Hey its my blog and I can make any list I want to. That being said my criteria for this list came to me one day while I was enjoying a glass of fine Kentucky bourbon and listening to some music in the mancave. Music is a constant in my life. Although I don’t play any instrument but some drums and harmonica now and then, music is always happening in what ever moment I happen to be in. I am a child of the 60’s, a teenager of the 70’s and a young adult during the 80’s and quite frankly, I feel blessed to have been a young man coming of age during that time period. I am the youngest of three kids, my siblings being 10 and 7 years older than me. That age gap allowed me to experience a wide range of music that most kids my age had no clue even existed. I can remember my brothers friend coming over and setting up a reel to reel tape deck and listening to Cream and Derrick and the Dominos. There were local bands I got to hear live, usually because my sister or brother had to baby sit me so along I went with them. This early influence and exposure to music shaped my passion to discover new artists. My list takes a few things into account. First, these guitar players are very well known in their respective genre of music but have not had any real “mainstream” exposure, whatever the hell main stream is. Secondly, I feel all of these musicians were unique or brought some thing new to their craft. And finally I happen to have a shitload of their music and I listen to it all the time. If you have a comment or suggestion for some musician that is not on this list, please by all means add their info and a few song suggestions in the comment area. I’m off to check the ribs on the grill and pop another cold one….think I will throw some Clapton on the digital Jukebox..
Reinhardt is often cited as one of the greatest guitar players of all time and regarded as the first important European jazz musician who made major contributions to the development of the idiom. Reinhardt invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique (sometimes called ‘hot’ jazz guitar) that has since become a tradition within French gypsy culture. Listen to this guy play and then realize he lost the use of two fingers in a house fire at the age of 18, just unfreaking believable. All of his solos are played with two fingers. This is the guitar player that inspired Jimmy Page of Led Zeppellin to pick up that bad ass black Les Paul. The Greatfull Deads Jerry Garcia and Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, both of whom lost fingers in accidents, were particularly inspired by Reinhardt’s ability to become an accomplished guitar player/musician, despite the diminished use of his own permanently injured hand following an accident. Jerry Garcia as quoted in June 1985 in Frets Magazine ; “His technique is awesome! Even today, nobody has really come to the state that he was playing at. As good as players are, they haven’t gotten to where he is. There’s a lot of guys that play fast and a lot of guys that play clean, and the guitar has come a long way as far as speed and clarity go, but nobody plays with the whole fullness of expression that Django has. I mean, the combination of incredible speed – all the speed you could possibly want – but also the thing of every note have a specific personality. You don’t hear it. I really haven’t heard it anywhere but with Django”. Recommended: “Minor Swing”, “Djangology”
#7 Chris Duarte
Duarte was born in San Antonio, Texas, and was first inspired by music at age 8 after seeing Fiddler On The Roof on television. Duarte began playing his brother’s guitar, and got his first electric guitar at the age of 14 and played with bands in San Antonio. In 1979, Duarte moved to Austin, Texas and purchased a 1963 Fender Stratocaster guitar for $500. Duarte began exploring the jazz music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. Think of a jazzier version of Stevie Ray Vaughn. This player is highly regarded by his peers in the blues rock idiom, placing fourth all-time behind Eric Clapton, B.B. King and Buddy Guy in a 1995 Guitar Player magazine poll. Recommended: “Big Legged Woman”, Tailspin Headwhack”
#6 Roy Buchanan
A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan was a sideman and solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career, and two later solo albums that made it on to the Billboard chart. Despite never having achieved stardom, he is still considered a highly influential guitar player. Although not mentioned on the Rolling Stone list “100 Greatest Guitarists of all Time,” Guitar Player praised him as one of the “50 Greatest Tones of all Time.” An interesting story about Roy and Jimmy Hendrix is recounted from Wikipedia. In the mid-’60s, Buchanan settled down in the Washington, D.C., area, playing for Danny Denver’s band for many years while acquiring a reputation as “…one of the very finest rock guitarists around. Jimi Hendrix wouldn’t take up the challenge of a ‘pick-off’ with Roy.” The facts behind that claim are that in March 1968 a photographer friend, John Gossage gave Buchanan tickets to a concert by the Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Washington Hilton. “Buchanan was dismayed to find his own trademark sounds, like the wah-wah that he’d painstakingly produced with his hands and his Telecaster, created by electronic pedals. He could never attempt Hendrix’s stage show, and this realization refocused him on his own quintessentially American roots-style guitar picking.” Gossage recalls how Roy was very impressed by the Hendrix 1967 debut album “Are You Experienced?”, which was why he made sure to give Roy a ticket to the early show at the Hilton. Gossage went backstage to take photos and tried to convince Jimi to go and see Roy at the Silver Dollar that night after the show, but Jimi seemed more interested in hanging out with the young lady who was backstage with him. Gossage confirms Hendrix never showed up at the Silver Dollar, but he did talk to Roy about seeing the Hilton show. That same night (as the Hilton show) Roy did several Hendrix numbers and “from that point on, had nothing but good things to say about Hendrix”. He later released recordings of the Hendrix composition ‘If six was nine’ and the Hendrix hit ‘Hey Joe’. Buchanan’s life changed in 1971, when he gained national notice as the result of an hour-long PBS television documentary. Entitled Introducing Roy Buchanan, and sometimes mistakenly called The Best Unknown Guitarist in the World, it earned a record deal with Polydor Records and praise from John Lennon and Merle Haggard, besides an alleged invitation to join the Rolling Stones (which he turned down). He recorded five albums for Polydor, one of which, Second Album, went gold, and after that another three for Atlantic Records, one of which, 1977’s Loading Zone, also went gold. Buchanan quit recording in 1981, vowing never to enter a studio again unless he could record his own music his own way. Recommended: “Sweet Dreams”, f Six was Nine”
#5 Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste during the late 1960s. A talented guitarist known for his charismatic performances and dedication to his craft, Gallagher’s albums have sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide. Gallagher received a liver transplant in 1995, but died of complications later that year in London, England at the age of 47. The 1970s were Gallagher’s most prolific period. He produced ten albums in that decade, including two live albums, Live in Europe and Irish Tour ’74. November 1971 saw the release of his album, Deuce. In the same year he was voted Melody Maker‘s International Top Musician of the Year, ahead of Eric Clapton. However, despite a number of his albums from this period reaching the UK Albums Chart, Gallagher did not attain major star status. Recommended: “I’m not awake yet”, “Jack-Knife Beat”
#4 Robin Trower
In 1962, Trower formed a group that became The Paramounts, later including Westcliff High School pupil Gary Brooker. The Paramounts disbanded in 1966 to pursue individual projects. During this time, Trower created a local three-piece band called ‘The Jam’ (not to be confused with the later group with Paul Weller). Trower then joined Brooker’s new band Procol Harum following the success of their debut single “A Whiter Shade of Pale” in 1967, remaining with them until 1971 and appearing on Procol Harum’s first five albums.
Before launching his own eponymous band, he joined singer Frankie Miller, bass playerJames Dewar, and former Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker to form the short-lived combo Jude.[1] This outfit did not record and soon split up.
Trower retained Dewar as his bassist, who took on lead vocals as well, and recruited drummer Reg Isidore (later replaced by Bill Lordan) to form the Robin Trower Band in 1973.[2]
Perhaps Trower’s most famous album is Bridge of Sighs (1974). This album, along with his first and third solo albums, was produced by his former Procol Harum bandmate, organistMatthew Fisher. Despite differences, Trower’s early power trio work was noted for Hendrixesque influences. recommended:
“Too Rolling Stoned” , “Daydream”
#3 Derek Trucks
Derek Trucks is an American guitarist, songwriter and founder of the Grammy Awardwinning[1] The Derek Trucks Band. He became an official member of The Allman Brothers Band in 1999 and formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band in 2010 with his wife Susan Tedeschi. His musical style encompasses several genres and he has twice appeared on Rolling Stone‘s list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time; currently 16th on the list.
Trucks was born June 8, 1979, in Jacksonville, Florida. His uncle, Butch, is a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. According to Trucks, the name of Eric Clapton’s band, Derek and the Dominos, had “something to do with the name [Derek] if not the spelling”. His great-uncle, Virgil Trucks, was a professional baseball player.
Trucks bought his first guitar at a yard sale for $5 at age nine and became a child prodigy who played his first paid performance at age 11. Trucks began playing the guitar using a “slide” bar because it allowed him to play the guitar despite his small, young hands. By his 13th birthday Trucks had played alongside Buddy Guy and gone on tour with The Allman Brothers Band.
I actually got a chance to see him play when he was 16 years old in Atlanta GA. Just mind-blowing the things this guy does with a guitar.
#2 Al Di Meola
Al Di Meola is an acclaimed American jazz fusion and Latin jazz guitarist, composer, and record producer of Italian origin (from Cerreto Sannita). With a musical career that has spanned more than three decades, he has become respected as one of the most influential guitarists in jazz to date. Albums such as “Friday Night in San Francisco” have earned him both artistic and commercial success with a solid fan base throughout the world.
In 1971 Di Meola enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1974 he joined Chick Corea’s band, Return to Forever, and played with the band until a major lineup shift in 1976. That year also saw the release of the masterpiece album, Romantic Warrior with Chick Corea, Stanley Clark, and Lenny White.
Di Meola went on to explore a variety of styles, but is most noted for his Latin-influenced jazz fusion works. He is a four-time winner as Best Jazz Guitarist in Guitar Player Magazine’s Reader Poll.
Guitar historian Robert Lynch states: “In the history of the electric guitar, no one figure has done more to advance the instrument in a purely technical manner than Mr. Di Meola. His total command of the various styles and scales is simply mind-boggling. I feel privileged to have been able to study his work all these years.”
Di Meola with Return to Forever at Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, New York, 1974
In addition to a prolific solo career, he has engaged in successful collaborations with bassist Stanley Clarke, keyboardist Jan Hammer, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and guitarists John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucía. He also guested on “Allergies” from Paul Simon’s Hearts and Bones'” album (1983).
In the beginning of his career, as evidenced on his first solo album Land of the Midnight Sun (1976), Di Meola was noted for his technical mastery and extremely fast, complex guitar solos and compositions. But even on his early albums, he had begun to explore Mediterranean cultures and acoustic genres like flamenco. Good examples are “Mediterranean Sundance” and “Lady of Rome, Sister of Brazil” from the Elegant Gypsy album (1977). His early albums were very influential among rock and jazz guitarists alike. Di Meola continued to explore Latin music within the jazz fusion genre on albums like Casino and Splendido Hotel. He exhibited a more subtle touch on acoustic numbers like “Fantasia Suite for Two Guitars” from the Casino album, and on the best-selling live album with McLaughlin and de Lucia, Friday Night in San Francisco. The latter album became one of the most popular live albums for acoustic guitar ever recorded and was sold more than two million times worldwide. In 1980, he also toured with fellow Latin rocker Carlos Santana.
Recomended: Return to forever album “Romantic Warior”
#1 Joe Bonnamassa
Joe Bonamassa (born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer.
He began his career playing guitar in the band Bloodline, which also featured the offspring of Miles Davis, Robby Krieger of The Doors, and Berry Oakley of The Allman Brothers Band. He released his first solo album A New Day Yesterday in 2000, and has since released ten more solo studio albums, five live albums and four live DVDs, along with three albums with the band Black Country Communion, one with funk super-group Rock Candy Funk Party and one album in collaboration with vocalist Beth Hart. He tours the world regularly, and has developed a large following in the U.S. and U.K. specifically. His most recent album, Driving Towards The Daylight, reached #2 on the U.K. Top 40 Albums Chart, and he completed an arena tour there in 2012. In 2009 he was the recipient of the Classic Rock Magazine “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” award, and The Guardian said of him: “the 35-year-old from upstate New York has consolidated a reputation as the pre-eminent blues-rock guitarist of his generation”.
Bonamassa has collaborated with numerous artists, including B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Blondie Chaplin, Beth Hart, Paul Rodgers, Leslie West, Jon Lord, Vince Gill, Sandi Thom and Glenn Hughes. He also played with Hughes in Black Country Communion, along with Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian.
Joe Bonamassa’s music contains a mix of several different genres: although it is primarily blues rock, since relocating to Santorini, Greece in 2009 to record the album Black Rock (named after the studios in which it was created), his music has gained eastern influences, with the addition of instruments such as the bouzouki and clarinet (for instance, on “Black Lung Heartache” from Dust Bowl and “Athens to Athens” from Black Rock). He has also covered songs by John Hiatt and Leonard Cohen.
Probably the best living rock-blues guitar player currently touring. Go see this guy, sell blood if you have to, you wont regret it.
Well there you have it, now go ahead and tell me how wrong I am and how could I not include this guitar player or that one…thats whats great about this medium, it goes both ways, so let the comments rip…..Im gonna go flip the steaks and crank some Joe B……
grooveheat 