Showing posts with label duane allman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label duane allman. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

The Top 100 Guitarists of All Time

Guitarists:

Top 100

This list first surfaced on 5/29/10 in a response to a voter-based list released by Gibson.com. Barely two weeks went by when an update became necessary thanks to an LA Times Magazine article listing the 50 greatest guitarists of all time. The DMDB’s revised list of best guitarists was posted on the DMDB Facebook page.

In November 2011, Rolling Stone posted a new list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. As such, this post has been revised yet again to reflect the inclusion of that list. 34 lists have been compiled to create this aggregate list.

Click on names to see their entries in the Dave’s Music Database Music Makers Encyclopedia. The highlights – selected by browsing best-guitar-solo lists – link to videos.

See other lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories.

1. Jimi Hendrix Highlight: “Machine Gun”
2. Jimmy Page Highlight: “Stairway to Heaven” (with Led Zeppelin)
3. Eric Clapton Highlight: “Crossroads” (with Cream)
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan Highlight: “Texas Flood”
5. Eddie Van Halen Highlight: “Eruption” (with Van Halen)
6. B.B. King Highlight: “The Thrill Is Gone”
7. Jeff Beck Highlight: “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”
8. Angus Young Highlight: “You Shook Me All Night Long” (with AC/DC)
9. Chuck Berry Highlight: “Johnny B. Goode”
10. Duane Allman Highlight: “Dreams” (with the Allman Brothers Band)

11. Steve Vai Highlight: “For the Love of God”
12. David Gilmour Highlight: “Comfortably Numb” (with Pink Floyd)
13. Keith Richards Highlight: “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (with the Rolling Stones)
14. Ritchie Blackmore Highlight: “Highway Star” (with Deep Purple)
15. Joe Satriani Highlight: “Surfing with the Alien”
16. Slash Highlight: “November Rain” (with Guns N’ Roses)
17. Randy Rhoads Highlight: “Crazy Train” (with Ozzy Osbourne)
18. Yngwie Malmsteen Highlight: “Black Star”
19. Tony Iommi Highlight: “War Pigs” (with Black Sabbath)
20. George Harrison Highlight: “And Your Bird Can Sing” (with The Beatles)

21. Pete Townshend Highlight: “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (with the Who)
22. Steve Cropper
23. Santana Highlight: “Europa”
24. Frank Zappa Highlight: “Zoot Allures”
25. Brian May Highlight: “Bohemian Rhapsody” (with Queen)
26. Robert Johnson
27. Mark Knopfler Highlight: “Sultans of Swing” (with Dire Straits)
28. Neil Young Highlight: “Cortez the Killer”
29. Kirk Hammett Highlight: “One” (with Metallica)
30. Les Paul

31. Tom Morello Highlight: “Bulls on Parade” (with Rage Against the Machine)
32. The Edge
33. John Frusciante Highlight: “I Could Have Lied” (with Red Hot Chili Peppers)
34. Robert Fripp Highlight: “21st Century Schizoid Man” (with King Crimson)
35. John McLaughlin Highlight: “Dream” (with Mahavishnu Orchestra)
36. Jerry Garcia Highlight: “Truckin’” (with the Grateful Dead)
37. Ry Cooder
38. Chet Atkins
39. Prince
40. John Petrucci Highlight: “Under a Glass Moon” (with Dream Theater)

41. Alex Lifeson Highlight: “Working Man” (with Rush)
42. Steve Morse Highlight: “Punk Sandwich” (with Dixie Dregs)
43. Buddy Guy
44. Peter Green
45. Darrell “Dimebag” Abbott Highlight: “Floods” (with Pantera)
46. Kurt Cobain Highlight: “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (with Nirvana)
47. Rory Gallagher
48. Richard Thompson
49. Bo Diddley
50. Django Reinhardt

51. Eric Johnson Highlight: “Cliffs of Dover”
52. Steve Howe Highlight: “Starship Trooper” (with Yes)
53. Scotty Moore
54. Joe Perry Highlight: “Walk This Way” (with Aerosmith)
55. Mick Taylor
56. Billy Gibbons Highlight: “Sharp Dressed Man” (with ZZ Top)
57. Buckethead Highlight: “Nottingham Lace”
58. Albert King
59. Gary Moore Highlight: “Still in Love with You” (with Thin Lizzy)
60. Freddie King

61. Phil Keaggy
62. Jack White
63. James Burton
64. T-Bone Walker
65. Mike Bloomfield
66. Marty Friedman Highlight: “Tornado of Souls (with Megadeth)
67. Wes Montgomery
68. Mick Ronson Highlight: “Moonage Daydream” (with David Bowie)
69. Eddie Hazel Highlight: “Maggot Brain” (with Funkadelic)
70. Michael Schenker Highlight: “Rock Bottom” (with UFO)

71. Dickey Betts Highlight: “Jessica” (with the Allman Brothers Band)
72. Jonny Greenwood Highlight: “Paranoid Android” (with Radiohead)
73. Charlie Christian Highlight: “Solo Flight” (with Benny Goodman)
74. Zakk Wylde Highlight: “No More Tears” (with Ozzy Osbourne)
75. Allan Holdsworth Highlight: “Devil take the Hindmost”
76. Joey Ramone
77. John Fahey
78. Link Wray
79. Johnny Marr
80. Warren Haynes

81. Johnny Winter Highlight: “Highway 61 Revisited”
82. Dick Dale Highlight: “Miserlou” (Dick Dale & the Del-Tones)
83. Glenn Tipton Highlight: “Beyond the Realms of Death” (with Judas Priest)
84. Derek Trucks
85. Roy Buchanan
86. Neal Schon Highlight: “Any Way You Want It” (with Journey)
87. Humbert Sumlin
88. Paul Gilbert Highlight: “Price You Gotta Pay” (with Mr. Big)
89. Adrian Smith Highlight: “Powerslave” (with Iron Maiden)
90. Ace Frehley Highlight: “Shock Me” (with Kiss)

91. Tom Verlaine
92. Leslie West
93. Robin Trower Highlight: “Bridge of Sighs”
94. Mike McCready Highlight: “Alive” (with Pearl Jam)
95. Dave Davies Highlight: “You Really Got Me” (with The Kinks)
96. Danny Gatton
97. Andres Segovia
98. Richie Sambora
99. Ron Asheton
100. Dave Murray Highlight: “2 Minutes to Midnight” (with Iron Maiden)

Resources/Related Links:

  • Dave’s Music Database: Lists of Acts/Music Makers by Categories

  • About.com’s 100 Greatest Guitar Solos

  • AssociatedContent.com Top 10 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Dennis Lindsay (12/29/08)

  • BBC News Zeppelin voted ‘ideal supergroup’ (7/10/05)

    Roughly 3500 music fans were polled at Planet Rock Radio for best singer, guitarist, bassist, and drummer. The top 10 of each are listed.

  • Buzzle.com Greatest Guitar Players. By Batul Nafisa Baxamusa. (4/13/10)

    Unranked list of 10 with commentaries. Another 15 with no commentary. Looks like a webzine.

  • Buzzle.com Famous Jazz and Rock Guitarists. By Madhura P. (date?)

    Commentary on only 5 guitarists (although another 11 are listed) and all from the rock genre, not jazz.

  • Digital Dream Door 100 Greatest Rock Guitarists. Edited by Andreas Haukenes, Jeffrey P., George F., and gminer. (5/11/10)

    List has no commentaries, but links to Nutsie.com where you can hear songs.

  • Digital Dream Door 100 Greatest Guitarists (All Genres). Edited by George. (2/13/08)

    This is an all-genre list with no commentaries, but links to Nutsie.com where you can hear songs. List actually includes 200 guitarists.

  • Digital Dream Door’s 100 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos edited by Eric/Lew (5/15/05)

  • EduBook.com The Greatest Guitarists of All Time. By Phil Dotree. (10/24/09)

    Top 5 ranked list with commentaries.

  • Gibson.com Top 50 Guitarists of All Time. By various writers. (5/28/10)

    List was compiled by votes over a month’s time. The end result is a ranked list with multiple ties and commentaries written by various writers. As the site indicates, votes came from the Gibson.com readers’ poll as well as Paolo Bassotti, Dave Hunter, Jeff Cease (Black Crowes), James Williamson (Iggy & The Stooges), Steve Mazur (Our Lady Peace), Martin Belmont (Graham Parker & The Rumour), and writers Ellen Barnes, Sean Dooley, Ted Drozdowski, Russell Hall, Arlen Roth, Andrew Vaughan, Aidin Vaziri, Bryan Wawzenek, Michael Wright.

  • Guitar World 30 on 30: The Greatest Guitarists Picked by the Greatest Guitarists. By multiple authors. (3/10)

    In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Guitar World asked 30 different guitarists to comment on a favorite guitarist of theirs.

  • LA Times‘s The 50 Greatest Guitarists Ever (6/10)

    Unranked list with no commentary but links to videos.

  • Mojo‘s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time (6/96)

    Link is for a ranked list which includes a recommended song or album and indicates the main guitar used by the guitarist.

  • MusicBanter.com 200 Greatest Guitarists in Rock. By Boo Boo. (6/05)

    List only. No commentary. Site looks like a fan-based billboard.

  • MusiciansFriend.com The 100 Greatest Guitarists Who Ever Lived. By Adam St. James. (year?)

    List is identified as being from Guitar.com and says the list is based on votes compiled at Guitar.com. A short bio notes that St. James has been the site’s editor and is an author of several instructional guitar books.

  • MyMusicLists.com Best Guitarists of All Time. (2006)

    Details of list are unclear. This appears to be a site in which fans can vote on favorites. The list includes 51 ranked guitarists, but does not indicate if ranking actually came from fan votes. There are brief comments from users.

  • PhilBrodieBand.com Greatest Guitarists. (2005)

    Page offers multiple lists (acoustic, blues, hard rock/heavy metal, jazz, R&B/soul, rock) which are identified as being from DigitalDreamDoor.com, but these same lists do not appear to be on that site. All lists are ranked without commentary. Most are top 100 lists, except for the hard rock/heavy metal and R&B/soul, which are top 30 lists.

  • RateItAll.com Best Guitarists of All Time. (Originated 1/19/04)

    This ranked list appears to be generated by voter ratings and reviews. Clicking on a guitarist’s name takes one to a page with voters’ comments. List is apparently ongoing with more comments and ratings being added.

  • RateYourMusic.com 25 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. By Fatman (10/12/06)

    Site allows users to generate lists. This ranked list offers brief commentaries.

  • Rolling Stone‘s 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. (2003?)

    This ranked list, with commentary, is difficult to navigate on the Rolling Stone site since each guitarist has a separate page. To just see the list, check out TheInsider.com.

  • Piero Scarufi, Greatest Rock Guitarists of All Times (1999)

    This is a list only with no commentary. For no explained reason, there are 53 guitarists in ranked list followed by another 100 names in no perceivable order.

  • Squidoo.com The Top 100 Guitarists of All Time. (year?)

    Ranked list with no commentary. List appears to have been generated by original author and then others could vote on it. Author and date not identified.

  • Time Magazine The 10 Greatest Electric-Guitar Players. By Josh Tyrangiel (year?)

    Short list with only one-sentence commentaries.

  • The-Top-Tens.com Greatest Guitarists Ever. (year?)

    This top 100 ranked list offers brief comments from site visitors. List appears to be voter-generated.

  • TopTenz.net Top 10 Greatest Guitar Players. By Clarence F. (2008?)

    Top 10 ranked list with commentaries and video for each guitarist.

  • Total Guitarist Magazine The Top 100 Guitarists. (8/3/02)

    Top 100 ranked list with no commentary. Voted on by Total Guitar readers.

First posted 11/23/2011; last updated 1/25/2022.

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Saturday, November 16, 1974

Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Free Bird” flies on to the chart

Free Bird

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Writer(s): Allen Collins, Ronnie Van Zant (see lyrics here)

First Charted: November 16, 1974

Peak: 19 US, 25 CB, 24 GR, 31 HR, 1 CL, 21 UK, 47 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 2.11 US, -- UK, 2.11 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 128.84 video, 348.6 streaming

Free Bird

Arnold McCuller

Released: September 12, 2000 (album cut on Duets soundtrack)

Peak: 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 3.0 radio, 0.07 video, -- streaming

Awards (Lynyrd Skynyrd):

Click on award for more details.

Awards (Arnold McCuller):

About the Song:

It “has become a rock and roll joke” to shout out “Free Bird!” at concerts, SF but it is also a tribute to “a towering rock anthem crowned with the mother of all guitar solos” BBC that “has entered hard rock folklore.” HL The song “extend[ed] the influence of Southern rock...started by the Allman Brothers.” RS500 The song was, in fact, a tribute to Allman Brothers Duane Allman and Berry Oakley, DT who died in motorcycle crashes in 1971 and 1972 respectively.

“‘Free Bird’ is the tale of a restless spirit attempting to explain to his sweetheart” HL “why he can’t settle down and make a commitment.” SF Guitarist Allen Collins’ “steady girlfriend, who realized that the band would always come first, kept asking him questions like, ‘If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?’” KN

He worked on the song on and off for two years. SF When he “first brought it into rehearsals, volatile singer Ronnie Van Zandt was unenthusiastic, claiming it had too many chords.” BBC The band first recorded the song as a ballad BBC in 1972 that clocked in at 7 ½ minutes. SF Club audiences didn’t respond until “the climatic guitar duel” BBC was added to the end, stretching the song to 10 minutes.

The “record company…thought it was too long [for a single]. Even the band never thought this was going to be a hit.” SF After “Sweet Home Alabama” was a chart success, an edited “Free Bird” was released, but “the long version from the album has always been more popular.” SF

“When Skynyrd reformed in the late ‘80s it was performed as an instrumental, with an empty mic stand...adorned with Ronnie’s trademark cowboy hat” BBC as a memorial to him. He was killed in a plane crash in 1977 along with two other band members.

In 2000, the movie Duets focused on karaoke competitions. One of the contestants, Reggie Kane (Andre Braugher), is a convict. While he is performing a stripped-down, emotional version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” the police arrive to arrest him.

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Last updated 4/1/2023.

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Saturday, February 12, 1972

The Allman Brothers Band released Eat a Peach

First posted 4/2/2008; updated 10/17/2020.

Eat a Peach

The Allman Brothers Band

Released: February 12, 1972

Charted: March 18, 1972

Peak: 4 US, -- UK, 12 CN, -- AU

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: blues rock

Tracks: (Click for codes to singles charts.)

  1. Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More (4/29/72, #77 US)
  2. Les Brers in A Minor
  3. Melissa (8/12/72, #86 US)
  4. Mountain Jam (live)
  5. One Way Out (live) (12/2/72, #86 US)
  6. Trouble No More (live)
  7. Stand Back
  8. Blue Sky
  9. Little Martha

Total Running Time: 69:24

The Players:

  • Duane Allman (guitar)
  • Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards)
  • Dickey Betts (guitar, lead vocals on “Blue Sky”)
  • Berry Oakley (bass)
  • Jai Johannny Johanson (drums, congas)
  • Butch Trucks (drums, percussion)

Rating:

4.292 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Awards:

About the Album:

“A tribute to the dearly departed Duane, Eat a Peach rambles…through a side of new songs, recorded post-Duane, spending a full album on live cuts from the Fillmore East sessions, then offering a round of studio tracks Duane completed before his death.” STE

“On the first side, they do suggest the mellowness of the Dickey Betts-led Brothers and Sisters, particularly on the lovely Melissa, and this stands in direct contrast with the monumental live cuts that dominate the album. They’re at the best on the punchier covers of One Way Out and Trouble No More, both proof of the group's exceptional talents as a roadhouse blues-rock band, but Duane does get his needed showcase on Mountain Jam, a sprawling 33-minute jam that may feature a lot of great playing, but is certainly a little hard for anyone outside of diehards to sit through.” STE

“Apart from that cut, the record showcases the Allmans at their peak, and it’s hard not to feel sad as the acoustic guitars of Little Martha conclude the record, since this tribute isn't just heartfelt, it offers proof of Duane Allman’s immense talents and contribution to the band.” STE

On the deluxe edition, “disc two stands as a virtually unreleased concert of the ABB’s final performance at the Fillmore on June 27, 1971 – with Duane, who was killed in October of that year. Two of the disc’s tracks had been previously released – Midnight Rider (on Duane Allman Anthology, Vol. 2) and ‘One Way Out’ (on the original Eat a Peach, which means the track shows up on both discs here).” TJ These two tracks also show up on the deluxe version of At Fillmore East. However, with the exception of those two tracks, this collection serves as At Fillmore East, Vol. 2, capturing the June 27, 1971 performances while the original At Fillmore East gathered recordings from the March 12-13, 1971 shows.

Notes: A 2006 deluxe edition added a second disc of live material – “Statesboro Blues,” “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’,” “Done Somebody Wrong,” “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” “Midnight Rider,” “Hot ‘Lanta,” “Whipping Post,” “You Don’t Love Me,” and another version of “One Way Out.”

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Saturday, March 20, 1971

Derek and the Dominos charted with "Layla"

Layla

Derek and the Dominos

Writer(s): Eric Clapton, Jim Gordon (see lyrics here)

First Charted: March 20, 1971

Peak: 10 US, 14 CB, 12 HR, 8 AC, 9 AR, 4 UK, 9 CN, AU 100, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.4 UK, 0.4 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 6.0 radio, 225.11 video, 236.32 streaming

Layla (Unplugged)

Eric Clapton

Released: September 14, 1992

First Charted: September 5, 1992

Peak: 12 US, 7 CB, 7 RR, 8 AC, 9 AR, 45 UK, 11 CN, 7 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 0.23 US

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 9.0 radio, 6.2 video, 238.95 streaming

Awards (Derek and the Dominos):

Click on award for more details.

Awards (Clapton Unplugged Version):

About the Song:

One of the great classic rock songs was inspired by Nizami, a twelfth-century Persian poet, who told the story of a love affair gone wrong in The Story of Layla and Majnun. HL In Eric Clapton’s version of the tale, the source of unrequited love was Patti Boyd, the wife of his best friend, George Harrison. Clapton never again sounded as tortured as he does here, even on 1992’s “Tears in Heaven,” which Clapton wrote about the death of his four-year-old son. AMG Oh, and Nizami’s version missed a key ingredient of its musical counterpart — “the most recognizable guitar riff in history.” BBC

Derek and the Dominos was a short-lived ensemble comprised of Clapton, members of Delaney and Bonnie’s band, and guitarist Duane Allman, who adapted the “incendiary, fiery riff that fuels the first section” AMG from Albert King’s “The Years Go Passing By.” TC

Also notable was Jim Gordon’s “serene, piano-based coda.” RS500 He was a multi-instrumentalist, but was best known for his drumming. This, however, was a piece he’d been working on for years, finally finding its way into “Layla” two months after the recording was supposedly finished. TC

The original U.S. single peaked at #51 in 1971. The next year, a longer version went to #10 in the U.S. and #7 on the UK charts. A decade later, it hit the UK charts again, going to #4. In 1992, the song emerged in a slower, live version from Clapton’s Unplugged album and hit AC and album rock. “It was an admirable reworking, but...[the] original recording remains one of the towering moments in rock & roll history.” AMG

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Last updated 10/28/2022.

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