Top 5 Greatest Guitar Riffs.......

[screwtop]

On the way to work today in the cage, and I'm listening to WMAL (Grandy and Andy) AM talk radio. The News correspondant reported that according to a survey in London, "Smoke on the Water" was determined to be #1 on a short list of 5greatest guitar riffs of all time. Also represented were "Purple Haze", "Walk this Way" and "Sweet Child of Mine" (G&R). The fith one escapes me.

In my opinion, "Walk this Way" is the only one of the above that would really make the cut. That's not to say that the others aren't good, but from a recognition and testosterone boosting standpoint, I think Joe Perry and Brad Whitford win out on this one.

Now the question becomes, what else should have made the list? I won't steel all the thunder, but I think "Carry on Wayward Son" should've made it. Any other suggestions?

[OfficerImpersonator]

I must be old - or not old enough. I'm of a certain age that thinks almost anything Eddie Van Halen did on the first two VH albums is up there with "great riffs".

What about Clapton's opening to "Sunshine Of My Love"? "Layla"? Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker"? Rolling Stones "Satisfaction"? Black Sabbath "Iron Man"? AC/DC "Back In Black"? Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"? Now that I think about it, the riffs are flooding in. Too many riffs, too little time to list them all!

[Visian]

Ramblin' man... by the Allman Brothers.

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Ian

[OfficerImpersonator]

Ramblin' man... by the Allman Brothers.

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Ian

Oooh - good answer!

[Burnszilla]

Top 20 Guitar Riffs Ever!
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[Visian]

surfing with the alien - joe satriani

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... or satch boogie. this guy is just phenomenal

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[cayuse60]

Santana, Black Magic Woman.

[Visian]

stevie ray vaughn, cuttin' heads at the crossroads (this was a GREAT movie)

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[boxerr]

What about Jimmi Hendrix, I think it was called All along the Watchtower??

I have the Crossroads DVDs. Great stuff.

Any Eric Clapton stuff. He was brilliant on the George Harrison Concert for George.

[Oldhway]

The Improvised intro solo on the live version of sweet jane by Lou Reed.

That Smell by Skynyrd.

The solo on Who's that Lady by the Isleys.

The acoustic solo on Amy by the Pure Prairie League and the Live solo on Two Lane Highwau on the PPL live album.

Steve Gaines on the T for Texas on the One more for The Road live album form Skynyrd.

Mark Knopffler's entire guitar part on Brother's in Arms and

I saw clapton back in the late 80's i think when he was touring for the Crossroads box set. Nobody realized his backup guitarist on that tour was Knopffler tinn the little guy in the red bandana walked out on stage for the encore and ripped into money for Nothing and brought the house down.

There's more if I think about it at all like Knopffler and Chet Atkins entire Neck and Neck album.

[Oldhway]

What about Jimmi Hendrix, I think it was called All along the Watchtower??

I have the Crossroads DVDs. Great stuff.

Any Eric Clapton stuff. He was brilliant on the George Harrison Concert for George.


If you can find Dave Mason's Certified Live album. listen to Mason's version of Watchtower, it's where Jimi got his ideas on that song.

[Oldhway]

stevie ray vaughn, cuttin' heads at the crossroads (this was a GREAT movie)

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That was actually Steve Vai playing both parts.

[Visian]

That was actually Steve Vai playing both parts.

i new that didn't sound right..... :doh

[jcridge]

For me it's more of the guitarist that's playing then the song that they are playing.

Gilmore, Buckingham, Clapton, Guy, Eddie V. Dio, Blackmore, Beck, Berry, etc...

Anyone of these guys can make anything sound good.

If I had to pick just one Guitar Riff....Respect the Wind - Eddie & Alex Van Halen

Do You Feel Like We Do by Peter Frampton was huge when I was growing up. That album was the best selling album of all time until Garth Brooks knocked it off when country had a run at it for awhile.

[Oldhway]

For me it's more of the guitarist that's playing then the song that they are playing.

Gilmore, Buckingham, Clapton, Guy, Eddie V. Dio, Blackmore, Beck, Berry, etc...

Anyone of these guys can make anything sound good.

If I had to pick just one Guitar Riff....Respect the Wind - Eddie & Alex Van Halen

Do You Feel Like We Do by Peter Frampton was huge when I was growing up. That album was the best selling album of all time until Garth Brooks knocked it off when country had a run at it for awhile.

Garth had a guitarist named Chris Lutzinger (or something like that) who could play the hell out of a 6 string. Right now on the country side, listen to Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, and Vince Gill. All 3 are amazing.

[Oldhway]

Top 20 Guitar Riffs Ever!
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Please....:bolt

[The_Veg]

That was actually Steve Vai playing both parts.

Correct, and if memory serves Vai was a student of Satriani, as well as a late bloomer- I read somewhere that Vai never even touched a guitar until he was 20.

[Braddog]

My way of thinking is to consider how memorable the riff is, not necessarily how gifted the player of the riff may be.

Any kid can pick up the "Smoke On The Water" riff, but how distinct and memorable is that sound? The same goes for "Iron Man", "Satisfaction" or "Sunshine of Your Love".

OK, that's 4 for me, all oldies to some on here, and for others, parts of their youth. I think for my fifth, I'll go with "Mississippi Queen" by Leslie West and Mountain.

5? 20? Heck, I could go on for days....

[The_Veg]

Two words:

SPINAL TAP

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[SIBUD]

The acoustic solo on Amy by the Pure Prairie League

[Oldhway]

The acoustic solo on Amy by the Pure Prairie League

:thumb
One of my picks too. Not enough acoustic solos on here. How about Doc Watson on Milk Cow Blues on the Nitty Griity Dirt Band's Will the Circle be Unbroken III album?

Without all the effects, it really shows what a guitarist can do.

Richie Sambora's groove on the unplugged version of Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad name .

Man, I could do this forever. Need to shut up and let someone else play.

[rfisher]

Jerry Garcia on a good "Stella Blue"

David Gilmour on Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb"

Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love"

Frank Zappa anytime he wailed on the electric

Pete Townsend on the Who's "Behind Blue Eyes"


Roy F

[535is]

The Improvised intro solo on the live version of sweet jane by Lou Reed.
That was not improvised. Ian Hunter wrote (or co-wrote) it. He also wrote some others that are popular covers, like Once Bitten Twice Shy, One of the Boys, and All the Way From Memphis from his Mott the Hoople days. Then, there is the stuff he wrote that you might know from the late Mick Ronson's magic touch including F.B.I., Angeline, and The Golden Age of Rock & Roll. Ronson is also near the top of my list for things he did with Mott the Hoople (All the Young Dudes) and the author of Dudes, David Bowie, in the 'Spiders From Mars' days.

There are far too many incredible riffs I love to narrow it down to just five - or even ten. I don't even think I can narrow it down to ten artists, but among those not yet mentioned I'd have to add journeyman Danny Kortchmar (Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon), The Who's Pete Townshend, Queen's Brian May, B.Ö.C.'s Buck Dharma, Boston's Tom Scholz, Faces' & Stones' Ronnie Wood, ELO's Jeff Lynne, and I'd even toss in my favorite bassist, the late John Entwistle (get a listen to his isolated bass lines on the Kids Are Alright DVD set!). So many tunes ... so little time. :cry

[r11rs94]

how about YES / Roundabout


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIVi7KY_WJ8

[Oldhway]

That was not improvised. Ian Hunter wrote (or co-wrote) it. He also wrote some others that are popular covers, like Once Bitten Twice Shy, One of the Boys, and All the Way From Memphis from his Mott the Hoople days. Then, there is the stuff he wrote that you might know from the late Mick Ronson's magic touch including F.B.I., Angeline, and The Golden Age of Rock & Roll. Ronson is also near the top of my list for things he did with Mott the Hoople (All the Young Dudes) and the author of Dudes, David Bowie, in the 'Spiders From Mars' days.

There are far too many incredible riffs I love to narrow it down to just five - or even ten. I don't even think I can narrow it down to ten artists, but among those not yet mentioned I'd have to add journeyman Danny Kortchmar (Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon), The Who's Pete Townshend, Queen's Brian May, B.Ö.C.'s Buck Dharma, Boston's Tom Scholz, Faces' & Stones' Ronnie Wood, ELO's Jeff Lynne, and I'd even toss in my favorite bassist, the late John Entwistle (get a listen to his isolated bass lines on the Kids Are Alright DVD set!). So many tunes ... so little time. :cry

Sorry, not enough info in my first post. The solo I'm talking about was from the Rock and Roll Animal album. Steve (not Ian) Hunter was the guitarist on that one and it was about a 2 minute intro which he did off the cuff. It was and is one of my favorite live recordings ever.

Having said that, I agree especially on the mott the Hoople stuff. All the Young Dudes was especially brilliant.

[tessler]

The OP indicated Greatest Guitar Riffs, so here are my suggestions for top 5.

Band/Performer: Song

Cream/ Eric Clapton: "Sunshine of Your Love"
Chuck Berry: "Johnny B. Goode"
Deep Purple/ Ritchie Blackmore: "Smoke on the Water"
The Rolling Stones/ Keith Richards: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"
Jethro Tull/ Martin Barre: "Aqualung"

[AirForce]

I'll second the Jethro Tull/Martin Barre Aqualung vote and add The Animals, House of the Rising Sun. Arpeggios for all!

[kreinke]

How about this killer riff from Tom Morello about 55 seconds into Killin In The Name<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yx_MEwiIIxE&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yx_MEwiIIxE&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

More organ and bass than guitar but how about Space Truckin' from Deep Purple?
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[UncleHowie]

OK, lots of good music/memorable riffs mentioned... but something seems lacking...

Scanning the posts, I don't think I saw anything from the New Riders of the Purple Sage???:stick

See everyone in Gillette...:D

[tommcgee]

For me it's more of the guitarist that's playing then the song that they are playing.

Agreed for the most part, but I OD'd on the blues in 1976. How many 12 bars can you listen to in your life?

[montanasilver]

Needle and the damage done!:clap http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/images/smilies/clap.gif
:clap

[KGT1200]

Probably not cool enough for the group, but "Free Bird" by Leonard Skynard has always done it for me!

I saw them live in 1974 at Ebbets Field in Denver. The show was unbelievable!

We had a table with a waitress 20 ft from the stage!

[BubbaZanetti]

"Satisfaction" - Stones
"In My Head" - Black Flag

the above serve as great book ends, very few memorable guitar riffs emerged from either side of that time period (minus a handful from the 50s and 90s)


but anyway, what i'm REALLY psyched about is a WHOLE THREAD about guitars and riffs and guitar players on a MOTORCYCLE board and NOT A SINGLE PERSON mentioned boring old white guy blues master Stevie Ray Vaugn! good job people!!!

[Oldhway]

"Satisfaction" - Stones
"In My Head" - Black Flag

the above serve as great book ends, very few memorable guitar riffs emerged from either side of that time period (minus a handful from the 50s and 90s)


but anyway, what i'm REALLY psyched about is a WHOLE THREAD about guitars and riffs and guitar players on a MOTORCYCLE board and NOT A SINGLE PERSON mentioned boring old white guy blues master Stevie Ray Vaugn! good job people!!!


That reminds me, Henry Garza of Los Lonely Boys on Heaven.

Don't be dissin' Stevie Ray, the man had a groove thing happenin'!

[KGT1200]

Hendrix goodness gracious Garcia golly mis molly Duane Allmon holly mollie Richard "Dickey" Betts huppa huppa Warrren Zevon, La tee Da Frank and the Mothers of Invention

And the list goes on................................................ ...............................I love it all!

[BuddingGeezer]

How bout 'Little Wing" By Hendrix and Stevie Rays version too.

Free Bird

Anything by Clapton and Hendrix.

Man, I can't pick just 5.

Ralph Sims

[snoone]

There are way too many. A couple come to mind

Jumpin Jack Flash
Purple Haze
The end (the beatles)
Another vote for Lou Reed (rock and roll animal)
Wish you were here
Layla
and on and on and on and on

oh yeah Henry (nrps)

[Floppp]

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Woodstock, 1969. Ten Years After.

I was there... I think. I remember arriving and leaving. The middle - well ... some parts are kind of hazy.

[Bob_M]

How bout 'Little Wing" By Hendrix and Stevie Rays version too.

Clapton and Dave Mason also did Little Wing. It was sort of the Guitar riff measuring post. My my measure Hendrix owned it.

Clapton's Spoonful off the Wheels of Fire alblum.

Santana' Black Magic Woman and of course Layla.

[moondog]

I always liked the
Eagles "Hotel California",
Heart's "Crazy On You",
Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way",
Eddie Van Halens "Hot for the Teacher" and "Panama".
As mentioned there are so many one could go on all day.
Another one mentioned already Led Zepplin's "Stairway to Heavan" and most of Boston's songs have hot, "Man I'll never be", "Party", etc.

[RandallIsland]

Simon & Garfunkel
"The Boxer"

[tessler]

For Bubba.

http://www.bluepower.com/uploaded_images/stevieRayVaughn280-727897.jpg

[Kbrick]

:thumb
One of my picks too. Not enough acoustic solos on here. How about Doc Watson on Milk Cow Blues on the Nitty Griity Dirt Band's Will the Circle be Unbroken III album?

Without all the effects, it really shows what a guitarist can do.

Richie Sambora's groove on the unplugged version of Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad name .

Man, I could do this forever. Need to shut up and let someone else play.

Just two words friend, "Heavy fuel" Dire straits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71XtQ4HbDHo

[Kbrick]

Just two words friend, "Heavy fuel" Dire straits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71XtQ4HbDHo

I couldn't forget to add "lifes been good" by Joe Walsh now of the Eagles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_5U-Mu0yqg&feature=related

Man rock and roll used to be just plain fun!

oh yeah and "Rocky Mountain Way"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j_ypHxIFzw&feature=related

[screwtop]

"Satisfaction" - Stones
"In My Head" - Black Flag

the above serve as great book ends, very few memorable guitar riffs emerged from either side of that time period (minus a handful from the 50s and 90s)


but anyway, what i'm REALLY psyched about is a WHOLE THREAD about guitars and riffs and guitar players on a MOTORCYCLE board and NOT A SINGLE PERSON mentioned boring old white guy blues master Stevie Ray Vaugn! good job people!!!

Bubba, I'm with ya on the SRV thing. I've got lot's of his stuff and he's definetly one of my faves. In alot of cases, his jams are just one continuous riff (e.g., scuttlebuttin', pipeline, rude crude hideaway, etc.).

[BubbaZanetti]

Bubba, I'm with ya on the SRV thing. I've got lot's of his stuff and he's definetly one of my faves. In alot of cases, his jams are just one continuous riff (e.g., scuttlebuttin', pipeline, rude crude hideaway, etc.).

haha, sorry, i wasn't being sarcastic, i'm not a fan of SRV in the least bit, but he seems to be a very popular figure on motorcycle related message boards. to each his own!:buds

[Peter_Krynicki]

Sheesh! Eric Clapton and Robbie Robertson doing a "dueling guitars" playing Farther on Down the Road on the Last Waltze album and film by Martin Scorsese.

And Frank Bungarten playing the 24 Caprices de Goya, Mario Casteinuovo-Tedesco's op. 195. Heaven.

Pjk

[Oldhway]

Sheesh! Eric Clapton and Robbie Robertson doing a "dueling guitars" playing Farther on Down the Road on the Last Waltze album and film by Martin Scorsese.

And Frank Bungarten playing the 24 Caprices de Goya, Mario Casteinuovo-Tedesco's op. 195. Heaven.

Pjk

:thumb
+1.

And Robbie held his own too!

[RTRandy]

We're forgetting some great ones here.

Sure Clapton's Sunshine of Your Love along with other greats like Satisfaction and Aqualung, but probably one of the single greatest guitar licks of last century would be from Robert White. Robert White was part of the Motown Funk Brothers who played on all the great Motown hits, but most notably the opening guitar riiff on My Girl.

Let's not forget this classic opening riff done with just two notes that defined a decade. Hint: Turn up your volume.

http://www.reasontorock.com/audio/for_what_its_worth/intro.mp3

[monkeywork]

Wipe out, by the Ventures.

Sleepwalk by Santo and Johny (?)

Stray Cat Strut by Brian Setzer

Ruptured Duck by Jeff Beck

Layla by Clapton.

Blackbird by the Beetles

Alvin Lee from Ten Years after (to many to list)

Most anything by Wes Montgomery...

I'm a new Satriani fan. Worked with him a couple weeks ago and that mo-fo can rip up a guitar neck. Seriously. Makes ya stand up and listen.

[tessler]

We're forgetting some great ones here.

Sure Clapton's Sunshine of Your Love along with other greats like Satisfaction and Aqualung, but probably one of the single greatest guitar licks of last century would be from Robert White. Robert White was part of the Motown Funk Brothers who played on all the great Motown hits, but most notably the opening guitar riiff on My Girl.

Let's not forget this classic opening riff done with just two notes that defined a decade. Hint: Turn up your volume.

http://www.reasontorock.com/audio/for_what_its_worth/intro.mp3
+1 Amazing catch Randy.

And let's not forget some of the rest of the Funk Brothers guitar legacy... Eddie Willis, Joe Messina and Dennis Coffey to name a few.

[SIBUD]

We're forgetting some great ones here.

Sure Clapton's Sunshine of Your Love along with other greats like Satisfaction and Aqualung, but probably one of the single greatest guitar licks of last century would be from Robert White. Robert White was part of the Motown Funk Brothers who played on all the great Motown hits, but most notably the opening guitar riiff on My Girl.

Let's not forget this classic opening riff done with just two notes that defined a decade. Hint: Turn up your volume.

http://www.reasontorock.com/audio/for_what_its_worth/intro.mp3

Isn't it interesting how those few notes can bring back a flood of memories for those of us old enough to "have been there". How the world has changed since that time.

Thanks for the reminder.:thumb

[SIBUD]

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - This is us

[SCQTT]

OK we need some newer ones.

These are still old, but they are not 30 years old

Radiohead, Creep

Blur, Song 2

Smashing Pumpkins, Hummer

[BarkSlayer]

1. A sober EVH.

2. Richie Sambora/Bon Jovi - Dead or Alive.

3. Anything played by Phil Keaggy.
:violin

[beemerron]

Baby's On Fire - Fripp/Eno
Vodoo Chile - Hedrix
Bluebird - Buffalo Springfield
Willy The Pimp - Zappa
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Clapton

[careycsg]

I always liked the
Eagles "Hotel California",
Heart's "Crazy On You",
Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way",
Eddie Van Halens "Hot for the Teacher" and "Panama".
As mentioned there are so many one could go on all day.
Another one mentioned already Led Zepplin's "Stairway to Heavan" and most of Boston's songs have hot, "Man I'll never be", "Party", etc.

Buckingham on Go Your Own Way. :thumb

[bmdubyou]

1. A sober EVH.

2. Richie Sambora/Bon Jovi - Dead or Alive.

3. Anything played by Phil Keaggy.
:violin

YEAH...Keaggy is phenomenal!! Just saw him interviewed last week...another new album coming out. I have him on vinyl from the glass harp days. Man I gotta get my turntable running again.
I'm surprised..only one mention of Kansas & Boston...Tom Shultz is amazing and not to mention that he was an inventor as well. Any guitar players remember the ROCKMAN??

[The_Veg]

You mean Tom SCHOLZ?

Yes, heluva guy. Not just the Rockman! Scholz has a Masters degree in mechanical engineering from M.I.T. and worked for Polaroid as a senior product design engineer. Had a lot to do with the One Step camera as I recall.

[BeemoKat]

Jimmy Nolen's work on James Brown's "Cold Sweat"
Steve Cropper on "Soul Man"
Anything at all by Jimi Hendrix
George Benson on "Breezin'"
Eric Johnson on "East Wes"
Just a few....

[Gilly]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwmWrCvUSBM&feature=related

[beemerred]

I`ve enjoyed reading this thread and they all sound good to me but I`d like to add the solo in "25 and 6 to 4" by Chicago that guy rocked but eventually killed himself playing Russian Roulette. "Sultans of Swing" by Mark Knopfler with just a peice of trivia- he did the score for "The Princess Bride". I also like the old R&B stuff like the intro into "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin. And of course traveling songs from the Doobie Brothers like "China Grove". And last but not least, I`ve always liked Skunk Baxter and the stuff he did with Steely Dan for one example "Bodisatva". (especially the live version) There are a lot of great players out there ,if you ever get a chance to see the filmed version of Eric Clapton`s Guitar Legends you`ll see plenty Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, B.B. King, Vince Gill (who I never knew was such a good player),John Mayer (who`s pretty geeky but a great player), Steve Winwood, and of course Eric Clapton who is the best of them all.

[bmdubyou]

You mean Tom SCHOLZ?

Yes, heluva guy. Not just the Rockman! Scholz has a Masters degree in mechanical engineering from M.I.T. and worked for Polaroid as a senior product design engineer. Had a lot to do with the One Step camera as I recall.


Yes, Id forgotten about his degree. I didnt know he worked with cameras though. WoW!

Anyone ever catch RFD tv? I caught a few min of Bobby Darren. Wow...can that guy play the acoustic guitar....left-handed too!

[bikerfish1100]

just 5 is really tough, but let's try:
Clapton's solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" on The Beatles (the white album).
Hendrix's solo on "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" off Electric Ladayland.
Stevie Ray on "Little Wing".
David Gilmour on "Time" from Dark Side.
Zappa on a whole bunch of stuff, but i'm kinda keen on "Dirty Love" from Overnite Sensation (what a tight, kickass album that was).

beyond that- whole buncha stuff from Santana, Ronnie Earl, Jeff Beck and of course B. B. King - especially all the notes he doesn't bother to play that just would clutter things up.

[535is]

You mean Tom SCHOLZ?
Yeah; the guy I spelled right in Post #25.
Scholz has a Masters degree in mechanical engineering from M.I.T. and worked for Polaroid as a senior product design engineer. Had a lot to do with the One Step camera as I recall.
Also 'Dilberted' out of Eastman Kodak for much the same reason as comic strip author Scott Adams ...

[The_Veg]

Yeah; the guy I spelled right in Post #25.

Also 'Dilberted' out of Eastman Kodak for much the same reason as comic strip author Scott Adams ...

I don't know that story.

[The_Veg]

I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Rush yet.

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[GrafikFeat]

That was actually Steve Vai playing both parts.

Actually it was Ry Cooder playing w/ Vai as the head chopper.
Ry Cooder did the movie soundtrack except for dueling w/ Vai at the end.
:violin

[GrafikFeat]

Speaking of Ry Cooder... Listen to the opening of Blue Suede Shoes. He does a Riff that blows a Marshall Head.
It was written up in a Guitar rag years ago... In the 80's. :whistle

[njnear]

I'm glad someone finally mentioned the boys from Canada. Once upon a time there was another little ole band from the great white north....

How about BTO:

Blue Collar?

Lookin' Out for Number One?

A little on the jazzy side, but still great licks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LODrdAvQxrY

[john1691]

While I enjoy Rush, and their drummer is one of the best ever (in my opinion), I wouldn't add them to a guitar riff list. Joey Satrioni, Phil Keagy, Eddy V. would probably top my list, in no particular order. All of the bands mentioned throughout the thread have put out some great music, but many don't have a stand out guitar player who has been truly innovative. Dream Theatre is a very technical band, and have some awesome guitar playing, but I can't think of a particular riffthat stands out. Certainly Metallica has had some memorable music, but again, I don't know that they'd make my list for Riffs.

[BeemoKat]

I know I really show my age with these. Also I'm talking about riffs, integral parts of the tune, rather than solos.

1) Steve Cropper's opening riff on "Funky Broadway, also the short break in the middle of "99 and a Half"
2) Brian Jones on "This Will Be The Last Time"
3) John Fogerty on "Born on the Bayou"
4) George Harrison "Day Tripper" Also the 12-string intro to "Ticket to Ride"
5) Larry Carlton on "Put It Where You Want It"

In no particular order, with LOTS of omissions!

[tessler]

Since this thread is still alive... and since I've already posted what I think are the "popular, all-time great guitar riffs", I'll post some of my own personal favorites. Some of these may be a tad obscure. :D

Band/Performer: Song

1. Steve Hillage: "The Salmon Song" (main opening riff)
2. The Pixies/Joey Santiago: "No. 13 Baby"
3. Gentle Giant/Gary Green: "Just the Same"
4. John Scofield: "Twang"
5. Ornette Coleman/Charles Ellerbie & Bern Nix: "Dancing in Your Head"

[pirana]

Correct, and if memory serves Vai was a student of Satriani, as well as a late bloomer- I read somewhere that Vai never even touched a guitar until he was 20.

I don't remember how old Vai was when he started playing but he was hired by Frank Zappa when he was 19 to transcribe all of Zappas recorded guitar solos, note for note. Not an easy task & one few people have the ability to do.

[GrafikFeat]

[QUOTE=Visian;313195]stevie ray vaughn, cuttin' heads at the crossroads (this was a GREAT movie)

It was Ry Cooder playing. Steve Vai played the Head Chopper. He also had a hard time faking a stack.

[Rpbump]

Could not list just five favorites. SRV, Clapton, Glenn Campbell on 12 string, Santana, are just some of the artists I enjoy listening to. While in Rota, Spain in 1974 I heard a flamenco guitarist that was simply amazing, cannot remember his name.;)

[bikerfish1100]

Could not list just five favorites. SRV, Clapton, Glenn Campbell on 12 string, Santana, are just some of the artists I enjoy listening to. While in Rota, Spain in 1974 I heard a flamenco guitarist that was simply amazing, cannot remember his name.;)


far outside chance of Al DiMeola?

[Oldhway]

far outside chance of Al DiMeola?
You mean this guy?
I have been lucky enough to meet Al a couple of times. He is an incredibly nice guy.

[Oldhway]

Met this guy at the same show. He was just as nice. Perks of my work :) . Look at the size of those hands! :jawdrop For reference, I am 6 feet tall.
He played an upright Bass like it was a flamenco guitar. Haven't touched my bass since:blush