NGM :: GUITARISTS

Guitarists

Every style of guitar playing has its masters, its legends, and its favorites. The NGM recognizes those players who have taken the guitar and created new styles, mastered old styles, and inspired new generations of players.

There are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of guitar styles. To best manage the vast number of playing styles, The NGM broadly categorizes them into six areas: rock, blues, jazz, country, classical, and folk. Within these areas are such diverse styles as fusion, progressive rock, punk, Celtic, flamenco, metal, bluegrass, and dozens of others.

Gutiarists included here are not selected on the basis of "best" given that there is no such thing in guitar playing. They are the ones who've inspired and influenced their peers and the guitarists that followed them.

It takes a great deal of effort to play the guitar well. It is one of the only instruments that causes pain during the learning stage (fingertip blisters, barre chord cramps), while the chordal variations and scales present a challenge to both memory and skill. Any musician who can overcome the initial challenges is worthy of the term "guitarist."

There are guitarists, however, who rise above the term with a unique level of skill, innovation, and imagination. Their names are legendary: Robert Johnson. Django Reinhardt. Charlie Christian. Les Paul. Wes Montgomery. Chet Atkins. Hank Marvin. Buddy Guy. Jimi Hendrix. Jeff Beck. Eric Clapton. Jimmy Page. Ritchie Blackmore. Duane Allman. Tony Iommi. Steve Howe. Eddie Van Halen. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Steve Vai. Eric Johnson. The list goes on to include hundreds of people who have left a significant mark on the history of the guitar.

This page will link you to the stories of those guitarists, along with interviews, histories, and artist websites.

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A sampling of guitarists featured here and on our Facebook page.

Paisley proved once and for all that he is one of the best country guitarists ever with the release of 2008's "Play: The Guitar Album." From the blistering rock of "Cluster Pluck" and the honky tonk frenzy of "Playing With Fire" on to the jazz of "Les Is More," Paisley is a serious player who can hold his own in any genre.

Paisley may be categorized as country, but his playing will sizzle the ears of even the most jaded metalhead.

This image of Bruce Springsteen from the cover of "Born To Run" may be one of the most famous images of a Fender Telecaster in history. The guitar is, by all accounts, a heavily modified Tele body (probably 1960s) and Esquire neck (early 50s).

Although Springsteen has surrounded himself with ace guitarists throughout his career -- namely Steve Van Zandt & Nils Lofgren -- Bruce is no slouch when it comes to working his way around the guitar. His solo on "Candy's Room" is a scorcher, and worth checking out for his unique brand of Telecaster wailing.

Perry has been the primary guitarist for Aerosmith since 1970 (39 years, for those of you who don't want to do the math). He's had his ups and downs with the band over those years--including a lengthy departure in the early 1980s. His newest solo album, "Have Guitar, Will Travel" comes just as Perry announced that vocalist Steven Tyler has quit Aerosmith once and for all.

Perry's guitar style is heavily influenced by early British rock and blues players, including Keith Richards, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Fleetwood Mac's legendary Peter Green. His choice of guitars has historically been eclectic, relying primarily on Les Pauls with a strong contingent of others thrown into the mix, including guitars from B.C. Rich, Dan Armstrong, Danelectro, Rickenbacker, Steinberger, Travis Bean, and a variety of Fenders.

Perry and Aerosmith have always courted controversy: onstage fistfights, substance excess, and inability to perform (some of his guitar parts on "Get Your Wings" were dubbed by the studio duo of Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter). Yet, while Perry's career as one half of the "Toxic Twins" may possibly be over, his solo career--and his side job as a purveyor of hot sauces--is very likely to keep him in the spotlight for years to come.

A virtuoso with a career encompassing more than 2 dozen albums, Liona is considered one of the world's great classical guitarists. Beginning her studies at age 13, she studied with Julian Bream and Narcisco Yepes, among others. Since then, guitarists as diverse as Chet Atkins, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Steve Morse, and Al Di Meola have guested on her albums. She is notable for her interpretation of classics from composers such as Tarrega and Albeniz, as well as modern and self-penned compositions.

Liona is a five-time winner of the Guitar Player Magazine poll for best classical guitarist and has been inducted into GP's "Gallery of Greats."

The NGM is proud to have her as a member of our Guitarist Advisory Board. You can learn more about Liona and her most recent releases at http://bit.ly/1d7Zak

One of the most overlooked blues rock guitarists ever, Roy Buchanan was revered by fellow musicians but may have been the most reluctant guitarist to ever to pick up the instrument. He lived one of the strangest lives of any respected guitarist since Robert Johnson, yet is still barely known by the general public. Whenever his guitar prowess threatened to metamorphose into fame and fortune (like possibly joining The Rolling Stones), Buchanan ran away from the limelight until he could re-emerge in some little-scrutinized side project.

After winning a Grammy for Best Blues Album and being the subject of a PBS documentary, Buchanan was found hanged in a jail cell in Virginia (the jury is still out on whether it was suicide or police manhandling).

1977's "Loading Zone" is Roy at his wicked best, with scorching solos riding side-by-side with a deft touch that made him one of the supreme "Masters of The Telecaster."

Links

Johnny Winter