If I called you up one day and asked you to tell me who, in your opinion, were the most influencial guitarists of the past 40 years, what names would appear on your list?
Woody Guthrie perhaps, or Frank Zappa, or Chuck Berry, or maybe it would be Barney Kessel, Pete Seeger or Chet Atkins.
Well, terrific musicians of course, no arguments there, but they would not be my top three if I was asked.
If you asked me, I would chose Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Jeff Beck, although not in that particular order.
Eric and Jeff are still going great guns, but I regret to say that Jimi died in 1970.
Let me now give you some background information on my three choices.
First of all, Eric Clapton. Eric was born in 1945, and in 1963 he joined the R&B group, The Yardbirds, but within 2 short years he had left the group as he felt that they were becoming an out and out pop group, and he was right.
After Eric had spent some time with the Yardbirds, and then John Mayall's Bluesbreakers he turned his attention to forming the brilliant group known collectively as Cream.
Everybody was very saddened when in 1968 Cream disbanded, which led Eric to set up a band called Blind Faith, which comprised Eric, Ginger Baker, and Steve Winwood.
Unfortunately Blind Faith did not last as long as everyone expected, and when they disbanded Eric formed Derek and the Dominoes, and whilst he was with this group he released my favourite record "Layla".
Unfortunately Eric found himself sinking into drink and drugs and it got so bad that he eventually had to pull out of the music business, at least for a while.
I am happy to say however that Eric eventually managed to control his addiction, and he is now back performing again.
Well next up comes Jimi Hendrix, born 1942, and died 1970. A brief life of just 28 years, but what a name he made for himself.
People who saw him were overwhelmed by his ability on the guitar, many believing that he was the greatest Rock guitarist of all time.
Its hard to believe that this great guitarist was for a time just a sideman to a number of famous names including Little Richard, the Isley Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner, but he did not stay a sideman for long, his talent would not allow it!
Hendrix moved to New York and played in various bars and clubs, and it was whilst he was playing in Greenwich Village one night that he was approached by a member of the British rock group, the Animals.
And before long Jimi was packing his bags and moving over to play the scene in London.
And my how he played it. A dazzling guitarist, and an electric performer, what a combination.
And you can see that skill on his first single Hey Joe, and also on his first album Are You Experienced.
To really appreciate his performances you had to see him live on stage. Sometimes he would play guitar whilst it was behind his back, and sometimes he would play it with his teeth.
Seeing him live was truly an unforgettable experience.
When Jimi died in 1970 the music world lost a truly unique performer.
And so on to my final choice. A musician not as well known as Eric or Jimi, but a great guitarist nonetheless, and that person is Jeff Beck.
1944 saw the birth of Jeff in a town called Wallington, in England. He played with the interesting character Screaming Lord Sutch, and with the Yardbirds
After his time with the Yardbirds Jeff set up his own band the Jeff Beck Group.
And he played with another rock giant Rod Stewart untill Rod joined the Small Faces.
Can I mention one other great performer that Jeff has played with - Mick Jagger.
In 1989 Jeff won a grammy for best rock instrumental for his album Guitar Shop.
Jeff is thankfully still performing today, and I heard him not too long ago giving a thrilling live performance and proving himself to be a musician of tremendous ability..
This has been the first of a series of articles on great performers. If you would like to be kept updated as new articles come out then please go to my website and email me, asking to be kept updated. - 15275
Woody Guthrie perhaps, or Frank Zappa, or Chuck Berry, or maybe it would be Barney Kessel, Pete Seeger or Chet Atkins.
Well, terrific musicians of course, no arguments there, but they would not be my top three if I was asked.
If you asked me, I would chose Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Jeff Beck, although not in that particular order.
Eric and Jeff are still going great guns, but I regret to say that Jimi died in 1970.
Let me now give you some background information on my three choices.
First of all, Eric Clapton. Eric was born in 1945, and in 1963 he joined the R&B group, The Yardbirds, but within 2 short years he had left the group as he felt that they were becoming an out and out pop group, and he was right.
After Eric had spent some time with the Yardbirds, and then John Mayall's Bluesbreakers he turned his attention to forming the brilliant group known collectively as Cream.
Everybody was very saddened when in 1968 Cream disbanded, which led Eric to set up a band called Blind Faith, which comprised Eric, Ginger Baker, and Steve Winwood.
Unfortunately Blind Faith did not last as long as everyone expected, and when they disbanded Eric formed Derek and the Dominoes, and whilst he was with this group he released my favourite record "Layla".
Unfortunately Eric found himself sinking into drink and drugs and it got so bad that he eventually had to pull out of the music business, at least for a while.
I am happy to say however that Eric eventually managed to control his addiction, and he is now back performing again.
Well next up comes Jimi Hendrix, born 1942, and died 1970. A brief life of just 28 years, but what a name he made for himself.
People who saw him were overwhelmed by his ability on the guitar, many believing that he was the greatest Rock guitarist of all time.
Its hard to believe that this great guitarist was for a time just a sideman to a number of famous names including Little Richard, the Isley Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner, but he did not stay a sideman for long, his talent would not allow it!
Hendrix moved to New York and played in various bars and clubs, and it was whilst he was playing in Greenwich Village one night that he was approached by a member of the British rock group, the Animals.
And before long Jimi was packing his bags and moving over to play the scene in London.
And my how he played it. A dazzling guitarist, and an electric performer, what a combination.
And you can see that skill on his first single Hey Joe, and also on his first album Are You Experienced.
To really appreciate his performances you had to see him live on stage. Sometimes he would play guitar whilst it was behind his back, and sometimes he would play it with his teeth.
Seeing him live was truly an unforgettable experience.
When Jimi died in 1970 the music world lost a truly unique performer.
And so on to my final choice. A musician not as well known as Eric or Jimi, but a great guitarist nonetheless, and that person is Jeff Beck.
1944 saw the birth of Jeff in a town called Wallington, in England. He played with the interesting character Screaming Lord Sutch, and with the Yardbirds
After his time with the Yardbirds Jeff set up his own band the Jeff Beck Group.
And he played with another rock giant Rod Stewart untill Rod joined the Small Faces.
Can I mention one other great performer that Jeff has played with - Mick Jagger.
In 1989 Jeff won a grammy for best rock instrumental for his album Guitar Shop.
Jeff is thankfully still performing today, and I heard him not too long ago giving a thrilling live performance and proving himself to be a musician of tremendous ability..
This has been the first of a series of articles on great performers. If you would like to be kept updated as new articles come out then please go to my website and email me, asking to be kept updated. - 15275
