Lee Ritenour
Posted on 05/28/2008 5:10:29 PM PDT by SilvieWaldorfMD
Per popular demand, after the very successful "Who Is Your Favorite Drummer?" thread, here we have a new posting to determine who is your favorite guitarist of all time.
Yup, I’m still trying to see if he’ll be at Lollapalooza this year.
I’ll walk there if I have to.
No one doubts Yngwie Malmsteen has the mettle to back up his metal. But when the Swedish shredmeister stood up for America before a South American audience, he demonstrated his courage.
On October 2, three weeks after the terrorist air strikes on the U.S., Malmsteen treated the audience at this concert in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and was roundly booed.
"The majority of the crowd was great," says Malmsteen from his Florida home. "I didn't leave the stage because I knew most of the crowd wasn't booing, but enough people were doing it, so it could be heard very clearly." Unfortunately, things quickly went from bad to worse following Malmsteen's solo. "After I play my guitar solo, there are separate keyboard, bass and drum solos," he explains. "That's when people started yelling, 'Osama! Osama!' That was just a bit too much."
Adds Yngwie keyboardist Derek Sherinian, "To see the anti-American rallies on TV is bad enough, but to be in the middle of one is scary beyond words. When the band went backstage after the final song, I told Yngwie, 'I refuse to go out for an encore.' "
Undaunted, Malmsteen returned to the stage alone and once again struck up "The Star-Spangled Banner." "I told the crowd that I was going to play it one more time. I told them, 'If you start booing I'm leaving.' And sure enough, the crowd started booing after the first few bars. So I said, 'God bless America, and f*** you all,' and walked offstage."
Malmsteen quickly clarifies that his words were not meant against Brazil. "I love Brazil," he says. I just responded spontaneously as if I had been punched in the face. I'm a musician, not a politician, and I was just playing a song." As for his fervent devotion to America, Yngwie explains, "I've been living in the States more than half my life, and I love this country."
Larry Coryell
Hey - here’s a youtube of the concert I was at. Not the impromtu jam though. Phil is the guy with the short-brim hat in the center.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SYo1TV8PIzo
Nnahhh........Bill Frisell (just to keep it in the “-ell” vein......
David Gilmore - The Floyd!!!
YES!!!!!
Roy’s version of “Hey Joe” always blew me away.. What a shock that he died in 1988 at age 48.. He was brought in on a drunken driving charge and was found hanged in his cell.
Lee Ritenour
I think I can imagine Bill CLinton’s fave: Esteban.
Considering that when he was President he said his
favorite musician was Kenny G.
Yes, he said that.
And apparently his favorite poet was Maya Angelou.
(but for pickup purposes, Walt Whitman)
Alvin Lee kicks ass! How about that guy who played with David Bowie back in the day, Mick Ronson.
I can’t believe George Benson hasn’t been mentioned in this thresd yet.
Hi supreme....just thought I’d retype in my tagline which disappeared.
Sorry to call you out on Randy California teaching EVH the finger tapping technique when Eddie himself says he saw Steve Hackett (Genesis) do it on TV in 1972 on Granada TV. (The Musical Box)
(also remember that Randy California was a devotee of Hendrix who gave him his stage name - Hendrix was jamming with a couple different guys named Randy so he asked where they were from and then called them Randy California and Randy Texas)
As for my guitarists, Jimi Hendrix is the standard that all others are judged by.
Other great guitarists in no particular order:
David Gilmour
Alex Lifeson
Angus Young
Duane Allman
Tony Iommi
Chris Duarte
Buddy Guy
Richie Blackmore
Eric Clapton
Frank Zappa (and any guitarist playing for him)
George Harrison
Martin Barre
Glenn Tipton/KK Downing - Judas Priest
Adrian Smith/Dave Murray/Janic Gers - Iron Maiden
Uli Jon Roth
Dave Davies
Robin Trower
Robert Johnson
Keith Richards
SRV
Bobby Messano
Ted Nugent
The Edge
Pete Townsend
ah hell, I could go on and on but that would mean cracking open another beer.
There are a lot that haven’t been mentioned, like Johhny Ramone.
I’ve got one that no one has mentioned, at least that I didn’t see: Buckethead. Yeah he’s a weirdo but here’s my case: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTcg9JybEp8
What, no Mason Williams?
Classical Gas
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mguzKze1sYo
Electrical Gas Zoe McCulloch & Mason Williams
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tgpE9GzNatw
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