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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsEpic *American* Rock guitarists.....
Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2017, 04:04 AM - Edit history (1)
My boyfriend and I have been discussing this for a few months, and we're having trouble thinking of the great American rock guitarists. Most of what we come up with are Brits, with the occasional Canadian, and of corse, the legendary Irishman, Rory Gallagher.
--reporter to Jimi Hendrix: "How's it feel to be the greatest guitarist in history?"
--Jimi: "I don't know man, you should go ask Rory Gallagher."
In the states, we've got Jimi. (Mic drops................................."boom!"
We have Eddie Van Halen.
Also Joe Perry, I guess.........before that whole "Break" thing
......That can't be it, right?
We invented Rock N' Roll, but we're getting spanked by the overwhelming British Invasion.
So I'm asking you, the Lounge Lizards, to prove me wrong.
Show me some American Rock badasses. Not Blues, we own that (mostly.). Not metal, the Sweeds own that (mostly.). I just mean Rock N' F'n Roll
Criteria:
No three chord wonders, or fret tapping hair band leads, I'm looking for Guitarists.
Check your choices (Slash from G N' R is British, for example)
Finally, please no newbies or one hit wonders, I'm looking for heavyweights! Folk who can stand with the likes of Brian May, Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Kieth Richards.
I know there out there, help me find them:
*edit for
Dyedinthewoolliberal
(15,566 posts)fNord
(1,756 posts)I forgot Zappa; Vaughn and Lonnie are light weight in the company mentioned; Allman was more folk than rock and I don't know Baxter, but I'll thank you and look him up. Btw, I grabbed my boys iPad, so this is the bf.
Charles Bukowski
(1,132 posts)He'd blow Keith Richards off the stage with his amp on standby.
Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Lindsay Buckingham are monster guitarists as well.
Dyedinthewoolliberal
(15,566 posts)I think not, and how could I forget Johnny Winter, Roy Buchanan and Mike Bloomfield?
Dyedinthewoolliberal
(15,566 posts)lastlib
(23,214 posts)That dude could hammer-down ROCK and ROLL!!
busterbrown
(8,515 posts)His father recently deceased was drummer for Steve Ray Vaughn ...His new album Rich Man fantastic..
Recently Doyle was 2nd guitar player for Clapton on several tours and he also played with Pink Floyd on Tour in middle 2000s..
This is the 1st song on new Album..Not much soloing, but shows you his style.. Drummer played with Temptations..Doyle can play with the best..Just completed Hendrix Tour ...
Mendocino
(7,486 posts)I liked him with Steve Winwood, Clapton and Derek Trucks performing Can't Find My Way Home.
unblock
(52,196 posts)fishwax
(29,149 posts)At least, that's what Duane said. Truth is: both could play.
fNord
(1,756 posts)Doesn't count
But will give Solid respect to Waren Haynes!
fishwax
(29,149 posts)and Duane Allman wasn't folk...
and SRV wasn't a lightweight (though I'm not a huge fan, personally, he was undeniably talented)...
and Robert Plant isn't a great guitarist (Jimmy Page, on the other hand)...
Are you just yanking our chain?
fNord
(1,756 posts)No, not yanking, not this time......
But STV....no respect. Just like Steve Vie.....if I put a pice of translucent paper on top of an M.C. Escher drawing and copied it, I shurley wouldn't bet called a brilliant artist......
fishwax
(29,149 posts)For your listening pleasure, here's the rendition of Whipping Post from Fillmore East in 1970. This was a show they played with the dead. Oh to have been there.
It's a long jam of a short song, and you get the chance to see Duane Allman and Dickie Betts covering quite a bit of ground on the guitar:
Simon_Moon
(21 posts)I'm sorry to chime in on my third post with a dissension, but the OP, i think, was talking proper shredding rock. Nobody would ever dispute Betts and Allman having the ability to kick all butts involved when it comes to laying down the licks, especially for an extended jam, but if the question is who fills a stadium with hard electric ass-kickery (ala those mentioned above) in that respect, I for one don't think that Jerry gives us what even Frusciante did in his early years (and i will take jerry any day). Its apples and oranges. I'd take Warrren Haines any day of the week over Dave Navarro, but if we're talking about persons that lay down the harder stuff like Joan Jett, then the guys you're talking about are a different kind of blues.
Much love....
fishwax
(29,149 posts)But I'm sure they played some decent arenas before he left the band. With his influences, I'm not sure whether he'd fit the OP's mold or not. But there are others from roughly the same era that I would include, like Morello (whom I mentioned elsewhere) and Kim Thayil.
I agree with you that they're apples and oranges, though. And welcome to DU!
Simon_Moon
(21 posts)Glad to be here.
fNord
(1,756 posts)I'd don't know why, especially since I've seen them both live....but my mind always gets Dicky Betts and Bella Fleck mixed up. Not the music, just the names. Definitely not bluegrass Solid right on for that.....sorry about the mixup, was almost as drunk last night as I am now..... where's my lighter....I need to clear my head............
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)White was the best guitarist the Byrds ever had, better range than Mcguinn. Ever see the young Clarence playing on the Andy Griffith Show?
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)but he was pretty much an acoustic strummer. White on Lover of the Bayou and 8 Miles High was killer.
Response to Hoyt (Reply #112)
Mendocino This message was self-deleted by its author.
Mendocino
(7,486 posts)[link:
|redstateblues
(10,565 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)But he could pick an acoustic too.
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)fishwax
(29,149 posts)lastlib
(23,214 posts)dchill
(38,472 posts)Mike Campbell.
lame54
(35,284 posts)Not a "Guitar Hero"
But a bad-ass all the same
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,674 posts)montana_hazeleyes
(3,424 posts)Absolutely! He was so talented in so many, many ways.
LNM
(1,078 posts)I heard that Eric Clapton was once asked what it was like to be the greatest guitar player in the world. He said "ask Prince"
Prince starts at 3:30.
fishwax
(29,149 posts)fNord
(1,756 posts)Both kick ass, can't be denied. But I'll totally give you Joe Walsh......
fishwax
(29,149 posts)He was born in Mexico, but moved to San Francisco, where he went to high school, became an American citizen, started Santana. You mentioned Slash, and while he's a dual citizen I've heard him say he favors his British heritage, so if you want to exclude him I guess I'm okay with that. But I'm gonna have to insist on Santana.
As to Jerry Garcia--I guess maybe we're just defining Rock differently. If you define "Rock" as "British Invasion," then yeah, most of the great guitarists will wind up being British. But American musicians responded to the challenge of the British invasion by, in part, expanding on the southern blues influences that so heavily influenced early Rock and Roll and then the Stones, Beatles, Yardbirds, Zeppelin, etc. Because those guys were doing Blues-filtered rock better than Americans were. So you have American musicians in the late 60s turning to other sources to expand their sound in response. So you get bands like The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers, Creedence, CSNY (Stills is a helluva guitarist, by the way), The Byrds (yeah, McGuinn is pretty good too) and so on.
fNord
(1,756 posts)My bf and I debated back and forth on Carlos, and will now go with your recommendation. Hell yeah, we got one more! Please don't misunderstand the point of this post....I'm not a nationalist....I love music too much to pin it down to a nation. This was simply a conversation that I wanted help with, but certain perimeters were set at the beginning. American (born and bread,) rock; not blues, folk, metal, or bluegrass......
And Giants, not flash in the pan quickies.
I love the Dead, but Jerry is a Bluegrass player who lended himself to folk rock. I do give love and respect to Steve Sills, but most of the cats you mentioned were blues/folk.
By the way, Nobody bends a 12string like Rodger McGuinn
fishwax
(29,149 posts)influences would DQ him, or Page's blues influences would DQ him. Again, it seems to me to be a rather narrow definition of rock which is, by nature, going to be Brit heavy. But while the Grateful Dead were influenced by folk (and jazz and blues and so on), their catalog isn't folk any more than Led Zeppelin is blues.
Following the British Invasion, American rock took a folk/country turn, and if you don't count groups like that as rock then you will, by definition, be eliminating a lot of the best American guitarists. (It eliminates plenty of Brits, too, of course, like Dave Gilmour and Mark Knopfler and Richard Thompson and so on. It's also why the date range of your list is pretty limited, with all of the names in your OP except for Eddie Van Halen surfacing between 1965 and 1970. By the late 1970s, the heavy, blues-influenced rock that gave rise to Clapton, Page, and so on had given way to other forms.)
I think your exceptions sort of prove the rule. You mentioned Joe Perry, and of course Aerosmith was the most notable American band that followed the British Invasion rather than responding to them. And Jimi moved to London in the mid 60s, so he's naturally going to have more contact with that sound then, say, Lou Reed was. Of course, they're your parameters, so you can set them as you wish, but I think that's the reason that you're not going to find a lot of American names in the category as you've defined it.
Simon_Moon
(21 posts)Perhaps the perimeters have been set too tight. I did mention the various Peppers guitarists earlier and those guys often border on funk, but I think that acts like Thuroughgood and the Destroyers deserve a mention within those narrow settings. That said, Reed spent his own time in London and even married a Brit. But Working Man blues kinda did it for Grateful Dead as far as proper rock goes , with few exceptions.
Certainly Jerry jamming an acoustic with Grisham shouldn't DQ him any more than Clapton playing blues with King should DQ him, but neither are rock, rock.
I kinda think you're full of it, but I mostly agree with you. The OP did set limits, but the question was why americans didn't fit those limited perimeters. As you've answered, it's because the brits filled that space and the americans, (at lease at that time) headed elsewhere. CCR's three albums in three years had little of what could be called definitive "rock" but they charted something like over two dozen singles in that time.
Nice to hear from someone that knows they're music.
fNord
(1,756 posts)What is Rock?
Btw, welcome to Du
Response to fNord (Reply #35)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
Simon_Moon
(21 posts)fNord
(1,756 posts)And a few by Shel Silverstein.......
Response to fNord (Reply #42)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to Simon_Moon (Reply #41)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
fNord
(1,756 posts)Eris wrote them alll.....
There's some RAW for you......
Ok, I'm now in desperate need of sleep
Response to fNord (Reply #47)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to Simon_Moon (Reply #41)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
Beaverhausen
(24,470 posts)Response to Beaverhausen (Reply #67)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,325 posts)Hmmm, where did it go.....
Response to Hassin Bin Sober (Reply #145)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
red dog 1
(27,792 posts)Warpy
(111,245 posts)I wonder why no one has mentioned people like Sister Rosetta Tharpe. If you don't think that lady rocked out on an electric guitar, you need to go cruising over on You Tube.
She and Santana are the best this country has produced, IMO.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)Warpy
(111,245 posts)or any other rock guitarist. She was fantastic and a complete innovator.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)hexola
(4,835 posts)they were the most rock and roll of all...
You're absolutely right!
Although Garcia began his career as a guitarist playing bluegrass. folk, blues & "jug band" music
("Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions" evolved into "The Warlocks"
he definitely evolved into a "Rock & Roll" guitarist.
(Bill Graham was right!)
Docreed2003
(16,858 posts)Clapton considered him one of the best guitarists he had ever worked with. That haunting guitar solo in "Layla"?? That's Allman.
Sedona
(3,769 posts)Beaverhausen
(24,470 posts)VMA131Marine
(4,138 posts)Lindsay Buckingham also should qualify
Johnny Ramone
Tommy Shaw - Styx
Joe Walsh - Eagles, etc
Dave Grohl - Foo Fighters
ProfessorGAC
(64,995 posts)Dave Grohl isn't even the best guitar player in his own band. Don't get me wrong, i like Dave and his band, but the lead player is far better than he is.
Johnny Ramone is DQ'd by the OP. That's three chord wonder stuff. (That and i don't think he could play none.)
Tommy Shaw is pretty darned good as well, so that's a good dark horse. Joe Walsh was mentioned elsewhere here, so we have some level of consensus on that. But, when he was in the Eagles with Felder, he was at best tied for best player in the band. They were both quite good.
brush
(53,765 posts)Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2017, 11:19 AM - Edit history (1)
hurple
(1,306 posts)Jack White
Dan Aurebach
And Brian Setzer is no slouch, although he falls back on rockabilly cliches a bit too often.
LuvLoogie
(6,992 posts)He pays homage to the great guitar grooves before him, bringing great tone and fresh hooks to the mix.
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)I didn't exactly dislike the White Stripes when they were active, but I thought they were wildly overpraised. But a lot of the stuff that he's done since then has been pretty interesting.
And I agree, he does a lot to promote and showcase great music from the past, while still putting an original spin on it.
Tikki
(14,557 posts)May not be you and your friend's rock & roll..but rock and roll it is..
&list=RDAL_U0e285FY
Tikki
fNord
(1,756 posts)But punk is.....well, punk.
Tikki
(14,557 posts)at least I don't think so.
Tikki
fNord
(1,756 posts)But punk rock is, well, punk......just like I responded to the folk posting Jerry Garcia, I was looking for Rock n' Roll guitarist, not bluegrass folk rock, and not punk. Also not metal, and not blues......
But I suppose the definition of Rock N' Roll is both broad and narrow, so, what the hell.....
Either way, badass guitar work......it's was like if The Beach Boys' balls had finally dropped, and then they took some acid......respect
C_U_L8R
(44,998 posts)Johnny Thunders and Johnny Ramone.
And... Poison Ivy Rorschach
Tikki
(14,557 posts)Tikki
Coventina
(27,101 posts)on edit: grammarz
Tikki
(14,557 posts)Ivy was an influence in so many bands today...
I really like this Memphis band...
https://bust.com/music/17082-memphis-punks-nots-channel-feminism-through-blazing-post-punk-bust-interview.html
Tikki
Jack Bone
(2,023 posts)Gary Clark Jr. too
Joe Bonnamossa
fNord
(1,756 posts)Response to fNord (Reply #31)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
Jack Bone
(2,023 posts)To prove your chops...enjoy
sweetloukillbot
(11,008 posts)Absolute monster who has played with everybody. Got his start with Boz Skaggs while still a teen, is currently playing with Ringo Starr. In between there's been Toto and almost every album made in the 80s, including "Thriller".
Scotty Moore and James Burton - who isn't more RnR than Elvis?
Dave Alvin - the Blasters were pure rock n roll.
David Hidalgo - completely underrated.
Trey Anastasio - I'm not a Phish fan but you can't deny his talent.
Tommy Bolin and Steve Morse - two Americans who were able to replace Richie Blackmore in Deep Purple.
John Patrucci - may be too metal for your scale, but damn.
Steve Vai and Joe Satriani - more than just metal or "fret-tapping hair heads"
LunaSea
(2,893 posts)Response to fNord (Original post)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
JDC
(10,125 posts)El Numero Uno!
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)Eddie Hazel
Bo Diddley
Dave Navarro
Peter Buck isn't a solo wizard, but was probably one of the most influential rock guitarists from the 80s on.
Response to cemaphonic (Reply #43)
Warren DeMontague This message was self-deleted by its author.
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)They rarely come up in "best guitarist," or even "most underrated guitarist" lists, but just about every professional guitarist that grew up in the 80s namechecks one or both of them as a big influence.
red dog 1
(27,792 posts)It's the story of Leonard Chess, the co-founder of Chess Records.
Chess Records recorded early 1950s blues performers such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and
Little Walter.
Later on in the movie comes rock & roller Chuck Berry and the legendary singer, Etta James
The script is superb, imo, and so is the acting, especially:
- Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters
- Columbus Short as Little Walter
- Eamonn Walker as Howlin' Wolf
- Beyonce Knowles as Etta James
and especially
- Mos Def as Chuck Berry
The movie is well-directed by Darnell Martin, although it's definitely a "fictional" film, leaving out important Chess Records personnel such as Phil Chess, Leonard,s brother and co-founder, as well as Bo Diddley, one of Chess Records most popular recording artists.
Trailrider1951
(3,414 posts)Gone way too soon.
Response to fNord (Original post)
jcboon This message was self-deleted by its author.
jcboon
(296 posts)John Fogerty, Link Wray, Danny Gatton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray
How soon we forget
NNadir
(33,512 posts)Last edited Sun Feb 26, 2017, 10:10 AM - Edit history (1)
ProfessorGAC
(64,995 posts)How about Elliot Randall? He played most on the leads on the first album, particularly the lead on Reelin' in the Years. That's some good stuff.
NNadir
(33,512 posts)We said, um, "Hi, nice to meet you," and that was pretty much it.
He was a good friend of a one time casual friend of mine, Mark Leon, who actually was involved (unhappily) in the early days of Steely Dan. My girlfriend at the time was renting a room in Mark's mother's house and Mark threw a huge party for Diaz, at which Diaz stayed for maybe twenty minutes.
I actually heard the album before it was publicly released. Mark had an advance copy. I thought it was pretty good, but I had no idea what it would become.
It was before they were real famous; I saw them live; they were playing as the back up band for Cheech and Chong when I saw them; it was at Westbury Music Fair on Long Island.
Diaz was kind of cold to his old friend. Years later, on the internet, I learned the back story, but I didn't know it then.
It seems like centuries ago.
I love Steely Dan music though, but I just think that when Becker started playing guitar instead of bass, well, his guitar playing is extremely clean, extremely tasteful. I think what he plays today easily outstrips anything on the first album. But for me, somehow the first album doesn't really do it for me.
And then there's Jeff Baxter. As Fagen sang many, many years later... "That right wing hooey sure stunk up the joint..."
independentpiney
(1,510 posts)[link:
|lastlib
(23,214 posts)Last edited Thu Mar 2, 2017, 11:31 PM - Edit history (1)
Eric Clapton called him "the best goddamned guitar player in the world!" Mark Knopfler, Graham Nash, Neil Young, Tom Petty, and Eric Clapton have all called him one of the most important musical influences in the rock 'n' roll pantheon.
http://www.jjcale.com/bio.html
Rolling Stone said, "There was Hendrix; there was Clapton; there was J.J. Cale--then there was everyone else who ever picked up a guitar."
Died way too young.
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,338 posts)Dr Hobbitstein
(6,568 posts)Charles Bukowski
(1,132 posts)Roy was the kind of guitarist who could break your heart with just a few notes. His tone was breathtaking.
Dr Hobbitstein
(6,568 posts)DBoon
(22,356 posts)Surf guitar is metal without the distortion
Dr Hobbitstein
(6,568 posts)He's American.
Mendocino
(7,486 posts)Robbie Krieger
Mike Campbell
Nancy Wilson
Link Wray
Mike Bloomfield
Elvin Bishop
Lowell George
Randy California
Buddy Holly
Bonnie Raitt
Derek Trucks
Nils Lofgren
John Cippollina
Steve Hunter
Dick Wagner
Doug Sahm
red dog 1
(27,792 posts)I'm surprised that Robbie Krieger hasn't been mentioned before..or Bonnie Raitt,
or Elvin Bishop..or Mike Bloomfield, either.
Mendocino
(7,486 posts)Wayne Kramer and Fred Sonic Smith of the MC5.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)But then, I'm a lifelong fan of those guys.
dchill
(38,472 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,995 posts)Around 1972 i think. When we met him backstage at a summer show, he told us "call me Don." Buck was STRICTLY a stage name i guess.
Since they came around every summer for 4 or 5 years, we went backstage to see them and talk with them every summer. He was always "Don".
The modal solo on "Reaper" is a thing of beauty and the main riff of Transmaniacon is awesome.
Dave Starsky
(5,914 posts)The Buck Dharma appellation was something their producer made him do, as I recall.
Anyway, he's one of my musical heroes. I think he plays that stick with a unique voice that resonates.
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)All the 80s metal guitarists were pretty much the direct descendants of the 70s rock guitarists in your OP. I agree with others ITT that you are artificially constraining rock to "British blues-rock" and then wondering why all the guitarists are British.
Also, all of the big 90s Seattle bands except for Nirvana had great lead players.
And I don't think anyone has mentioned the Lynyrd Skynyrd dudes or Billy Gibbons yet.
Coventina
(27,101 posts)Can't believe he hasn't been mentioned yet.
unblock
(52,196 posts)Coventina
(27,101 posts)Amazing to see him do his stuff live.
No studio tricks to rely upon!
unblock
(52,196 posts)progressoid
(49,978 posts)Those three guys on that huge stage were amazing. The crowd was stunned.
Kashkakat v.2.0
(1,752 posts)a close (black American) relative of rock. Come on lets give credit where credit is due!
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)OneBlueDotBama
(1,384 posts)Rumble....
unblock
(52,196 posts)DFW
(54,354 posts)SPIRIT was one of my favorite bands ever formed.
blue neen
(12,319 posts)PufPuf23
(8,767 posts)I saw Spirit twice as headliners at Fillmore West in 1969 and 1970.
Then saw Spirit a third time Halloween 1970 at Winterland 2nd billed to Ike and Tina Turner review.
Then I saw Spirit in 1994 (just California and Cassidy plus others) in a beer bar in Eureka, CA.
I didn't realize it then but it was the last time I have ever gone out to see live rock and roll.
DFW
(54,354 posts)A friend of mine who did sound systems for rock concerts in the late sixties once did a bootleg recording of a concert of theirs in Alexandria, VA. At one point, the power for the guitar and keyboards went out, and they did an imromptu improvisation with vocals, bass and drums called "Loss of Power," and it was as good as any of the other numbers.
I visited my friend after losing track of him for over 30 years, and he had LOST the recording of that concert
But we are left with these gems:
Charles Bukowski
(1,132 posts)Journey doesn't get a lot of critical respect, but Schon's playing on those records is spectacular. Plus, a teenage Schon was a member of Santana during their iconic era, giving Carlos everything he could handle at a tender age.
Hula Popper
(374 posts)jmowreader
(50,555 posts)OilemFirchen
(7,143 posts)Steve Van Zandt and that other guy with whom he plays on occasion.
OilemFirchen
(7,143 posts)Mark Knopfler
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)Florida death metal has some great guitarists.
This guy builds his own microtonal guitars
Ron Sword of Last Sacrament
Rhythm
(5,435 posts)Whole downstairs of their ramshackle house was covered with mattresses covering the walls, so they could practice without getting the cops called all the time. *L*
blue neen
(12,319 posts)Kurt Cobain
Don "Fingers" Felder
ghostsinthemachine
(3,569 posts)The Kings? John Lee Hooker? Howling Wolf? Buddy Guy? Those guys all taught the Brits an s the blues cats like Michael Bloomfield.lets not forget Garcia (easily the most imitated), Zappa and Santana.
Lots of young guys who are among the best ever.. Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, John Mayer. Trey Anastasio from Phish (who is probably new to you). Even newer is Lukas Nelson, the guys in MOE, Humphrey's McGhee.
ghostsinthemachine
(3,569 posts)Seriously, you need to turn off the "Classic Rock" and find something that aint 50 years old..... So many incredible guitar players out there today. (Tim Reynolds is Dave Matthews guitar player and Jerry Douglas the greatest dobro player ever).
Jimmy Herring. (Widespread Panic).
blue neen
(12,319 posts)miyazaki
(2,239 posts)A couple names here aren't even worth mentioning. rofl.
DFW
(54,354 posts)McLaughlin and Knopfler are British.
miyazaki
(2,239 posts)Randy and his estate got HOSED over Stairway!
Those fucks.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)it's barely a recognizable snip. Courts made the right call in this case.
miyazaki
(2,239 posts)-peace.
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)but if you can copyright arpeggios over a descending bass, then a whole lotta musicians owe a lot to Scarlatti (or likely someone even earlier).
Now "White Summer/Black Mountainside" - that's a wholesale theft.
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)or of blues greats from before their time?
They've made right the cases where attribution can be found and a lot of stuff was just old blues licks that everyone was using and borrowing and reusing and it would be nearly impossible to actually credit the real authors of most licks.
Granted, they had to be sued to make some of it right and they should have done better than that but they also did a fair amount of crediting where credit was due on their own. They credited Ritchie Valens' mother on Boogie With Stu because they heard she never got any royalties from his music and since the song was based on one of his they wanted her to get paid.
I have a CD somewhere where living blues legends "cover" led zep versions of blues songs - it's pretty great.
this one: https://www.discogs.com/Various-Whole-Lotta-Blues-Songs-Of-Led-Zeppelin-This-Aint-No-Tribute/release/5358403
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)I play and listen to a lot of old folk and blues music, so I'm very aware of how music used to disseminate, and how recording, mass media and current copyright law have distorted the organic development of music.
And Zeppelin does get an undeservedly bad rap for some things. Some of the songs they covered on their early albums were owned by Atlantic (their record label) so they didn't do anything wrong there. And like you say, some of their songs were credited properly from the beginning.
But stuff like Black Mountainside and (Whole Lotta Love? Dazed and Confused? both?) where they were swiping entire songs/arrangements from working contemporaries and claiming credit was pretty shady.
Fully agree that the Stairway to Heaven suit was weak, and would have set a terrible precedent if it had won.
fNord
(1,756 posts)In Memphis and New Orleans.....CCR too.......(the latter of whom I like). But as an "artist" myself, I'd just be stoked my music was getting out there......no matter how. If I ever write a song That outlives me, than I'm kissing immortality....I call that a win!
Charlie Thompson
(2 posts)while others came a decade later from an ocean away.
Still In Wisconsin
(4,450 posts)fNord
(1,756 posts)I've got to give it to Kirk.....sick ass rifts, not so much metal as, well, liquid....damn, why didn't he find a good band........
Still In Wisconsin
(4,450 posts)My wife, for example, doesn't like the band but recognizes Kirk's ability.
LuvLoogie
(6,992 posts)Still In Wisconsin
(4,450 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)OregonBlue
(7,754 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Terry Kath of Chicago Transit Authority
Jimi Hendrix, already well known at the time as a guitar wizard, had just watched the band's set.
"Walt, the horns are like one set of lungs," Parazaider said Hendrix told him. "And your guitar player is better than me." That guitarist, Terry Kath, went on to be hailed by many as one of rock's greatest -- a "forgotten guitar god" who was "criminally underrated."
Try: Free Form Guitar, South California Purples, and Oh, Thank You Great Spirit for an accurate indication of his blistering strengths.
HeartachesNhangovers
(814 posts)(Social Distortion) and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth).
jack69
(163 posts)jack69
(163 posts)mulsh
(2,959 posts)Link Wray, Duane Eddy,James Burton, even both Everly brothers. There area lots more but those are some of the better known people. and we're just moving into the 1960s'
Those are some of the guy that the kids in the UK tried to copy and cop licks from. Cool thing about the UK is its a small island and the cream can rise to the top fairly quickly compared to any where on the American Continents.
There were and are a lot of local musicians over here that don't get much national attention. Danny Gatton comes to mind. A guitarist's guitarist but not much national exposure while he was alive.
Charlie Thompson
(2 posts)Good call on Danny Gatton.
gopiscrap
(23,756 posts)d_r
(6,907 posts)Response to fNord (Original post)
redstateblues This message was self-deleted by its author.
juxtaposed
(2,778 posts)fNord
(1,756 posts)Thank you.....
You have reminded me (and often educated me) of the badasses I've been neglecting...
Btw, how did I miss Joe Walsh, and seriously, Chuck Berry? WTF.....been too caught up in The Who
Also, did nobody yet post Robbie Krieger.......
https://m.
dchill
(38,472 posts)but really on his own category. Jazz-rock, acid-rock fusion.
Rhythm
(5,435 posts)A Baltimore native, and the fearless axeman on the first four Danzig albums.
Brother Buzz
(36,416 posts)You may not know them, but I guarantee you heard and loved their music if you listed to anything from, say, 1962-1973. They were part of the best kept secret in the music industry.
Metsie Casey
(208 posts)Metsie Casey
(208 posts)Metsie Casey
(208 posts)Metsie Casey
(208 posts)progressoid
(49,978 posts)I was hoping somebody posted him. Great solo work and with Bowie and King Krimson and Talking Heads and and and...
Metsie Casey
(208 posts)[link:
|Metsie Casey
(208 posts)progressoid
(49,978 posts)Trying to downsize and I almost sold them on eBay last year. Might still have to, but for now I'm holding on to them.
cemaphonic
(4,138 posts)I don't think Mark Ribot has come up yet. More of a jazz guy, but he's contributed to a ton of great rock albums over the years.
dchill
(38,472 posts)Metsie Casey
(208 posts)The lesser known 6th member of Pink Floyd. Who knew ? [link:
|Upthevibe
(8,038 posts)lightweight (or words to that effect). That really doesn't really register with me. Also Prince and Joe Walsh (he's never really seemed to get a lot of exposure). Wow....still can't get over the SRV comment....I've just NEVER heard anyone EVER say or think he was a lightweight....And now it's really late and I have to try to get to sleep and f'in dt is the president of the country and someone on DU called SRV a lightweight.....where's my Xanax....
Metsie Casey
(208 posts)No way. SRV was great. I wish he was still around. I miss him. Rip
progressoid
(49,978 posts)Welcome to DU by the way.
Upthevibe
(8,038 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,995 posts)The first is the guy i consider to the best guitar player nobody remembers although his band had incredible success: Elliott Easton of The Cars.
Guy had every technique in the book, was harmonically sophisticated and was so musical that you can sing the solos from most of their hits. And used the exact right tone for each song. A masterful electric guitarist.
And Todd Rundgren. Everyone thinks of him as a singer/songwriter/producer, but guy has serious chops on the guitar.
lame54
(35,284 posts)The guitarist from missing persons
His tone and fills were amazing
Good band great guitarist
ProfessorGAC
(64,995 posts)Yeah, i should have mentioned him.
For me, the thing about Easton is that even other guitar players don't think of him, but he was a magician for a band that sold 50 million records. Not exactly the kind of guy in a niche market that only a select few have ever heard. The guy was on MTV every 30 minutes back in the 80's!
lame54
(35,284 posts)Pat Travers
ProfessorGAC
(64,995 posts)I saw them during their short heyday at Alpine Valley. On Boom Boom, i thought Thrall's solo was markedly better than Travers' but Travers did nothing bad. His solo was very nice. Thrall's was astoundingly interesting.
lame54
(35,284 posts)First night belonged to Thrall - he killed it
Next night Travers tore it up
I liked how they shared the spotlight
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,174 posts)So much great guitar work on his repertoire, but I'll cut to the chase.
Starla--5:30 on. Listen. Enjoy.
fNord
(1,756 posts)LuvLoogie
(6,992 posts)LuvLoogie
(6,992 posts)missingthebigdog
(1,233 posts)Amazing rocker, awesome guitar player.
If you haven't done so, take a look at Lzzy Hale (Halestorm). The potential is there.
HughBeaumont
(24,461 posts)King of Zero Fucks Given.
red dog 1
(27,792 posts)(Even though Carlos Santana wasn't born in the US)