Your rock n roll dentist admits to dabbling in the guitar back in the day with my pal Mr. D on drums. We may not have been very good but we made enough noise to annoy the neighbors (sorry Cheryl Watkins). We also had alot of fun while destroying our hearing. Today I doubt that kids have the same itch to pick up a 6-string to make music like us Baby Boomers did (thanks in no small part to The Beatles). The guitar itself is a stringed instrument that goes back in antiquity, but it was the addition of electomagnetic pickups making them louder that got us kids revved up. Your’s truly started playing a Harmony acoustic then added a Vox Buckingham amp with a Fender Telecaster to up the volume (sorry mom and dad) then quickly traded that for a Gibson SG that looked way more rock and roll.
Well, this list is of my personal fave guitarists (and no the dude who is pictured in the intro is not one of them but he at least used to have a lot of hair – not any more I fear). Don’t start screaming that I left out the best players (you can add your own via a comment at the end). If I like their sound they are in. My fave players in many cases played more lyrical lead parts rather than racing up and down the fretboard so don’t look for Eddie Van Halen or Joe Satriani for instance. The other kind of sounds I love are either three-chord monkey-beat riffs or nasty blues licks.
1.Stevie Ray Vaughan
Aug. 27, 1990 SRV was cut down at age 35 when the helicopter he was in crashed in foggy conditions after a show in Wisconsin leaving a huge void in my musical arsenal. The man could flat out pick it and did so while playing the nasty rockin’ blues I love. When your Dentist saw him with Joe Cocker at Fiddler’s Green here in Colorado, I could have sworn there were two guitarists on stage. He did things with a guitar that I could have only dreamed about. His classic axe was a Fender Stratocaster with his fave being an amalgam of a 1963 body with a 1962 neck and 1959 pickups. He was born in Dallas Oct. 3, 1954 and moved to Austin, Texas where he is best known for fronting Double Trouble. That band (Chris Layton on drums with Tommy Shannon on bass then later Reese Wynans on piano) recorded four essential studio albums during SRV’s lifetime.
2.The Wrecking Crew Guitarists (Tommy Tedesco, Louie Shelton, Al Casey, Glen Campbell, Gerry McGee, Billy Strange, etc.)
It was hard to know how to include these folks other than to lump them all together. As ’60s kids we all pictured Mike Nesmith playing the “Last Train To Clarksville” lick or David Costell the flamenco runs on “Sure Gonna Miss Her”. When those songs became classics it was revealed that in reality Louie Shelton played the Monkees song and Tommy Tedesco that complex Gary Lewis & The Playboys guitar run. Many likely don’t care who played on those songs, they just like the records. It was, however, the skill of those session guys at quickly learning a song while adding their personal touches that made those records so memorable. The excellent 2008 Denny Tedesco documentary about those players (The Wrecking Crew) went a long way to gaining those folks their due and is essential viewing if you want to know how the records were created. We may never remember who played on the Tijuana Brass or the Marketts records, but we still love to hear them. Sadly very few of them are still alive. As this is written Louie Shelton is still alive and made an interesting video on how the Monkees’ lead part came about.
3.Steve Hackett
My first introduction to Steve Hackett was on the 1971 Genesis album Nursery Cryme when my buddy Mr. D played it for me (no doubt while sitting in his basement noshing on Yellow Zingers and Bubble-Up). Hackett was born in London Feb. 12, 1950 and cites disparate influences like Bach, The Beatles, Hendrix and the blues. During the classic progressive rock era of Genesis Steve created some outstanding guitar parts plus was the one who suggested they add mellotron to the band. He left in 1977 just before Genesis became a pop music behemoth thanks to Phil Collins. While Hackett likely missed out on a bunch of money, I salute him for staying true to prog rock with some excellent solo albums. In concert he also revisits his old music in Genesis while still playing his 1957 gold Gibson Les Paul. This video starts off with some crazy fretwork but then about a minute and a half in gets down to the business of playing the closer “Los Endos” from the 1976 Genesis album A Trick Of The Tail. Mr. Hackett’s playing even won over my non-prog wife while on the 2019 On The Blue Cruise. She was stunned by his powerful playing (plus he was a very quiet-spoken pleasant man who signed autographs and posed with us). 
4.George Harrison
The quiet Beatle (not really – just sardonic), George could play straight rock and roll licks and also some beautifully melodic leads. He passed way too young, living from Feb. 25, 1943 to Nov. 29, 2001 (don’t smoke, ever!). He was born in Liverpool. He had a fortuitous moment meeting Paul McCartney on the bus to school. He was invited to join John Lennon and Paul’s band The Quarrymen in 1958 as he knew how to play the instrumental “Raunchy”. He took some time to come in to his own in The Beatles but at the end contributed some great songs including “Here Comes The Sun” with its bright acoustic guitar runs. Engineer Geoff Emerick said in his Beatles bio that it would take George a long time to master his leads (which apparently annoyed Emerick), but if true who cares as they were great. After the Fabs broke up, he turned more and more to playing slide guitar on his solo records. George could still rock as was evident in the 1985 video he, Dave Edmunds, Ringo, etc. did to honor Carl Perkins (Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session) – check it out!
5.Scotty Moore
Winfield ‘Scotty’ Moore III stood quietly behind Elvis Presley and created the template that so many rockabilly guitarists have copied ever since. He was born in Gadsden, Tennessee Dec. 27, 1931 and passed away in Nashville June 28, 2016. When producer and Sun Records owner Sam Phillips invited Scotty and Bill Black on bass (later dubbed ‘The Blue Moon Boys’) to back Elvis in 1954, the tide of rock and roll picked up steam. There were no rules as it was all brand new and many credit Moore’s work on “Jailhouse Rock” as the first to use power chords. For “That’s All Right Mama” (the first Elvis record) he used an echo sound that came to be called ‘slapback’ and came to define that style – rockabilly. Elvis’ manager Colonel Tom Parker allegedly worked to ease Moore out of the picture and his last lead for a Presley record was 1962 – “(You’re The) Devil in Disguise”. He did play with Elvis one last time for the TV show ’68 Comeback Special. During his heyday he used several Gibson guitars including a ES-295 and a Super 400.
6.Chuck Berry
Every teen band of kids from my generation when they would get together would start by jamming on Chuck Berry songs as his licks became pretty much universal. He was born and died in Missouri Oct. 18, 1926 to March 18, 2017. Berry was nearing thirty when he finally became a star with “Maybelline” in 1955 on Chess. He had been playing a mix of blues and country plus R&B and this melded in to the sound we all know by him. For a great many of his touring years he wouldn’t bother to rehearse with the local band who backed him as he assumed they all knew his songs which led to hit and miss live shows. “Sweet Little Sixteen”, “Johnny B Goode”, Roll Over Beethoven”, on and on – all classics that he wrote (though it is sad that the awful “My Ding A Ling” was his only #1). If you watch this video you get a hint of his other contribution to guitarists – the look. He had a cocky swagger about him and just knew how to look cool while playing his red Gibson ES-350T.
7.Dave Edmunds
Well if you know me at all you are aware that my fave band was The Beatles and my fave solo artist was Dave Edmunds so it isn’t a surprise to see him here. He played that three chord monkey-beat Chuck Berry-style rock and roll I loved, but the man could flat out fly on the strings too. This cover of the 1942 classical song “Sabre Dance” by Aram Khachaturian was a #5 hit in the U.K. in 1968 for his band Love Sculpture. They lasted from 1966 to 1970 when he had his first big solo hit with “I Hear You Knocking”. He was born in Cardiff, Wales April 15, 1944. He loved the sound of old rock records and worked to duplicate what he heard on early hits like “Baby I Love You” and “Born To Be With You”. He then formed Rockpile with Nick Lowe and put out a succession of great records with he or Nick listed as the primary player. After they broke up he continued having hits with his own band plus had some success as a producer (Foghat, The Stray Cats). The rockabilly licks are what appealed to me the most, but his instrumental work on “Farandole” and “The Stumble” is equally nifty.
8.Jeff Beck
His sound is as distinctive as any guitarist if hard to describe – almost a crying but heavy sound. He was born June 24, 1944 in Surrey, England and passed Jan. 10, 2023 and seemed to have either a black Fender Stratocaster or a motorcycle in his hands. My first exposure to him was on the Yardbirds records I bought back in the day “Shapes Of Things” and “Over Under Sideways Down”. He followed a pretty tough act in that band, Eric Clapton who left in early 1965. In 1966 while still a member of that band, he and future Yardbird Jimmy Page recorded this as a side project along with Keith Moon of The Who on drums. His first album with The Jeff Beck Group (Truth 1968 with Rod Stewart on vocals) is essential and points the way to the similarly themed Led Zeppelin. After that band folded he put together Beck, Bogart and Appice with Vanilla Fudge alumni before going in to the studio with producer George Martin (The Beatles) to record another classic Blow By Blow (1975). His jazz instrumental style dominated from then on but he also did some notable side projects including his tribute to Gene Vincent’s guitarist Cliff Gallup on the excellent 1993 album Crazy Legs. After SRV I think he is the best guitarist I have seen live.
9.David Gilmour
Gilmour is the opposite of flash preferring to make his bluey vibrato solos speak or even cry on his black Fender Strat. Check out the video I have included with a great solo starting about the 1:45 point. Of course you know him from Pink Floyd mainly. He was asked to replace the erratic Syd Barrett in that band starting at the tail end of 1967. Roger Waters slowly took more and more control of the music of Pink Floyd so when he left it was assumed they would either languish or break up. That Gilmour led them after that through great albums like A Momentary Lapse Of Reason and The Division Bell shows his talent. He is an Englishman born in Cambridge March 6, 1946.
10.Mick Ronson
Only true ’70s glam fans know the late Mick Ronson but he was the heart of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust era and the engine of The Ian Hunter Band. Ronson didn’t have much success in music till hooking up with Bowie’s backing band The Hype in 1970. They morphed in to The Spiders From Mars for the 1972-3 Bowie era that saw him become a superstar. This video of the Aladdin Sane track “The Jean Genie” from 1973 finds Ronson looking every inch the blonde guitar god. Ronson came in at the very end of Mott The Hoople for the single “Saturday Gigs” (1974) then stayed with Ian Hunter in to his solo years. His swan song with Hunter was the 1989 YUI Orta LP that included the criminally overlooked “Big Time”. He died in London on April 29, 1993 at age 46 of liver cancer.
11.Johnny Winter
After SRV and Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter was the most technically skilled guitarist I ever saw in concert. Rail thin with long white hair and later covered in tattoos, he had a look nobody else had. He and his brother Edgar were born albinos which made them as white as anyone you have ever seen plus nearly blind. John Dawson Winter III was born in Beaumont, Texas Feb. 23, 1944 and passed away July 16, 2014 in Switzerland. When I bought his first self-titled Columbia record in 1969 he was backed on drums by Uncle John Turner and future SRV sideman Tommy Shannon on bass doing amped up blues. In 1970 he hooked up with the remnants of The McCoys (“Hang On Sloopy”) and found more success as Johnny Winter And doing rock and roll (“Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo”). He fell in to heroin addiction which he kicked but he would continue to have bouts of drug use that affected him over the years. His later career saw him record some fine blues albums on Alligator including Guitar Slinger in 1984. He is best known for playing the Gibson Firebird guitar.
12.Billy F. Gibbons
Another red-hot Texas blues man is William Frederick Gibbons best known for his work in ZZ Top. He is a Houston native born Dec. 16, 1949. Billy started out his recording career as leader of the 1966-69 psychedelic band The Moving Sidewalks. Later in ’69 he hooked up with Dusty Hill (bass) and Frank Beard (drums) to form ZZ Top. They were always rooted in the blues but Gibbons didn’t grow the crazy beard till the band moved from London Records to Warner Brothers in 1979 (Deguello). Their high point was the trio of bluesy hard rock albums Eliminator, Afterburner and Recycler (1983 to 1990). After moving to RCA they took on a more straight blues style. Gibbons has put out some pretty darn good solo albums as well that don’t sound too far away from ZZ Top (most recently Hardware in 2021). He has played a number of different guitars notably ‘Pearly Gates’ a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard.
13.Justin Hayward
When you think of the music of The Moody Blues the guitar isn’t what comes to mind, yet Justin Hayward has played some great guitar over their career including “The Story In Your Eyes” from Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971). His red Gibson 335 electric turns up on most of their records, but it is the slashing acoustic that dominates “Question” from A Question Of Balance (1970). Born Oct. 14, 1946 in England, Hayward wrote a good many of their hits while possessing one of the best singing voices in progressive rock.
14.Duane Eddy
Who owns a riff? The opening guitar lick on Eddy’s first hit “Moovin’ N’ Groovin” (#72 in 1958) was also the intro to the Chuck Berry song “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” (1956). That same riff opened the Beach Boys record “Surfin’ U.S.A.” in 1963. At any rate, Duane Eddy charted records from then till 1964 though his last big hit was “(Dance with the) Guitar Man” (#12 in 1962). Duane Eddy was born in Corning, NY April 26, 1938 and grew up mainly in Arizona where he linked up with producer Lee Hazelwood. Eddy’s style was referred to as ‘twang’ rocking mainly on the low strings of his 1957 Chet Atkins Gretsch 6120 guitar. “Rebel-Rouser”, “Peter Gunne”, “Forty Miles Of Bad Road” – these were all hits that inspired a lot of kids to take up the 6-string. It is a bit of a crime that oldies radio rarely plays his hits today.
15.Keith Richards
While he has been the butt of jokes about how he has outlived all expectactions having abused his body with booze and drugs, the man is a human catalog of guitar riffs. Is Mick Mick the Rolling Stone without Keith? No way. Having met him briefly back in 1989 or so, skull ring and all he seemed like a very nice likeable guy – go figure. Of course he has been a Rolling Stone since 1962, a band that fittingly started their recording career with a Chuck Berry cover (“Come On” 1963) since Keith says Berry was a major influence on him. I have to salute him for putting together a lasting tribute to Berry with the 1987 doc Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll.
16.Angus Young
Angus is known as an Aussie yet he was actually born in Glasgow, Scotland March 31, 1955 (his family moved to Sydney in 1963). In 1973 he (with his brother Malcolm on rhythm guitar) started ACDC. Like most of the U.S., I didn’t really notice their brand of hard rock till the 1979 record Highway To Hell. When singer Bon Scott died after that it seemed like curtains yet they have become one of the biggest bands in the world thanks to the addition of Brian Johnson on vocals. Indeed the Back In Black LP at 50 million copies and counting is second to only Thriller by Michael Jackson as the biggest selling record worldwide. Angus’ guitar looks a lot like what I played which I always thought was cool. I assume he plays it for the same reason I did and that is because it is light – something important to him as he is a whirling dervish on stage in his school-boy outfit while pumping out hot guitar licks. Stoopid rock and roll to the max – gotta love it.
17.Pete Townshend
Here is another guitarist that doesn’t know how to stand stock-still on stage and at the same time whirling his arm in a circle to crash down on the strings in a bloody collision. Again, good for him! Rock and roll is all about energy. As the driving force of The Who he isn’t about technical excellence – that was up to bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Pete was mostly about slashing power chords (and mashing his guitar in to pieces back in the band’s early days). He was born in London May 19, 1945 and joined The Detours as rhythm guitar to Roger Daltrey’s lead. Needless to say eventually Daltrey eschewed the guitar for a microphone and Townshend took over on sole six-string. The Who was then born in 1964 (briefly The High Numbers) and became one of the most important British Invasion bands though they would take awhile to catch on in the U.S. (their first top 20 hit here was “I Can See For Miles” in 1967 at #9). The rock opera Tommy (1969) and Who’s Next (1971) cemented them as superstars. Townshend has also carved out a decent solo career with hits like “Let My Love Open The Door” (1980) and “Face The Face” (1985).
18.Paul Simon
Well here is a complete 180 from all the guitarists we has listed so far, but Paul Simon is a superb folk guitar player. He and Art Garfunkel started out as a rockin’ duo – Tom & Jerry and had a hit with “Hey Schoolgirl” in January 1958 (#49). It would be a few weeks shy of eight years till they returned to the charts as Simon & Garfunkel with the song “The Sounds Of Silence”, #1 in January 1966. By then their style was folk with Simon composing most of the songs while playing acoustic guitar and harmonizing with Artie. After they split in 1970 Simon started a successful solo career while having occasional reunions with Garfunkel (he even supplied guitar and vocals to Art’s first three solo LPs). Paul Simon was born in Newark, N.J. Oct. 13, 1941 but mostly grew up in Queens, NY. If producer Tom Wilson hadn’t added electric instrumentation in 1965 to the acoustic folk song “The Sounds Of Silence” from the 1964 LP Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. one has to wonder if we would ever have heard of Paul Simon. The answer is probably yes as he had too much music in him to stay hidden.
19.Dave Davies
Dave is the forgotten Davies brother playing the hot guitar licks on his brother Ray’s brilliant Kinks records. Born in London Feb. 3, 1947 he is three years young than Ray. Dave formed a band with Pete Quaife on bass followed by Ray soon after – The Ray Davies Quartet, then The Ravens and finally The Kinks (with Mick Avory on drums). It was their single “You Really Got Me” that put them firmly in the middle of the British Invasion of the U.S. back in 1964 (#7). Songs like “All Day & All Of The Night” and “Tired Of Waiting” continued the power chord driven hit trend till Ray started writing more topical songs like “Sunny Afternoon” and “Waterloo Sunset” that relied less on the guitar. Dave had his own hits such as “Death Of A Clown” and “Susannah’s Still Alive” but it was the The Kinks as sung by Ray that was his main musical outlet. It was the late ’70s and the early ’80s that saw Dave get to really rock again for the Arista label records like “Live Life” and the live LP One For The Road. After he had a stroke in 2004 it was iffy whether he would play guitar again, but he regained that ability over time. Sadly The Kinks never have reunited after their split in 1994. Dave has played a number of guitars over the years with one of the most memorable being a Gibson Flying V.
20.Eric Clapton
Your blogger has to admit the great blues guitarist Eric Clapton would be far higher on this list had he not put out horrid records like “I Shot The Sheriff” and “Wonderful Tonight”. Of course they were hits so what do I know? We just saw him in concert last night at Ball Arena in Denver and while he can still play the blues like very few others can, I can’t say I liked to show much as he had zero stage presence plus didn’t rock out as much as I wanted (where was “After Midnight”,”Badge”, “Let It Rain”, “Sunshine Of Your Love”, etc.?). In fairness we had seen Rod Stewart a few weeks before this show and that man can really put on a hugely entertaining evening. Clapton was born March 30, 1945 in Surrey and started playing guitar as a young teen. He was a bit of a musical nomad jumping around quite a bit. His first taste of success was with The Yardbirds starting in 1963, but quite early in 1965 when they started moving away from the blues he loved. In John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers he recorded the classic ‘Beano’ album (so named because of the cartoon on the cover that Clapton is holding). In July of 1966 he, bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker formed Cream – one of the first supergroups. Over four classic albums they conquered the world in the late ’60s. Next up was a one and done as Blind Faith (1969) and then as Derek & The Dominos (1970) with the hit “Layla”. His heroin use got in the way for a time till he cleaned up and went on a hit-making path in the mid to late ’70s (far removed from the blues). Since then he has returned to the blues at times which are the records of his that your Dentist has bought (notably the 2004 CD Sessions for Robert Johnson. For a time he was considered the best guitarist going until…
21.Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall Hendrix was a mercurial shooting star in his all too brief life Nov. 27, 1942 to Sept. 18, 1970). He was actually named Johnny Allen Hendrix for the first four years of his life when he was born in Seattle. He always wanted a guitar and finally got a cheap acoustic in 1958 which he practiced all the time. Eventually he got a red Danelectro and while he was in the Army his playing caught the attention of another GI Billy Cox who joined him on bass. After he was discharged in 1962 he learned how to pick the strings with his teeth. He moved around quite a bit till getting the chance to back The Isley Brothers on a record in 1964. The following year he was backing Little Richard and then in 1966 he formed his own band in Greenwich Village – Jimmy James & The Blue Flames (with future Spirit guitarist Randy California). Eventually he came to the attention of former Animals bassist Chas Chandler who brought him to England where he added Mitch Mitchell on drums and Noel Redding on bass to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience in October of ’66. Success came pretty quickly with “Hey Joe” then “Foxey Lady”, “Purple Haze”, etc. – a sound few had ever heard before (when he jammed with Clapton the first time, Eric reported walked off early in disbelief at his talent). Jimi burned up the U.S. literally at the Monterey Pop Festival in June of 1967 when he set fire to his Fender Strat guitar at the end of his set. During his career he only released three studio albums and one live set, but after his death there have been at least twelve more studio records and a bunch of live ones. My pal Chuck Davis always tried to convince me of Jimi’s genius, but his gimmickry always turned me off. Over time, however, I have come to see that Hendrix was a true innovator and one heck of a player.
22.Jimmy Page
He was the third superstar guitarist with The Yardbirds during their Little Games era (1967). Born in Middlesex, England January 9, 1944, his music career started with him as a session guitarist. Starting in 1963 he played guitar on many of the British Invasion records such as Petula Clark’s “Downtown” and Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman”. After the breakup of The Yardbirds, it was with Led Zeppelin from 1968 to 1980 that he made his name. Since then he has collaborated with David Coverdale and for a time reunited with Led Zep singer Robert Plant. In 2000 he and The Black Crowes released a nifty live double album Live At The Greek of mostly Zeppelin covers.
23.Roger McGuinn
James Joseph McGuinn III was born in Chicago July 13, 1942 (he changed his first name to Roger in 1967). His jangling 12-string guitar sound with The Byrds helped define a whole genre called folk-rock. In the late ’50s and early ’60s he worked as a sideman for acts like Judy Collins, The Limeliters and Bobby Darin. Reportedly it was seeing George Harrison playing a 12-string Rickenbacker electric guitar that inspired McGuinn to buy one and think about performing it on folk songs. He brought banjo picking and later Coltrane-influenced jazz runs to his lead parts. Starting in 1964 with David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clark, he created great music like “Mr. Tambourine Man”, “Turn Turn Turn” and “Eight Miles High”. McGuinn was the only original member left when they disbanded in 1973 having morphed in to a country-rock band. Since then there have been solo albums, partial reunions and a return to folk with The Folk Den.
24.Nokie Edwards
The Ventures continue as one of the most known bands in guitar-based instrumenal music today even though none of the members from their ’60s hey-day are alive. When they debuted on the charts in 1960 with “Walk Don’t Run” the lead part was played by Bob Bogle and the bassist was Nole (Nokie) Edwards. He had previously recorded in Tacoma, WA as the guitarist with The Marksmen. He and Bogle swapped instruments fairly soon and Nokie became the lead guitarist with The Ventures. In this live clip from Japan (where they were mega-stars), Edwards in the taller guitarist in the middle playing the speedy lead parts. I still love to listen to their classic LPs like Knock Me Out!, Where The Action Is and Guitar Freakout that I bought as a youngster. Over the years he came and went from The Ventures only to rejoin several times. He toured with them till 2012. Nokie lived from May 9, 1935 till March 12, 2018, long enough to get inducted belatedly with his band in 2008 in to the R & R Hall Of Fame.
25.Martin Barre
Well it was hard to leave out Eddie Angel from Los Straitjackets or Frank Zappa, Robert Fripp, Brian May, Richie Blackmore, Mark Knoepfler and Mike Campbell, but let’s settle on the lead player with Jethro Tull – Martin Barre as our #25. Once again, when you think of Tull you do not think of guitar, but rather Ian Anderson’s distinctive use of flute. If you listen to their records, however, Martin Barre over the years has contributed some outstanding guitar licks to songs like “Aqualung”, “Locomotive Breath” and “To Cry You A Song”. Martin Lancelot Barre was born Nov. 17, 1946 in Birmingham, England. He replaced Mick Abrahams who left after the first Jethro Tull album to form Blodwyn Pig. Martin was with Tull from the album Stand Up (1969) till 2012. He has been sorely missed from Jethro Tull and it is inexcusable that Anderson saw fit to exclude him when the excellent 2022 album The Zealot Gene was recorded.
Rock 'n' Roll Reviews and Trivia 