If you were asked to name the three most influential guitarists of the past 40 years I wonder what names you would come up with?
Perhaps you would think of Frank Zappa, or Chuck Berry, or perhaps Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger, or maybe it would be Chet Atkins or Barney Kessel.
No question about it, they are all great guitarists, but there are three names which you have not mentioned that I would go for.
So who would I vote for? These three, but not necessarily in any particular order Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck.
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.
The first person that I would like to talk about is Eric Clapton. At the age of 18, in 1963, Eric joined the Yardbirds who at the time were an R&B group, however after just 2 short years Eric left as he did not like the direction the Yardbirds were going.
He then moved on to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for a short while before setting the supergroup known worldwide as Cream.
In 1968 Cream broke up, much to the sorrow of so many people, and Eric formed Blind Faith along with his former partner in Cream, 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.
Happily Eric is now back in full swing, and we his fans are all expectantly awaiting the next great thing from him.
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.
But during that brief time he established himself as a unbelievably talented performer, considered by many to be Rock's greatest guitarist.
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!
It was not long before Jimi had moved to the big lights of New York, and one night, whilst playing in Greenwich village, 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.
He was a most amazing guitarist, and an incredible showman, and he became an almost instant success.
Hey Joe was his debut single, and it still sounds great today, and in 1967 he cut his first album, Are You Experienced.
His playing on stage was something which you had to see, to believe. He would play the guitar behind his back, and sometimes he would pluck the strings with his teeth. He oftentimes would smash his guitar against his amplifiers in order to get a certain effect, and sometimes even set light to them.
If you saw him on stage you would never forget the experience.
His death in 1970 due to a drugs overdose was an immense tradegy to everyone.
This brings me on finally to my last choice, and that is Jeff Beck, a musician not as well known as Eric and Jimi, but a musician of immense talent.
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
When his time with the Yardbirds finished, in 1966, he formed his own band the aptly named Jeff Beck Group.
He spent some time working with Rod Stewart until Rod left to join the Small Faces.
He has played with many people including Mick Jagger on his 1987 album Primitive Cool.
Not before time, a grammy was awarded to Jeff 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.
Perhaps you would think of Frank Zappa, or Chuck Berry, or perhaps Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger, or maybe it would be Chet Atkins or Barney Kessel.
No question about it, they are all great guitarists, but there are three names which you have not mentioned that I would go for.
So who would I vote for? These three, but not necessarily in any particular order Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck.
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.
The first person that I would like to talk about is Eric Clapton. At the age of 18, in 1963, Eric joined the Yardbirds who at the time were an R&B group, however after just 2 short years Eric left as he did not like the direction the Yardbirds were going.
He then moved on to John Mayall's Bluesbreakers for a short while before setting the supergroup known worldwide as Cream.
In 1968 Cream broke up, much to the sorrow of so many people, and Eric formed Blind Faith along with his former partner in Cream, 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.
Happily Eric is now back in full swing, and we his fans are all expectantly awaiting the next great thing from him.
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.
But during that brief time he established himself as a unbelievably talented performer, considered by many to be Rock's greatest guitarist.
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!
It was not long before Jimi had moved to the big lights of New York, and one night, whilst playing in Greenwich village, 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.
He was a most amazing guitarist, and an incredible showman, and he became an almost instant success.
Hey Joe was his debut single, and it still sounds great today, and in 1967 he cut his first album, Are You Experienced.
His playing on stage was something which you had to see, to believe. He would play the guitar behind his back, and sometimes he would pluck the strings with his teeth. He oftentimes would smash his guitar against his amplifiers in order to get a certain effect, and sometimes even set light to them.
If you saw him on stage you would never forget the experience.
His death in 1970 due to a drugs overdose was an immense tradegy to everyone.
This brings me on finally to my last choice, and that is Jeff Beck, a musician not as well known as Eric and Jimi, but a musician of immense talent.
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
When his time with the Yardbirds finished, in 1966, he formed his own band the aptly named Jeff Beck Group.
He spent some time working with Rod Stewart until Rod left to join the Small Faces.
He has played with many people including Mick Jagger on his 1987 album Primitive Cool.
Not before time, a grammy was awarded to Jeff 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.
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