was Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist in history? (genres, female, range)
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I'm certain Jimi has inspired more people than any other guitarist....
that's probably why he always gets the accolades he does. it's usually classical and jazz fans that scoff at his greatness...
Don't have a clue who's technically the best but because my true musical love is still 50s R&R, I still favor listening to Chuck Berry and James Burton. Maybe guys like Clapton and Stevie Ray could make those same songs/licks sound "better" .... I don't know
While guys such as Stanley Jordan, Yngwie, etc. are arguably more studious virtuosos on guitar, Hendrix changed guitar forever with his fusion of styles that people still copy (or try to) 45 years later.
Surprisingly, the next most influential guitar player might be David Gilmour. His "Comfortably Numb" solo was rated the 2nd best guitar solo of all-time by Guitar World. Even though his guitar licks are somewhat similar to the blue chops of Clapton, Trower, Jeff Beck, etc. - there is just something about the way he plays. Every note with a purpose and full of emotion.
Don't have a clue who's technically the best but because my true musical love is still 50s R&R, I still favor listening to Chuck Berry and James Burton. Maybe guys like Clapton and Stevie Ray could make those same songs/licks sound "better" .... I don't know
Good call...James Burton is way underrated or at least under-mentioned.
He wasn't the best guitarist, but he was one of the best musicians to ever walk the Earth, and that is better than being the greatest guitarist of all time.
Not in my opinion...
Maybe he was one of the greats, but not the greatest.
I say Jimmy Page, Jack White, John Mayer, Eddie Van Halen....they're all in the top 5......
Hendrix was great because he came out of left field with a style that had never been heard before.
At the time Jimi broke out, The Beatles and The Who were the "heavy" sh*t. The Kinks, Yardbirds, Moody Blues, none of those bands lit the guitar up like Jimi.
There have been tons of players with Yngwie Malmsteen level of command of the instrument, those guys are a dime a dozen, but Jimi created a sound and used a guitar to do things like no one has done since.
Clapton, Beck, Page, etc. were all very good players, but they spoke the same language. Jimi re-invented the language altogether. The standard guys played from a standard vocabulary with a lot of soul, but Jimi painted soundscapes.
To this day I think Jimi is the most visceral guitar player we've ever seen.
I'd say that Eddie VH was an innovator on the same level, but the walls that Eddie broke down weren't as great as the walls that Jimi broke down.
Last edited by tommy64; 02-25-2015 at 01:23 AM..
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