who was the most influential guitarist of rock music?

[UpsideDownFlag]

[Dookus]

1. I don't know

but I'm gonna guess if being known as "Sublime's guitarist" is the claim to fame, it's probably not him.

[NightTrain]

2. Chuck Berry? Buddy Holly? Link Wray? Dick Dale? George Harrison?

Oh, and it's "Jimi" Hendrix, not "Jimmy." :eyes:

[UpsideDownFlag]

6. other? there's only so many spaces, and i like to see people write in.

nt

[UpsideDownFlag]

7. respelled hendrix for ya

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

3. Jeff Beck!!!

Dammit! :bounce::bounce::bounce:

[Fenris]

4. Chester Burnett.

[flamingyouth]

8. So influential I named my late cat after him

RIP, Chester. :cry:

[Zuni]

34. Ol Howlin' Wolf---but Hubert Sumlin was his guitar player

most of the guitar playing you hear on old Wolf records is Hubert Sumlin, a master blues player.
And the wolf is blues, not rock.

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

5. Chuck Berry is the godfather of rock guitar...it all come from him..n/t

[OneBlueSky]

23. I'll second that . . . none of these other guys would exist . . .

without the groundwork laid by Chuck Berry . . . of course, Chuck Berry was heavily influenced by Louis Jordan . . . who, in turn, was heavily invfluenced by Louis Armstrong . . . though he wasn't a guitarist, everything eventually works its way back to Pops . . . :)

[Zuni]

39. Chuck Berry took blues guitar and put it on speed. He is the original rock

guitarist. All the others follow his lead.

[Zuni]

40. Chuck Berry was heavily influenced by Chicago Blues Players

Muddy, Buddy Guy, Ike Turner (yes, really) but he took it a step further.
All electric guitar players follow from T-Bone Walker, who follows Delta Blues and Jazz guitarists like Django.

[bullimiami]

9. i voted for jimmy

but stevie ray, jimmy page, ritchie blackmore, alvin lee....there are so many that have really had an impact. jeff beck, clapton...the list could prob go on forever.

[Drifter]

10. Frank Zappa

Cheers
Drifter

[nankerphelge]

11. Keith Richards

[JimmyJazz]

27. Please. Be a purist and call him by his real name:

Keith Richard

[mitchum]

29. Actually, Richards is his real name

He dropped the "s" in the early 60s because he thought that "Keith Richard" sounded more like a pop star. He began using "Richards" again in the late 70s

Someone who posts as NankerPhelge is certainly aware of the provenance of Keef's name(s) :)

[JimmyJazz]

32. nope - failure to recognize on my part; he is, was and will always be

Keith Richard...

[mitchum]

33. He certainly did do his best work as "Keith Richard"

:)

[Soopercali]

12. George Harrison.

All those amazing little riffs, even on the throwaway tunes! ("And Your Bird Can Sing," for instance.)

[Toby109]

13. Robert Johnson n/t

[blackcat77]

15. You beat me to it...

He was DECADES ahead of his time.

[Zuni]

35. But he was country blues, not rock n roll

[BillZBubb]

17. Bingo! We have a winner.

To the guitar purists, Johnson would be a hard choice to top. Clapton, Page, Hendrix et al owe a lot to him, and we all owe a lot to them.

[Lefty48197]

18. and to think, I was going to say Robin Trower.

.

[Zuni]

36. He was a country blues player. His playing is very influential

but he is in no way a rock guitar player, although many of his disciples are.

[dancing kali]

46. Beat me to it, as well

I vaguely remember that both Hendrix and Clapton credit him as a major influence.

[argyl]

14. For rock music? Hendrix. "Are You Experienced?" most stunning

debut album ever.

[Old and In the Way]

16. Garcia not normally though of as a rock musician?

Could have fooled me.

<>

For you young whippersnappers who haven't heard this album, Amazon has cuts from it....worth a listen:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002KBN/104-0226633-9338306?v=glance

[UpsideDownFlag]

20. well, folk rock maybe. nt

[Old and In the Way]

26. You really oughta take a listen to those links.....if you haven't

heard this album. Garcia started as a jugband folkie, then progressed into psychadelia, then bluegrass and conceptual albums.

But between 69-72, I think he was playing some of the best flat out rock and roll guitar I've ever heard. Give it a listen and see what you think....

[tmooses]

19. I don't know how influential, but my favorite was John Cippolina

n/t

[mitchum]

30. I was listening to the first Quicksilver album earlier today.

Cippolina was a PHENOMENAL guitarist

[dsewell]

21. Imp y Celyn

The greatest guitarist who ever played music with rocks in!

[awgoodkitty]

22. For me, it's a tie between

Hendrix and Duane Allman. I love them both.



Kerry's gonna whup some serious ass Nov. 2nd.

[Kat45]

24. If the category is influential, I'd say Hendrix and Van Halen,

each for a different generation.

[telex54]

25. Hendrix changed guitar.

He wasn't the "greatest" in terms of skill or technique. But he certainly changed electric guitar.

[mitchum]

28. Hubert Sumlin and Jeff Beck (most influential even to those who aren't...

aware of them) Those two created the vocabulary of electric rock guitar. Even Hendrix said so.

[Zuni]

37. Hubert Sumlin was a master, but he played blues not rock

I love Hubert Sumlin's nasty breaks on Howling Wolf records especially. Not familiar as much with his solo work.
The breaks on 'Wang Dang Doodle' (howlin' Wolf version)make the song, which is kind of a weak song save for Sumlin.

[Zuni]

38. Chuck Berry is no doubt the most influential rock player ever

Rock and Roll guitar begins with Chuck Berry.
EVERY rock guitar player owes something to Berry.

[mitchum]

44. Sumlin may have played "the blues", but he certainly rocked...

the same for his boss :)
As much as it pains me to say it, It is best to avoid Sumlin's solo work

[the Princess]

31. This thread is a joke right?

You're F*CKIN kidding me right?

Not even a mention of the baddest Morther F*CKER in Rock-n-Roll - the MAN - THE KING of POWER guitar - the man who all other guitar players pale incomparison to?????? The man all other guitar players (well except maybe Clapton) learned their schtick from??

BOW before him all of you:

PETE TOWNSHEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BADASS NON PAR!

Unbelievable.

[UpsideDownFlag]

43. well, just think: if i had merely had him as a poll option, instead of

you having the luxury of writing in his name, how less cool would your tributary thread be?:beer:

[Bake]

41. Hands down -- JIMI!!

And I'm a Clapton disciple!! But Jimi showed us all what an ELECTRIC guitar is for. He showed us that there are no limits to it. He did stuff that not only had nobody thought of, he did stuff that nobody dreamed of, much less thought possible.

Clapton took it from there, but Jimi f'ing INVENTED rock electric guitar. And then he set it on fire.

Bake

[Skittles]

47. absolutely

there will never be another Jimi. Gawd, I blubbered my eyes out when he passed away.

[donheld]

42. Your Poll is worthless

Without Jimmie Page :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

[Astrochimp]

48. Correct answer IS Page! but

that is to most influential guitarist, not best guitarist(who is Hendrix)


Some would say Ray (or Dave?) Davies from the Kinks is up there, due to his very early use of distortion.

[Spider Jerusalem]

45. Other:

Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, & Robert Johnson. None of these Johnny-come-lately white boys (except of course for Hendrix) even rate, sorry. And Jimi was hugely influenced by guys like Muddy, Buddy Guy, and so on.

[Atlas Mugged]

49. Keith Richards

Even Pete Townsend thinks so. And Pete admits to stealing "his" famous windmill style from Keith.

[Socialist Dem]

50. really now....

you should have tried to be more specific in your poll.

are you asking "Who started the trend"? are you asking "Who is the most imitated?" are you asking "Which guitarist was the one who led the others to be more innovative?"

I mean, I could say Buddy Holley was one of the first who played pure lead guitar with a Stratocaster, but does that "rank" him ahead of Hendrix or Gilmour? Without Chet Atkins, "guitar pickin'" would still be an afterthought on rock recordings is another thing I could bring up.


Besides, if one talks about "rock n' roll" then one must give it up to Chuck Berry, the first to combine guitar licks, rhythm, stage moves, and the beat.