Hendrix Named Greatest Guitarist
Psychedelic guitarist Jimi Hendrix has been voted the instrument’s greatest player in a poll conducted by Total Guitar magazine.
Hendrix, who died in 1970 at the age of 27, beat Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page to the top spot in the poll of the magazine’s readers.
Hendrix made his name in the late 1960s, with classics like “Purple Haze,” “Hey Joe” and “Voodoo Chile.”
Blues veteran Eric Clapton came in third, followed by Slash from Guns N’ Roses and Brian May of Queen.
Younger talents also made the top 100, including Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead at 35 and Noel Gallagher from Oasis at 50.
Johnny Ramone of The Ramones ó who built a long career on rudimentary three-chord rock ó was 88th.
“What’s nice about it is that it’s not some music critic’s opinion of the best guitarists ó these guys might not be `cool’ by any music critic’s viewpoint, but they genuinely are the fastest, loudest, most exciting players in rock ‘n’ roll,” said the magazine’s editor, Scott Rowley.
No woman made the top 100. Only one ó Tracy Chapman ó was among 440 guitarists nominated by the magazine.
“Personally I don’t know if it’s a bad thing,” Rowley said. “Women just aren’t as geeky or competitive about it as guys. Instead of showing off, they’re trying to write a good song. Which is probably smarter.”
The Top 20:
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Jimmy Page
3. Eric Clapton
4. Slash
5. Brian May
6. Joe Satriani (soloist)
7. Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
8. Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
9. Kirk Hammett (Metallica ( news – web sites))
10. Steve Vai (soloist)
11. Carlos Santana (Santana)
12. James Hetfield (Metallica)
13. Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine ( news – web sites))
14. Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
15. Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)
16. Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne)
17. Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy, others)
18. Jeff Beck (Cream, Yardbirds, others)
19. Stevie Ray Vaughan (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Double Trouble)
20. Angus Young
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