As a guitarist and a music fan, I am constantly hearing things that inspire me, and frequently discovering new guitarists that rock my world. But there's something to be said for that first handful of guitarists you discover that really get your heart pumping, and inspire you to pick up the guitar. I'd like to take a moment to list the ten most significant guitarists who influenced me in my earlier stages of becoming a guitarist.
Jimmy Page (as heard in Led Zeppelin)
Led Zeppelin was one of the first bands that really, intensely, turned me on to rock music. Their fourth album was like a holy relic for me, and the musicianship and tightness of the band on their first album impressed me incredibly. But it was seeing Jimmy Page in concert via the film The Song Remains The Same that convinced me that I wanted to be a rock star guitar god. His playing on Since I've Been Loving You just oozes sexual energy.
David Gilmour (as heard in Pink Floyd)
Jimmy Page inspired me through raw power, but David Gilmour's lyrical licks inspired me through tastefulness and ambiance. The guitar solos in many Pink Floyd songs are the type that stick in your mind; they are perfect air guitar fodder. And Gilmour practices the coveted technique of playing for quality over quantity. But where other guitarists with this approach fall short is Gilmour's masterful control of a single note - his ability to wrench so much emotion out of so little.
Neil Young
Neil Young is not as often listed among the perennial guitar gods of rock, as he is largely known for his gentler acoustic tracks - but make no mistake, he is one of the hardest rockers the world has known (and is not called the "godfather of grunge" for nothing). Though his lead playing style is unconventional, it is effectively transcendental, yet his relatively simple and basic approach to music renders it very accessible for beginning musicians. Neil was simultaneously a model guitarist for me to look up to, and someone who I felt I had some chance of successfully imitating before I learned much about how to play guitar.
Robin Trower
Every guitarist has influences, but though Robin Trower was inspired by Jimi Hendrix (and who wasn't?), I have honestly never found any merit to the claims that Trower is "derivative" or a "copycat" of Hendrix (that's more true of Frank Marino, and he still has merit as a guitarist). Trower has a unique style, and his tone is legendary. You can tell instantly that it's Trower, when you hear his guitar. As a guitarist, I envy his tone immensely. Previously playing with the band Procol Harum, Robin Trower formed his own band in the early '70s featuring the voice of James Dewar, which is as much a trademark of the band's early sound as Trower's guitar. With all due respect to the great Eric Clapton (of whom I am most certainly a fan), if you want to hear a guitar weep, listen to the live version of Daydream on the band's fourth release, Live.
Alvin Lee (as heard in Ten Years After)
It's a shame that Ten Years After is not more popular than its one radio hit, I'd Love To Change The World, because they were a fantastic rock band, and Alvin Lee is an impressive guitarist. Even though they (arguably :p) provided the highlight performance in the Woodstock film, their music is still largely ignored on radio. I don't normally go for the "flurry of notes" style of guitarists, preferring instead some measure of soul and feeling, but though Alvin Lee is sometimes hailed with the moniker "fastest fingers" (which is an accurate description of his soloing style), he, like Jimmy Page, is also capable of constructing memorable riffs to anchor his songs, and to wrench feeling from his guitar in spite of the speed with which he attacks it. Ain't nothing wrong with a little flash, if there's substance underneath.
Peter Green (as heard in Fleetwood Mac)
Clapton may have been "God", but Peter Green was the "Green God". In fact, he replaced Eric in the Bluesbreakers when God left to form Cream. Green himself left shortly after to form his own band - Fleetwood Mac, which, with a few significant personnel changes, eventually became a hugely successful pop band in the mid-'70s. But at the end of the '60s, Fleetwood Mac was a blues band, and Peter Green was its creative genius. Among all the "white boy blues" guitarists of which I am fond, Green was, in my opinion, the most "authentic", when it comes to tapping into the original pathos of the blues. And this shows both in his playing, as well as his songwriting. More than just as a guitarist - though his guitar work is incredible - Peter inspires me as a musician, an artist, and a person overall.
Michael Bloomfield
Michael Bloomfield is an under-the-radar kind of a guitarist. His skill was amazing, but he wasn't part of any super-popular bands, and he was more of a bluesman than a rock star. He played in Paul Butterfield's Blues Band in Chicago, and formed the Electric Flag in San Francisco. He played lead for Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival when Dylan infamously "went electric". Capturing Bloomfield's incendiary leads on record was difficult, and it's hard to track down his best tracks. The compilation Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man does a pretty good job, though I also recommend the Super Session with Al Kooper, and the Electric Flag album A Long Time Comin'. For some of his best live work, check out Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West, only recently released on CD.
Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan is the greatest guitarist you've never heard. He had total, otherworldly control over his guitar. He mastered all the unconventional tricks of the trade - before many of them became popular. His career consisted of mostly low-key gigs, aside from a few brushes with rock royalty, but though never very popular, he was appreciated by those who heard his playing, and recorded enough material for us to continue to marvel at his talent years after his unfortunate and mysterious death (the jury is out on whether he hung himself, or was strangled by a corrupt cop). Take one listen to the track The Messiah Will Come Again, and I guarantee you will be converted. If not, then I pray for your soul!
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa is the only modern artist on this list, but while my music tastes are firmly focused on the classics of blues and rock, Joe consistently impresses me with his talent and hard work ethic, as well as his own taste in music, which is very impressive (and not too different from my own). I unhesitatingly dub him the greatest guitarist of this era. He is a fantastic songwriter, and also a very skilled cover artist. And his mastery of the guitar is inspirational. His first live album as a solo artist from almost a decade ago got me interested, but check out Live from the Royal Albert Hall to see how far he's come in the last ten years.
Harvey Mandel
I'll end the list with another obscure name - not because there are any lack of popular guitarists for me to choose from (quite the contrary), but because, being less popular, this guitarist feels more like my discovery than many of those others who are championed by countless fans. Harvey Mandel crossed paths with Mike Bloomfield during his Chicago days, and enjoyed stints in both Canned Heat and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. He was even considered as Mick Taylor's replacement in the Rolling Stones (a gig that was rumored to have been rejected by Roy Buchanan, and eventually went to Ronnie Wood), recording guitar for two tracks on the Stones' Black and Blue album. Mandel's solo work is unique, almost jazzlike; it is mostly instrumental, and characterized by his "snakelike" playing - with leads that seem to slither around. He is credited with employing the "tapping" technique years before Eddie Van Halen popularized it.
Honorable Mention: All those amazing and beloved guitarists that didn't make the list, including the ones I have yet to discover!
