The Guitar Gods...

Eric Clapton-one of the premier guitarists in rock n’ roll history and has been a successful artist in the blues, rock, and pop arena. He got his start like many other great guitarists in the Yardbirds, and blues and later pop group in the early and mid 60s. After the Yardbirds had a number one hit with “For Your Love” Eric Clapton felt the integrity of the band had been compromised so he quit. He was then invited to play with longtime English musician John Mayall, with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. Clapton’s virtuous playing in this band gave him instant fame among hardcore blues fans in England. Underground fans hailed him as God. Clapton didn’t take well to this type of idolatry, but nonetheless he continued to rise to fame when he formed his next band Cream. Cream was a bit of a supergroup and included bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. Cream did not last long, but the songs they wrote were some of the most memorable of the era and in rock history. These include “Sunshine of Your Love” “White Room” and their adaptation of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads.” After Cream he went on to another supergroup called “Blind Faith” featuring Steve Winwood on piano, himself on guitar, Ginger Baker on drums and Rik Gretch on bass. Clapton really began to develop his writing skills with “In The Presence of The Lord.” Blind Faith did one album and split up during their first tour. After doing nothing for a little bit, he joined a tour with American musicians Delaney and Bonnie and Delaney encouraged Eric to begin singing which he would eventually do with his alias band Derek and the Dominos. He would have a smash hit with “Layla” and create some of his best original material ever. After struggling with massive addiction to heroine in the 70’s and then alcohol in the 80’s, he eventually rehabilitated himself and had a massively successful career as a crooner and pop artist. He moved into the soft rock arena in the 80s.
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eff Beck was also a member of the Yardbirds after Eric Clapton left. Beck was more of a jazzy style guitarist, rather than being deeply rooted in blues like Eric Clapton. Beck has always been more experimental but a bit more subdued than Clapton. Beck is the guitar player’s guitar player. After the Yardbirds he formed the Jeff Beck group which featured Ron Wood and Rod Stewart.

Jimmy Page was the third and final guitarist for the Yardbirds. Page and Beck intersected for a brief period, but by the time Page got there, the Yardbirds were on the rocks. What was left of them eventually became Led Zepplin. Led Zepplin featured Robert Plant on vocals, Page on guitar, John Bonham on drums and John Paul Jones on bass. Zepplin would blend hardcore blues with jazz and psychedelic rock to become one of the most played and celebrated bands in rock n’ roll history, and maybe one of the biggest rip offs too. Dazed and Confused was a complete cover that Jimmy Page tried to pass off as his own, but I won’t hold that against him anymore.

Pete Townshend is pretty much solely responsible for establishing stage presence for a guitar player on stage. He would break guitars, do all sorts of crazy jumps and acrobatics and look really cool doing it. He also wrote much of The Who’s material and stretched the boundaries of rock music by using lots of power chords and later writing rock opera’s like Tommy. He led the Who which was Roger Daltry on vocals, John Entwistle on bass, and the legendary Keith Moon on drums. The Who became one of the biggest rock bands to come out of the British Invasion,

Jimi Hendrix-Although I’d like to, I don’t really know if I need to explain Jimi Hendrix on this blog. He was born in Seattle as James Marshall Hendrix in 1942 and died in London in 1970 of a drug overdose. He is the most influential, revolutionary, and copied guitarist of all-time. His most famous work is probably his performance of The Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock. He played mostly with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, which was a trio with Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums. Their albums “Are You Experienced?” “Axis: Bold As Love” and “Electric Ladyland” are essentials.

Duane Allman-One of the founding members of the Allman Brothers Band and is one of the greatest guitarists ever and probably the best slide guitar player ever. The Allman Brothers band was Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley, Duane Allman, Dicky Betts, Jai Johanny Johanssen, and Butch Trucks. They were the quintessential southern rock/jam band, and Allman is famous for his long, flawless solos. He is an extremely fluid player and his tone was typically bright, and crisp.