If I stopped you in the street and asked you to name for me the 3 greatest guitarists of the past 40 years, what names would you throw at me?
Maybe you would say to me Chet Atkins or Chuck Berry or Woody Guthrie, or perhaps it would be Pete Seeger or Frank Zappa.
Well, terrific musicians of course, no arguments there, but they would not be my top three if I was asked.
So who would I vote for? These three, but not necessarily in any particular order Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck.
Sad to say that Jimi died in 1970, but happily Eric and Jeff are still performing today.
So, let me fill you in with some details on these great performers.
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 had a brief spell with John Mayalls Bluesbreakers before coming back to the UK to form the supergroup known as Cream, along with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
Everybody was very saddened when in 1968 Cream disbanded, which led Eric to set up a band called Blind Faith, which comprised Eric, Ginger Baker, and Steve Winwood.
Following the demise of Blind Faith Eric went on to form his own band, Derek and the Dominos and it was while he was in this band that he wrote what is, in my opinion, his greatest song " Layla".
Sadly, drink and drugs began to take their toll of Eric, and he felt that he 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.
The next performer that I want to talk about is Jimi Hendrix, and what an amazing performer he was. I hate having to say 'he was', because he only lived for 28 short years from 1942 to 1970.
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!
They say that you can't hold a good man down for long, and that was certainly true of Jimi. He moved to New York, and there he met a member of the Animals, a British rock group.
And it was suggested to him that he head on over to London, and this he did in 1966.
And there he was able to display his talents to the full, a most incredible performer and musician.
And you can see that skill on his first single Hey Joe, and also on his first album Are You Experienced.
But to really appreciate his brilliance, you just had to see him live on stage. I have seen him playing the guitar behind his back (its hard enough to play it normally), and I have seen him plucking the strings with his teeth.
Seeing him live was truly an unforgettable experience.
His death in 1970 due to a drugs overdose was an immense tradegy to everyone.
And so on to my final choice. A musician not as well known as Eric or Jimi, but a great guitarist nonetheless, and that person is Jeff Beck.
Jeff spent most of his early career playing with various bands including the Yardbirds, and screaming Lord Sutch. He was born in 1944.
When his time with the Yardbirds finished, in 1966, he formed his own band the aptly named Jeff Beck Group.
And he played with another rock giant Rod Stewart untill Rod joined the Small Faces.
Amongst other great names that Jeff has played with is Mick Jagger.
In 1989 Jeff won a grammy for best rock instrumental 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 article is number one in a series on great performers. If you would like to receive each article as it comes out then go to my website where you will find my email address, and just email me asking to be kept updated.
Maybe you would say to me Chet Atkins or Chuck Berry or Woody Guthrie, or perhaps it would be Pete Seeger or Frank Zappa.
Well, terrific musicians of course, no arguments there, but they would not be my top three if I was asked.
So who would I vote for? These three, but not necessarily in any particular order Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck.
Sad to say that Jimi died in 1970, but happily Eric and Jeff are still performing today.
So, let me fill you in with some details on these great performers.
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 had a brief spell with John Mayalls Bluesbreakers before coming back to the UK to form the supergroup known as Cream, along with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.
Everybody was very saddened when in 1968 Cream disbanded, which led Eric to set up a band called Blind Faith, which comprised Eric, Ginger Baker, and Steve Winwood.
Following the demise of Blind Faith Eric went on to form his own band, Derek and the Dominos and it was while he was in this band that he wrote what is, in my opinion, his greatest song " Layla".
Sadly, drink and drugs began to take their toll of Eric, and he felt that he 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.
The next performer that I want to talk about is Jimi Hendrix, and what an amazing performer he was. I hate having to say 'he was', because he only lived for 28 short years from 1942 to 1970.
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!
They say that you can't hold a good man down for long, and that was certainly true of Jimi. He moved to New York, and there he met a member of the Animals, a British rock group.
And it was suggested to him that he head on over to London, and this he did in 1966.
And there he was able to display his talents to the full, a most incredible performer and musician.
And you can see that skill on his first single Hey Joe, and also on his first album Are You Experienced.
But to really appreciate his brilliance, you just had to see him live on stage. I have seen him playing the guitar behind his back (its hard enough to play it normally), and I have seen him plucking the strings with his teeth.
Seeing him live was truly an unforgettable experience.
His death in 1970 due to a drugs overdose was an immense tradegy to everyone.
And so on to my final choice. A musician not as well known as Eric or Jimi, but a great guitarist nonetheless, and that person is Jeff Beck.
Jeff spent most of his early career playing with various bands including the Yardbirds, and screaming Lord Sutch. He was born in 1944.
When his time with the Yardbirds finished, in 1966, he formed his own band the aptly named Jeff Beck Group.
And he played with another rock giant Rod Stewart untill Rod joined the Small Faces.
Amongst other great names that Jeff has played with is Mick Jagger.
In 1989 Jeff won a grammy for best rock instrumental 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 article is number one in a series on great performers. If you would like to receive each article as it comes out then go to my website where you will find my email address, and just email me asking to be kept updated.
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