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[lollum_dropcap]H[/lollum_dropcap]ere is a list of ten great guitar players who have inspired me & shaped my sound. They are in no particular order.

While making this list I found it so hard to leave certain players out because in truth there are probably hundreds of players that I’ve stolen ideas from…I mean… um…taken inspiration from over the years.

So here is my short list of totally awesome six-stringers for your enjoyment. I find them not only to be great soloists but exceptional songwriters as well.

Who’s in your top ten list, I’d love to know. Leave your list in the comments below.

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1. Eddie Van Halen

Eddie was my main man for so long when I started playing guitar. I would try to buy everything I could find that he did and then obsess over it. It seemed that he was always on the cutting edge of guitar innovation as far as technique (fingertapping) and gear (Floyd Rose bridges). It’s common knowledge that Eddie turned the guitar world on it’s head with the release of the first Van Halen album and sent many a player to their bedrooms to analyse every note. It’s to bad that the Van Halen the band can’t really seem to get it together and stop self destructing because I bet Eddie may still have a few tricks up his sleeve.  (full bio)

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2. Billy Gibbons

I’m pretty sure if there was no Billy Gibbons in the world rock guitar wouldn’t be what it is today. To me, between all the shred licks and sweep arpeggios that some guitar players do, they are rocking the Billy Gibbons style. He took traditional blues licks  and beefed them up a bit. Jimi Hendrix called him the next big thing on guitar back in the day. The fact that ZZ Top’s music still stands up is a testament to the influence and the quality of their music. In the eighties they took the blues progression to a new place by combining it with a disco beat and letting Billy pick artificial harmonic tinged solos on top of it. He is one bad ass Hombre and apparently a pretty good cook. (full bio)

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3. David Gilmour

I’d be hard pressed to find a player that I feel is more tasteful than David Gilmour. He may not be the fastest knife in the drawer but I’m sure that if a Pink Floyd song came on the radio any one of us could sing the solo. David took over the guitar duties for Floyd after his friend Syd Barrett went off the deep end mentally, and I can’t imagine the band without Gilmour’s beautiful licks or soulful vocals. When writing his guitar solos David say he’ll record a few takes and then piece together the bits he likes the most. If I had to choose my favorite solo of his it would have to be the first solo from “Comfortably Numb”. (full bio)

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4. Steve Vai

Steve Vai is an innovator, a virtuoso, a composer, and an all around unique dude. He started his career as a gun for hire to many of rock music’s biggest stars. Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake all benefited from Vai’s over the top guitar playing and composing. I remember hearing about David Lee Roth’s new band and felt skeptical about someone filling Eddie Van Halen’s shoes. Well Vai brought his own shoes, and they were awesome! The Eat ’em and Smile supergroup created two of the best rock records ever. Vai followed these up with his critically acclaimed instrumental album “Passion & Warfare” which he describes as “Jimi Hendrix meets Jesus Christ at a party that Ben Hur threw for Mel Blanc”. Like I said, Steve Vai is a unique dude.  (full bio)

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5. Joe Satriani

Another guitarist on this list who changed the face of rock guitar is Joe Satriani. Early in his carrer Joe worked as a guitar teacher. His students included Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, David Bryson of Counting Crows, Kevin Cadogan from Third Eye Blind, Larry LaLonde of Primus /Possessed, Alex Skolnick of Testament, and Charlie Hunter. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award 15 times up to this point, and organized the annual G3 tour with many other guitar virtuosos. To say that he is a driving force in the guitar community would be an understatement. Joe’s playing style relies on catchy melodies, scorching blues licks, quick legato runs, fingertapping, and science fiction. Much like Hendrix the themes to many of Satriani’s songs and CDs are influenced by the world of Sci-Fi writing and movies. If I had to pick a favorite song from Joe it would have to be “Always With You, Always With Me”. When I had my first guitar I made a deal with my mom, if I could play that song, she would buy me a new guitar. I played it more or less and at 14 I got my sweet nuclear yellow Kramer. Thanks Joe. (full bio)

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6. Vernon Reid

Vernon Reid is a powerhouse guitar player, sought after studio musician, producer, songwriter, and music supervisor. I still remember the first time that I heard the solos in “Cult of Personality”. They blew my mind. Vernon went off to some place in the stratosphere then came right back to hammer out that brutal riff. It was the raw power of Living Colour’s sound that drew me in, but it is the variety and soulfulness that keeps me listening to them all these years later. Vernon’s solos always fit the song showcasing the wide range of styles he can navigate. Heavy metal, funk, jazz, and R&B are all well tread stomping grounds for Reid. Around my thirtieth birthday I was lucky enough to see Living Colour in concert at the Paradise in Boston and then meet them after the show. They were all great guys. I saw them again a couple of years ago at the Experience Hendrix show at the Orpheum in Boston. Out of all the great players there (Vai, Eric Johnson, etc…) I feel Vernon was the best. If I had to pick a favorite tune it might be “Love Rears Up its Ugly Head”. It has three guitar solos all in a different style. This guy is the man. (full bio)

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7. Blues Saraceno

One of my favorite guitar CDs is “Plaid” by Blues Saraceno. I just love his playing style. It seems quirky, traditional, virtuosic, and original, all at once. What else would you expect from the guy who took Eric Clapton’s place in the Cream reunion tour when he was only a teenager. Like many of the players on this list Blues has done his share of studio work for heavy hitters but his strength lies in his songwriting. After putting out three great CDs, Blues used a connection he had at Fox Television to embark on a film scoring career. It’s a safe bet that if you’ve watched TV or played video games during the last decade, you’ve heard Saraceno’s work. I once had a Blues Saraceno model Yamaha similar to the picture on the left. In a moment I’ll regret forever I decided to strip the paint from it and repaint it. It was never the same. Maybe one day I’ll find one on eBay that I can buy so I can die happy. (full bio)

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8. Jimmy Page

In my mind Jimmy Page represents what it means to be a rock & roll guitar player. He’s the mysterious guitar wizard from an epic band full of  ground breaking musicians. Led Zepplin’s music could be brutal as well as gentle. Page would describe this as having “light and shade” in the music. In his early career Page worked as a session guitarist for acts like The Rolling Stones, The Who, Joe Cocker, and Van Morrison. After that he joined The Yardbirds with his friend Jeff Beck and recorded a couple of records. When The Yardbirds split up Page was determined to put a group together of skilled musicians that could play well together. He enlisted Robert Plant and Robert’s childhood friend John Bonham in Ireland and Jimmy’s studio buddy John Paul Jones to form the group “The New Yardbirds”. They later changed the name to Led Zepplin and they went on to create rock & roll history till disbanding in 1980. Page continues working and playing around until this day but it’s his years in Led Zepplin that inspire me to be a better musician everytime I hear their music. (full bio)

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9. Jimi Hendrix

If it weren’t for Hendrix the electric guitar would not be what it is today. It was as if nobody had played the instrument until Jimi showed us how. He unleashed a wave of guitar brilliance on the world that was steeped in the blues but always pressed forward towards the future. I bet that every other player on this list was inspired by Hendrix. He started his career playing a broom for hours a day in Seattle before moving to a one stringed ukulele. When he finally got his first acoustic guitar at the age of 15 he set about to learning the theme song from “Peter Gunn”. It’s hard to imagine Jimi not being able to wail on the guitar right from the start but he honed his chops through years of touring in backup bands for some of R&B’s biggest stars. When he finally went out on his own people in the States didn’t really understand his music. It took a trip to London for fans to appreciate what he was doing and to start opening the doors for Hendrix’s return to America as a success. Jimi could play big and bold or smooth and flowing all with a sense of sincerity and style. (full bio)

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10. Angus Young

I once heard some one say that, “Listening to Steve Vai makes me want to practice but listening to Angus Young makes me want to party!” and I’d have to agree. There’s nothing more rock & roll than a sneering schoolboy straight from the academy of hell running around the stage ripping your head off with a loud guitar. AC/DC are often criticized for being to simple and formulaic but after several decades of undiminished popularity it seems that they are doing something right. They’ve stripped away anything that didn’t belong and created song after song of pure rock & roll. I love Angus’s solos, particularly how he uses them to build excitement by starting in a low register and moving his way up the neck for the solo’s climax. Together with his older brother Malcolm Young, Angus continues to keep it real for the guitar community everywhere with each open chord they bash.  (full bio)

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Honorable mentions:

Dimebag Darrell, Elliot Easton, Guthrie Govan, John Scofield, Brad Barr, Jose Gonzales, Randy Rhodes, Eric Johnson, Reb Beach, CC Deville, Chuck Berry, Danny Gatton, Steve Howe, Jeff Beck, Slash
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