO DIDDLEY - you said no blues, but you didnt say no r&b, which is an antecedent and

a close (black American) relative of rock. Come on lets give credit where credit is due!

[Warren DeMontague]

74. I'm gonna put down Steve Kimock, too, since no one else has.

[OneBlueDotBama]

76. Link Wray

Rumble....

[unblock]

77. jerry garcia, chuck berry, les paul, buddy holly, mike campbell, stephen stills, billy gibbons

[DFW]

84. Randy California

SPIRIT was one of my favorite bands ever formed.

[blue neen]

91. Amen to that!

[PufPuf23]

97. I loved Spirit too.

I saw Spirit twice as headliners at Fillmore West in 1969 and 1970.

Then saw Spirit a third time Halloween 1970 at Winterland 2nd billed to Ike and Tina Turner review.

Then I saw Spirit in 1994 (just California and Cassidy plus others) in a beer bar in Eureka, CA.

I didn't realize it then but it was the last time I have ever gone out to see live rock and roll.

[DFW]

113. I never got to see them live

A friend of mine who did sound systems for rock concerts in the late sixties once did a bootleg recording of a concert of theirs in Alexandria, VA. At one point, the power for the guitar and keyboards went out, and they did an imromptu improvisation with vocals, bass and drums called "Loss of Power," and it was as good as any of the other numbers.

I visited my friend after losing track of him for over 30 years, and he had LOST the recording of that concert

But we are left with these gems:

[Charles Bukowski]

86. Neal Schon is very underrated.

Journey doesn't get a lot of critical respect, but Schon's playing on those records is spectacular. Plus, a teenage Schon was a member of Santana during their iconic era, giving Carlos everything he could handle at a tender age.

[Hula Popper]

87. Burton, Ray, Eddy and also

[jmowreader]

88. The answer must start with...

[OilemFirchen]

89. Bonnie Raitt

Steve Van Zandt and that other guy with whom he plays on occasion.

[OilemFirchen]

90. Rick Nielsen

Mark Knopfler

[OriginalGeek]

92. Trey Azagthoth

Florida death metal has some great guitarists.

This guy builds his own microtonal guitars
Ron Sword of Last Sacrament

[Rhythm]

138. They were my neighbors in Charlotte NC when they were just getting started...

Whole downstairs of their ramshackle house was covered with mattresses covering the walls, so they could practice without getting the cops called all the time. *L*

[blue neen]

93. Elliott Easton

Kurt Cobain
Don "Fingers" Felder

[ghostsinthemachine]

94. Oh come on

The Kings? John Lee Hooker? Howling Wolf? Buddy Guy? Those guys all taught the Brits an s the blues cats like Michael Bloomfield.lets not forget Garcia (easily the most imitated), Zappa and Santana.

Lots of young guys who are among the best ever.. Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, John Mayer. Trey Anastasio from Phish (who is probably new to you). Even newer is Lukas Nelson, the guys in MOE, Humphrey's McGhee.

[ghostsinthemachine]

108. Johnny Winter, Jorma Kaukonen, Tim Reynolds, Jerry Douglas

Seriously, you need to turn off the "Classic Rock" and find something that aint 50 years old..... So many incredible guitar players out there today. (Tim Reynolds is Dave Matthews guitar player and Jerry Douglas the greatest dobro player ever).

Jimmy Herring. (Widespread Panic).

[blue neen]

95. Gary Rossington and Allen Collins.

[miyazaki]

96. Eric Johnson hasnt been listed I dont think.

A couple names here aren't even worth mentioning. rofl.

[DFW]

99. A bunch of the names here aren't American, either

McLaughlin and Knopfler are British.

[miyazaki]

111. Yes. Also in reference to what you posted above

Randy and his estate got HOSED over Stairway!
Those fucks.

[OriginalGeek]

120. meh

it's barely a recognizable snip. Courts made the right call in this case.

[miyazaki]

121. Disagree, but at least they got their day in court.

-peace.

[cemaphonic]

122. Yeah, Zeppelin shamelessly stole songs left and right,

but if you can copyright arpeggios over a descending bass, then a whole lotta musicians owe a lot to Scarlatti (or likely someone even earlier).

Now "White Summer/Black Mountainside" - that's a wholesale theft.

[OriginalGeek]

125. But did they really do anything different than any other electric blues bands of the time?

or of blues greats from before their time?

They've made right the cases where attribution can be found and a lot of stuff was just old blues licks that everyone was using and borrowing and reusing and it would be nearly impossible to actually credit the real authors of most licks.

Granted, they had to be sued to make some of it right and they should have done better than that but they also did a fair amount of crediting where credit was due on their own. They credited Ritchie Valens' mother on Boogie With Stu because they heard she never got any royalties from his music and since the song was based on one of his they wanted her to get paid.

I have a CD somewhere where living blues legends "cover" led zep versions of blues songs - it's pretty great.
this one: https://www.discogs.com/Various-Whole-Lotta-Blues-Songs-Of-Led-Zeppelin-This-Aint-No-Tribute/release/5358403

[cemaphonic]

133. I go back and forth on this myself

I play and listen to a lot of old folk and blues music, so I'm very aware of how music used to disseminate, and how recording, mass media and current copyright law have distorted the organic development of music.

And Zeppelin does get an undeservedly bad rap for some things. Some of the songs they covered on their early albums were owned by Atlantic (their record label) so they didn't do anything wrong there. And like you say, some of their songs were credited properly from the beginning.

But stuff like Black Mountainside and (Whole Lotta Love? Dazed and Confused? both?) where they were swiping entire songs/arrangements from working contemporaries and claiming credit was pretty shady.

Fully agree that the Stairway to Heaven suit was weak, and would have set a terrible precedent if it had won.

[fNord]

142. Elvis' entire body of work, for example, was stolen from the black street performers.....

In Memphis and New Orleans.....CCR too.......(the latter of whom I like). But as an "artist" myself, I'd just be stoked my music was getting out there......no matter how. If I ever write a song That outlives me, than I'm kissing immortality....I call that a win!

[Charlie Thompson]

144. Some thieves were around at the same time and the same place as the source material that was stolen

while others came a decade later from an ocean away.

[Still In Wisconsin]

101. KIRK HAMMETT!

[fNord]

103. As much as I don't care fore Metallica.....

I've got to give it to Kirk.....sick ass rifts, not so much metal as, well, liquid....damn, why didn't he find a good band........

[Still In Wisconsin]

104. I love Metallica but I know several who agree with you.

My wife, for example, doesn't like the band but recognizes Kirk's ability.

[LuvLoogie]

157. Have to go with Dave Mustane, then.

[Still In Wisconsin]

161. He's also excellent!

[kwassa]

105. Walter Trout

[OregonBlue]

106. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Steve Vai.

[LanternWaste]

107. Terry Kath of Chicago Transit Authority

Terry Kath of Chicago Transit Authority

Jimi Hendrix, already well known at the time as a guitar wizard, had just watched the band's set.
"Walt, the horns are like one set of lungs," Parazaider said Hendrix told him. "And your guitar player is better than me." That guitarist, Terry Kath, went on to be hailed by many as one of rock's greatest -- a "forgotten guitar god" who was "criminally underrated."

Try: Free Form Guitar, South California Purples, and Oh, Thank You Great Spirit for an accurate indication of his blistering strengths.

[HeartachesNhangovers]

114. You all forgot: Ronnie Montrose, Mike Ness

(Social Distortion) and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth).

[jack69]

118. Shot Jackson, more of steel guitar genius, a whole host of early blues players

[jack69]

119. Roy Clark was an absolute perfectionist on any instrument.

[mulsh]

123. Let's see there's Chuck Berry, Scotty Moore, Carl Perkins, Johnny Burnette, Paul Burleson,

Link Wray, Duane Eddy,James Burton, even both Everly brothers. There area lots more but those are some of the better known people. and we're just moving into the 1960s'

Those are some of the guy that the kids in the UK tried to copy and cop licks from. Cool thing about the UK is its a small island and the cream can rise to the top fairly quickly compared to any where on the American Continents.

There were and are a lot of local musicians over here that don't get much national attention. Danny Gatton comes to mind. A guitarist's guitarist but not much national exposure while he was alive.

[Charlie Thompson]

134. I like your list but would add Mickey Baker, Grady Martin, Danny Cedrone and Cliff Gallup

Good call on Danny Gatton.

[gopiscrap]

139. welcome to DU

[d_r]

127. Joe Satriani? Randy Rhoades?

[juxtaposed]

131. srv was pretty good

[fNord]

136. This is why I love the Lizards........

Thank you.....


You have reminded me (and often educated me) of the badasses I've been neglecting...

Btw, how did I miss Joe Walsh, and seriously, Chuck Berry? WTF.....been too caught up in The Who

Also, did nobody yet post Robbie Krieger.......

https://m.

[dchill]

151. One of the all-time greats...

but really on his own category. Jazz-rock, acid-rock fusion.

[Rhythm]

137. Still my favorite ... John Christ

A Baltimore native, and the fearless axeman on the first four Danzig albums.

[Brother Buzz]

140. Tommy Tedesco, Al Casey, and Bill Pitman

You may not know them, but I guarantee you heard and loved their music if you listed to anything from, say, 1962-1973. They were part of the best kept secret in the music industry.

[Metsie Casey]

147. Leo Kottke

[Metsie Casey]

148. Joe Walsh

[Metsie Casey]

149. Steve Miller

[Metsie Casey]

150. Adrian Belew

[progressoid]

178. BELEW!!

I was hoping somebody posted him. Great solo work and with Bowie and King Krimson and Talking Heads and and and...

[Metsie Casey]

180. Great stuff from him over the years

[link:

|

[Metsie Casey]

181. Bob Fripp is also great

[progressoid]

182. I have about half dozen Fripp albums.

Trying to downsize and I almost sold them on eBay last year. Might still have to, but for now I'm holding on to them.

[cemaphonic]

184. Epic yes, American no

I don't think Mark Ribot has come up yet. More of a jazz guy, but he's contributed to a ton of great rock albums over the years.

[dchill]

152. JOE BONAMASSA!

[Metsie Casey]

153. And Donald Trump

The lesser known 6th member of Pink Floyd. Who knew ? [link:

|

[Upthevibe]

159. Not meaning to be snarky but you left me cold when you said Stevie Ray Vaughn was...

lightweight (or words to that effect). That really doesn't really register with me. Also Prince and Joe Walsh (he's never really seemed to get a lot of exposure). Wow....still can't get over the SRV comment....I've just NEVER heard anyone EVER say or think he was a lightweight....And now it's really late and I have to try to get to sleep and f'in dt is the president of the country and someone on DU called SRV a lightweight.....where's my Xanax....

[Metsie Casey]

160. I didn't say Steve was a light weight

No way. SRV was great. I wish he was still around. I miss him. Rip

[progressoid]

179. I think Upthevibe mistakenly responded to you instead of the OP.

Welcome to DU by the way.

[Upthevibe]

185. So sorry Metsie Casey.I didn't mean to respond to you. It was meant for the OP.(About Stevie Ray)n/t

[ProfessorGAC]

165. I Have 2 Nobody Mentioned

The first is the guy i consider to the best guitar player nobody remembers although his band had incredible success: Elliott Easton of The Cars.

Guy had every technique in the book, was harmonically sophisticated and was so musical that you can sing the solos from most of their hits. And used the exact right tone for each song. A masterful electric guitarist.

And Todd Rundgren. Everyone thinks of him as a singer/songwriter/producer, but guy has serious chops on the guitar.

[lame54]

169. Don't know his name...

The guitarist from missing persons

His tone and fills were amazing

Good band great guitarist

[ProfessorGAC]

170. Warren Cuccarullo

Yeah, i should have mentioned him.

For me, the thing about Easton is that even other guitar players don't think of him, but he was a magician for a band that sold 50 million records. Not exactly the kind of guy in a niche market that only a select few have ever heard. The guy was on MTV every 30 minutes back in the 80's!

[lame54]

167. The criminally under-rated...

Pat Travers

[ProfessorGAC]

187. His Buddy Pat Thrall Was Awfully Good Too!

I saw them during their short heyday at Alpine Valley. On Boom Boom, i thought Thrall's solo was markedly better than Travers' but Travers did nothing bad. His solo was very nice. Thrall's was astoundingly interesting.

[lame54]

189. I saw them 2 nights in a row once...

First night belonged to Thrall - he killed it

Next night Travers tore it up

I liked how they shared the spotlight

[Tommy_Carcetti]

168. I'm going to be utterly predictable, but Billy Corgan.

So much great guitar work on his repertoire, but I'll cut to the chase.

Starla--5:30 on. Listen. Enjoy.

[fNord]

173. Has Kim Thayil made this list yet?

https://m.

https://m.

And from there "New" album:



https://m.

[LuvLoogie]

175. Have to give Larry Carlton and Ronnie Montrose a shout.

[LuvLoogie]

176. Duane Denison

[missingthebigdog]

186. Joan Jett!!

Amazing rocker, awesome guitar player.

If you haven't done so, take a look at Lzzy Hale (Halestorm). The potential is there.

[HughBeaumont]

188. The Endless Well of Killer Riffs Matt Pike.

King of Zero Fucks Given.

[red dog 1]

195. John Fogerty, Jerry Garcia, Joe Walsh, Lindsey Buckingham, J J Cale, Chris Isaak, Carlos Santana

(Even though Carlos Santana wasn't born in the US)