6 0 s G u i t a r i s t s
These guitarists have simply been listed in alphabetical order. I've found it quite impossible to extract the "best" from among them, because whether through a huge body of work or just one killer solo, each left a deep stamp on my budding musical psyche...
ALLSUP
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BERRY
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BLACKMORE
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BOGLE
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BRAUNN
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BRITTON
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CAMPBELL
CLAPTON
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CROPPER
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DAVIES
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DERRINGER
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FULLER
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HARRISON
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HENDRIX
KATH
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LEE
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MCGUINN
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MONARCH
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NESMITH
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ORBISON
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PAGE
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RICHARDS
~ D U O S ~
THE ROOFTOP SINGERS • CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL • FLEETWOOD MAC
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Young played on at least three of Elvis' 1968 comeback hits, Suspicious Minds, In the Ghetto and Kentucky Rain, Dusty Springfield's Son of a Preacher Man, Danny O'Keefe's Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues and Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline and Holly Holy. And how many guitarists get to take a break from the studio to tour with the Highwaymen? Other folks he's played for include Cat Stevens, B.B. King, Donovan, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon. The list of country artists is as long as my arm. You may not know it, but you've probably heard Reggie Young.
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MICHAEL ALLSUP
Discredited by many as cheesy, manufactured pop, I wasn't sophisticated (or jaded) enough to make those judgments when Three Dog Night ruled the air! Though guitar was never a primary focus, Allsup's tasteful playing (for the song) unquestionably contributed to their essential sound.
CHUCK BERRY
Would rock and roll exist in its present form if Berry hadn't duck-walked the earth? Songs like Maybellene, Roll Over Beethoven, Reelin' and Rockin' and of course Johnny B. Goode practically defined it. Chuck was waaay ahead of his time.
RITCHIE BLACKMORE
I paid 50 cents for the LP Shades of Deep Purple at a grocery store! Almost every DJ was playing Hush. I was into sugary pop, and here was a big ol' dollop of it, laced with dangerous amounts of soul and hot licks. Later, in '72, I'd be pummeled by the monstrous twin attack of Machine Head and Made in Japan. Okay, what kid didn't learn Smoke On the Water? Blackmore composed the riff of the century, and spawned a new breed of guitarist. His solos were astounding for their time. I continued to enjoy Blackmore's output with Deep Purple for years, as well as some of his work with Rainbow. The man is a primary progenitor of neoclassical rock.
BOB BOGLE
The Ventures' spaghetti-Western-flavored, Chet Atkins-inspired Walk Don't Run stands out in my memory as having a profound effect on me musically. Another one that causes me to stop and listen.
ERIK BRAUNN
For his guitar work in Iron Butterfly, especially the delightfully sludgy anthem In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
CHRIS BRITTON
From the opening downward string bend in The Troggs' Wild Thing, I knew we had a winner. Even their ballad Love Is All Around had something to offer.
GLEN CAMPBELL
Glen's inclusion in this list may surprise some, but he certainly deserves it. Among the variety of sounds that came from our little kitchen radio in the late 60s, several songs filled me with wonder and longing and still do. While it was Campbell's voice that captured the magic of these songs (particularly when carrying the phenomenal visions of Jimmy Webb), his steady acoustic rhythm and his deep, deliberate lead melodies on Wichita Lineman and Galveston unquestionably shaped me. Other era-defining tunes include Gentle On My Mind, By The Time I Get To Phoenix, Dreams of the Everyday Housewife and Where's The Playground Susie?
ERIC CLAPTON
My exposure to rock in the 60s was predominantly through radio, and the "prime cuts" from Cream's Disraeli Gears and Wheels of Fire fertilized the seeds of that genre which I came to cherish so highly. Clapton's tenure with Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos had some extremely inspired moments. I lost interest during the 70s, but in the late 80s I heard that crackle again on August and Journeyman. He has continued to please into the 90s; Unplugged is classy and From the Cradle is essesntial. Eric's tragedy-filled life has entitled him to play the blues, and few have his touch.
STEVE CROPPER
Monster guitarist, producer and songwriter. Co-writing credits include Green Onions (Booker T & the MGs), Soul Man (Sam & Dave), Knock On Wood (Eddie Floyd), In the Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett) and (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding). Steve's playing on these songs, and probably many more, had no small part in defining my sensibility early on. Around 1993 I saw Buddy Guy open for B.B. King - with Eric Johnson in between! About midway through Guy's set, this tall white guy with a pony tail stepped up and played the best blues solo I have ever heard - before or since. I'm sure it was Steve, and he stole the show.
DAVE DAVIES
The Kinks certainly deserve a place next to the Beatles, the Stones and the Who in rock history. Tracks like You Really Got Me and Sunny Afternoon were undeniably influential to me, but 1979's Low Budget must be my favorite Kinks tune, with Dave's rowdy riffing front and center.
RICK DERRINGER
The McCoys' Hang On Sloopy is probably where it began. The song that in '65 knocked the Beatles' Yesterday out of number one with its infectious, anthemic chorus and the then-17 Derringer's cocky singing and playing. There was nothing polished about it, and the raw energy of it really drew me in. His later work with the Edgar Winter Group (Free Ride, Frankenstein) and Derringer (Driving Sideways Down the Highway) left indelible marks on my own style. Audacious, creative and lightning-quick, he's a vastly underrated guitarist. Like many others, he has recently come full circle - back to the blues.
JIM FULLER
Certainly the "Godfather" of surf music. Without him, we wouldn't have The Surfaris or Wipeout.
GEORGE HARRISON
Life wouldn't be what it is without the Beatles. They're as much a part of my past as the house I grew up in. It's difficult to separate an individual from such a phenomenal band, but this is a guitar-specific page, and it wouldn't be complete without George. His impact on me goes deep into my subconcious. Favorite albums: Well, pretty much everything from Rubber Soul on, but these in particular: Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and especially Abbey Road.
JIMI HENDRIX
Arguably the most influential electric guitarist - period. Anyone who has picked up six strings within the last 35 years has felt it. Without even trying to sound like him, we owe almost all of what we know of blues and rock technique to Jimi. In the late 60s I was actually scared of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, as I was warned that listening to them would put me on a path of drug abuse, sexual immorality and social decline. I managed to stumble onto that path on my own by the early 70s, and Are You Experienced?, Axis: Bold as Love and Electric Ladyland served as perfect theme music.
TERRY KATH
Terry's soulful vocals are an instantly recognizable element of the music of Chicago (an instantly recognizable element of my youth), and his contributions as a songwriter are towering. What places him in this list, though, is his guitar playing, which was waaay ahead of its time. He belongs here on the strength of 25 or 6 to 4 alone! If it weren't for his tragic and stupid death, I wonder what kind of a legend he might really have become...
ALVIN LEE
Was this guy fast? The historic Woodstock album opened the door for so many great bands and musicians, and it's no exaggeration to say it's a cornerstone of my youth. Lee's performance of Goin' Home was a virtuosic blowaway, and Ten Years After's radio staple I'd Love to Change the World certainly contributed to changing mine.
ROGER MCGUINN
The Byrds were without argument the pioneering folk rock band of the 60s, and their unique, jangly blend of tradition and psychedelia is an instantly recognizable element of those years, fueled by hits Mr. Tambourine Man, Turn! Turn! Turn!, Mr. Spaceman, Eight Miles High, So You Want to Be a Rock'n'Roll Star and My Back Pages. McGuinn's chiming 12 string chords, his banjo influenced fingerstyle and his sax inspired, Eastern sounding leads were way ahead of their time, and struck me over and over again with awe and fascination.
MICHAEL MONARCH
For his memorable, inluential yet underrated contributions to rock and roll. A major facet of Steppenwolf's heavy metal thunder.
MICHAEL NESMITH
Anyone can draw comparisons between the Monkees and the Beatles - and without the model of the lads from Liverpool (and some TV producer's nutty imagination) they may never have existed - but their similarites can be counted on one hand. The Monkees' influence in my formative years began earlier than the Fab Four's and was sustained over a longer period of time. Nesmith is a good guitarist and an even better songwriter, and his TV persona was instrumental (pun intended) in sowing in my heart the seeds of desire not only to play music, but to do so specifically with a guitar.
ROY ORBISON
Anyone who can write a riff that fires Eddie Van Halen up enough to do a remake deserves a place here. And truly, that meaty lead line in Pretty Woman is classic, primal, electric guitar attitude.
JIMMY PAGE
I had a buddy in Boy Scouts who turned me on to Led Zeppelin's first two albums. I was instantly hooked on the mammoth guitars and drums, and Plant's thrilling vocals set a new benchmark. Jimmy's hand was quick, impassioned, and extremely articulate - not to mention creative in the highest degree - the exotic spices he added to his music, and his ability to move seamlessly between deft acoustic textures and gargantuan electric riffage, are still hair-raising. Zeppelin virtually defined heavy blues-rock. Like children, I don't love any of their albums more than another, just differently!
KEITH RICHARDS
Throughout his career with yokefellows Brian Jones, Mick Taylor and Ron Wood, Richards has earned a deserved reputation as one of the best rhythm guitarists in rock. Through the Past, Darkly found its way onto the turntable when I was a kid (much to my mom's dismay), and songs like (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man, Honky Tonk Women, Brown Sugar and (my favorite) Can't You Hear Me Knocking - in fact, all of Sticky Fingers - show off Keith's swaggering, bluesy, primarily open-tuned style.
JOHNNY RIVERS
This guy was an articulate guitar player. Tunes like Memphis, Secret Agent Man, Midnight Special and Poor Side of Town bear this out.
TODD RUNDGREN
In junior high I was in love with psychedelia, and the Nazz's Open My Eyes was one of the most swirlingly psychedelic songs to wend its magical way into my head via my first little alarm clock radio. That, along with pop gems like Hello It's Me and We Gotta Get You a Woman, lifted my consciousness well into the 70s. Rundgren's exceptional talent stretches far wider than his guitarmanship, but that in itself is formidable. As producer/engineer on Meat Loaf's 1977 blockbuster Bat Out of Hell, he laid down some fat, searing guitar tracks, making it worth owning for that reason alone.
LOUIE SHELTON
For his incendiary Flamenco licks in one of The Monkees' best tunes, Valleri. I still stop whatever I'm doing to listen to it.
PETE TOWNSHEND
One of the most exhuberant axe-slingers to appear in rock history, Townshend plays a variety of instruments and sings - but the side that's often missed is that of the visionary. Epics like Tommy and Quadrophenia are works of pure genius. Listening to Tommy as a kid was like opening a magic box, and never being able to close it. While Pete's guitar- and amp-smashing antics didn't excite me too much, the brutal force of his power chords and his simple but direct solos are in my blood. Who's Next will remain among the all-time top rock albums.
HILTON VALENTINE
In the mid-60s, The Animals were as prevalent (though much more dangerous) than the Beatles. Valentine grabbed everyone's attention with the smoothly arpeggiated chords of House Of The Rising Sun, and later songs like It's My Life, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, We Gotta Get Out of This Place and Don't Bring Me Down (dig those huge, ultra-distorted chords!) sealed his destiny.
REGGIE YOUNG
This session soldier's resume is long and extraordinary - he's played on hundreds of charting records by a throng of big names. What got him on this list in the first place is his sitar playing on the original B.J. Thomas version of Hooked on a Feeling (he also played sitar on the Box Tops' Cry Like a Baby). As I've poked around the web looking for more info, I've found that he's been part of a dizzying number of songs that influenced me in the 60s and 70s, such as the main riff in Dobie Gray's Drift Away and guitar on my favorite Jimmy Buffett tune, Come Monday (he's on no less than six of JB's albums).
THE ROOFTOP SINGERS:
ERIK DARLING & BILL SVANOE
These folksters make it in here solidly on the basis of their chunky unison lines in Walk Right In by The Rooftop Singers. I love that tune, and the gutsy sound of those dual 12-string guitars still tingles my scalp!
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL:
JOHN & TOM FOGERTY
While I didn't really hip to Creedence Clearwater Revival until the close of the decade, they already had an impressive number of songs on regular radio rotation. These guys were (as 1970's Cosmo's Factory states), a veritable song factory! The combination of country-folk acoustic and dirty, overdriven electric guitar sounds was a delight, and CCR couldn't help but to osmose into my consciousness.
FLEETWOOD MAC: