Wildman’s Top 10 Rock Guitarists
Below is a list of my TOP 10 favorite ROCK guitarists who have inspired my playing, performing, and writing. Included is my favorite album and song picked from each artist.
10. Eric Clapton Album: Cream - Disraeli Gears
Song: Sunshine of Your Love
(Disraeli Gears is the second studio album by the Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. and No. 1 on the Finnish charts. The album was also No. 1 for two weeks on the Australian album chart and was listed as the No. 1 album of 1968 by Cash Box in the year-end album chart in the United States.)
09. Jimmy Page
Album: Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Song: Kashmir
(Physical Graffiti is the sixth studio album by Led Zeppelin. It was released as a double album on 24 February 1975 on the group's new record label, Swan Song Records. The band wrote and recorded eight new songs for the album in early 1974 at Headley Grange, a country house in Hampshire, which gave them ample time to improvise arrangements and experiment with recording.)
08. Ace Frehley
Album: Kiss - Hotter Than Hell
Song: Parasite
(Hotter Than Hell is the second studio album by Kiss, released on October 22, 1974, by Casablanca Records. It was certified gold on June 23, 1977, having shipped 500,000 copies. It peaked on the Billboard 200 charts at No. 100, without the benefit of a hit single. Many of the album's songs are live staples for the band, including “Parasite", "Hotter Than Hell", "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll" and "Watchin' You".)
07. Eddie Van Halen
Album: Van Halen - 1984
Song: Girl Gone Bad
(1984 (stylized as MCMLXXXIV) is the sixth studio album Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984. 1984 and Van Halen's debut are Van Halen's best selling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies.)
06. Ted Nugent
Album: Ted Nugent
Song: Stranglehold
(Ted Nugent is the debut studio album by guitarist Ted Nugent. The album was released in September 1975, by Epic Records. It was released after the disbanding of his former group The Amboy Dukes.)
05. Billy Gibbons
Album: ZZ Top - Eliminator
Song: Gimme All Your Lovin’
(Eliminator is the eighth studio album by the Texans ZZ Top. It was released on March 23, 1983, by Warner Bros. Records. Recorded in Tennessee during 1982, the album was produced by the band's manager Bill Ham and peaked at the top of the charts in many countries. "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Got Me Under Pressure", "Sharp Dressed Man", "TV Dinners", and "Legs" were released as singles. A Diamond certified album, Eliminator is ZZ Top's most commercially successful release, with sales of over 10 million copies in the United States alone.
04. David Gilmour
Album: Pink Floyd - Animals
Song: Pigs (three different ones)
Animals is the tenth studio album by Pink Floyd, released on 21 January 1977[2] through Harvest and Columbia Records. It was recorded at the band's Britannia Row Studios in London throughout 1976, and was produced by the band. The album continues the longform compositions that made up their previous works, including Wish You Were Here (1975). The album received positive reviews from critics and was commercially successful, reaching number 2 in the UK and number 3 in the US.
03. Chuck Berry
Album: Chuck Berry is on Top
Song: Johnny B. Goode
(Chuck Berry Is on Top is the third studio album by the rock and roll pioneer, released in July 1959 on Chess Records, catalogue LP 1435. With the exception of one track, "Blues for Hawaiians," all selections had been previously released on 45 rpm singles, several of which were double-sided and charted twice. In a review of the album, Cub Koda described it as "almost a mini-greatest-hits package in and of itself" and the most perfectly realized collection of Berry's career.)
02. Jimi Hendrix
Album: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Live at Monterey
Song: Hey Joe
(Forty years ago Jimi Hendrix returned to his native country and, in one fell swoop, changed the musical landscape for all time. His US debut performance of The Jimi Hendrix Experience at The Monterey International Pop Festival propelled Hendrix and his band mates, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding, to the top ranks of international rock royalty. It’s a remarkable musical document that reconfirms what the Monterey audience bore witness to on June 18, 1967: Hendrix’s unbridled talent and flair for showmanship are unparalleled in the annals of music.)
01. Frank Zappa
Album: Hot Rats
Song: Willie The Pimp
(Hot Rats is the second solo album by the musical genius, released in October 1969. It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of his original group The Mothers of Invention.
It features the work of several artists in addition to Zappa, including one former member of the Mothers of Invention, Captain Beefheart, and Don "Sugarcane" Harris. Five of the six songs are instrumental; the other, "Willie the Pimp", features vocals by Beefheart. In his original sleeve notes, Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears".)
(*note)
This “Top 10” list only confirms a fraction of guitarists with whom I truly enjoy and should not be taken seriously. This is an opinion, my opinion, but I hope you enjoy and take the time to listen.
Put on some headphone and enjoy,
Chad Wildman Borgen