TOP TEN continued from pg 35
into full gear. Tapping into its country music roots, early rock and roll classics featured tight, quick guitar solos that still stand the test of time. Listen to Scotty Moore behind
Elvis on “That’s All Right Mama” or “Heartbreak Hotel” to get a sense of what was to come, or session man Danny Cedrone’s sizzling solo on “Rock Around the Clock”. It didn’t hurt to have young Elvis
using an acoustic as a prop on TV in those early days, either.
“That little country boy can play!” By the late 50s the guitar player was
slowly stepping up in the pecking order of Rock and Roll. It took a hairdresser from St. Louis to take the leap to the front of the stage. The image of Charles “Chuck”
Berry duck-walking across the stage slinging his Gibson ES-355 and laying down classic riffs that would inspire the Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Stones and every garage band for decades to come, is indelible. A few years later Buddy Holly would have the same effect with his 1958 Fender Stratocaster. And we can’t forget Link Wray,
who had a guitar instrumental hit with the Wraymen in 1958 called “Rumble”, which gave us the legendary “Power Chord”.
The British are Coming! The power of television was
instrumental in launching the Beatles in North America. Millions tuned in for their Ed Sullivan debut in February,1964, and over the next few months, sales of electric guitars quadrupled. Every kid wanted to be a rock and roll star, even if the price was slaving hours trying to recreate the opening riff of “House of the Rising Sun”, or figuring out those three chords in “You Really Got Me”. Keith Richards fans wore out their
records trying to pick out those old Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters riffs, and suddenly the guitar player became the coolest guy in the band. At least, that’s what guitar players
tell me.
“You may never hear surf music again” Jimi Hendrix blew the doors off
the guitar world in 1967 with “Are You Experienced”. His innovative playing and other-wordly sounds took the guitar beyond the next level. Any player who saw Hendrix either took up the challenge or put the guitar in the closet and never picked it up again. Ironically, the bulk of his playing was firmly rooted in Blues and Jazz. His “fiery” performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 remains one of rock’s greatest moments.
The Guitar Heroes Hendrix created a new level of
deity…the Rock God. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff
Beck all achieved legendary status by 1969, and most new bands were rated on the ability of their guitar player. Equipment got better, players got better, sound systems got better and a concert just wasn’t complete until the guitar player stepped into the spotlight for the big solo. In the 70s we had Ritchie
Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Peter Frampton, Duane Allman, Joe Walsh and on and on. The guitar had become the logo for rock and roll.
Let there be Hair! With Punk taking rock back to its
simple roots in the late 70s, and then MTV in the 80s focusing more on looks than talent, the guitar started to slip back a bit in importance. But one man almost single-handedly
resurrected the art of creative playing. From the opening whoosh of “Running with the Devil”, Eddie Van Halen smashed guitar conventions the same way Hendrix had in 1967. 1978’s “Van Halen” set the template
for a new generation of guitar players who wanted to play faster and harder than their older brothers. Eddie set the stage for a new breed of players led by Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Vivian continued on page 68
68 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
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