Compilation of the 35 Most famous guitar players in history , Artists who have gained their worldwide fame due to their dowries with the guiarra as soloists or as part of some band.
Prince, Jimmy Hendrix, Ozzy Osbourne or John Lennon are some of these myths that have greatly influenced the string instrument and music in general. Do you know the rest of the ranking?
Top 35 guitarists in history
1- Prince
Born as Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958 and died on April 21, 2016, he was an American songwriter, instrumentalist and producer. He was known for his eclectic work, his extravagant presence on stage and his wide vocal range.
He was regarded as a virtuoso with guitar, percussion, keyboards and synthesizer. He has sold nearly 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.
2- Jack White
From left to right: Jack White, Zakk Wylde and Tom Morello
Born on July 9, 1975, John Anthony Gillis is an American musician, singer, writer, producer and actor.
He is best known for being the vocal leader and guitarist for the duo The White Stripes, although he has also achieved success in other bands and even as a soloist. He has won 8 Grammy Awards and his two solo albums have reached number one on the Bilboard charts.
3- Zakk Wylde
Born on January 14, 1967, Jeffrey Phillip Wiedlandt is a musician, singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and American actor. He is known for being a guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and for being the founder of the heavy rock band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and lead singer in the band Pride & Glory and as a soloist he has managed to release two albums.
4- Tom Morello
Born as Thomas Baptiste Morello on May 30, 1964, he is a musician, singer, songwriter, actor and American political activist. He is best known for being part of the band Rage Against the Machine and then joining Audioslave.
He is currently a member of the supergroup Prophets of Rage. It stands out for its unique and creative style of playing the guitar.
5- Dimebag Darrell
From left to right: Dimebag Darrell, Buddy Guy and Kirk Hammett
Born Darrell Lance Abbott on August 20, 1966 and died on December 8, 2004, he was an American guitarist and songwriter. He was the founder of the bands Pantera and Damageplan along with his brother Vinnie Paul.
It is considered as one of the precursors behind Groove Metal. He ranked No. 92 on the list of best guitarists of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine.
6- Buddy Guy
George Guy, born July 30, 1936, is an American guitarist and singer. He is known for being an exponent of the Chicago blues genre. In the 60s he played alongside the band Muddy Waters for Chess Records and formed a musical alliance with harmonica concerto, Junior Wells. Guy was ranked as the 30th best guitarist of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine.
7- Kirk Hammett
Kirk Lee Hammett, born November 18, 1962, is an American guitarist and songwriter. He is known for being the lead guitarist of the heavy metal panda Metallica since 1983.
Before joining Metallica, he was part of a band called Exodus. Hammet, was ranked No. 11 on the list of best guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
8- Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh Blackmore, born April 14, 1945, is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the founding members of the band Deep Purple in 1968. He then established a metal band called Rainbow, which fused elements of baroque music with heavy rock. Finally, he created the band of folk rock called Blackmore's Night in which predominated the sounds of the vocalistas.
9- Albert King
From left to right: Albert King, John Lennon and Mark Knopfler
Albert Nelson, born April 25, 1923 and died on December 21, 1992, was a blues guitarist and American singer. He is part of"Three Kings of the Blues Guitar"along with B.B King and Freddie King. He is widely known for his 1967 single"Born Under a Bad Sign."
10- John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon, born October 9, 1940 and died on December 8, 1980, was an English singer and songwriter. He was co-founder of The Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of folk music. Lennon learned to play guitar from age 16 and as his musical career grew he extended his hold on a variety of electric guitars.
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, born August 12, 1949, is a British singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is best known for being the composer, guitarist and lead vocalist of the band Dire Straits.
This one was founded next to his brother David Knopfler in the year of 1977. As soloist, Knopfler has released 8 albums. He has won 4 times the Grammy Award and holds 3 honorary doctorates from various universities in the UK.
12- Angus Young
Angus McKinnon Young, born March 31, 1955, is a guitarist born in Scotland, but was nationalized Australian. He is best known for being co-founder, lead guitarist for Australian rock band AC / DC.
It is characterized by its school uniform in its presentations. Both Young and the other members of AC / DC are part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
13- Duane Allman
From left to right: Duane Allman, Billy Gibbons and Pete Townshend
Howard Duane Allman, born November 20, 1946 and died on October 29, 1971, was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and leader of the band Allman Brothers. He died of a traffic accident at the age of 24. He was considered the second best guitarist in history according to Rolling Stone magazine.
14- Billy Gibbons
William Frederick Gibbons, born December 16, 1949, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, producer and actor. He is the lead guitarist and vocalist of rock band ZZ Top.
He began his career in the band Moving Sidewalks where they were opening for four dates of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It ranked 32nd in the list of the best guitarists in history according to Rolling Stone magazine.
15- Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend, born 19 May 1945, is a British musician, composer and instrumentalist. He is best known for being the lead guitarist, background vocalist and lead songwriter for the rock band The Who.
His career in this band extends for over 50 years during which the band grew to be considered one of the most influential in the twentieth century. Together with the band he is part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
16- Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain, born February 20, 1967 and died on April 5, 1994, was an American musician, artist, songwriter, guitarist and poet. Cobain was part of the Nirvana band along with Krist Novoselic in 1987. This group entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.
17- Joe Satriani
Joseph Satriani, born July 15, 1956. He is an instrumental American rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Satriani began his career as a guitar instructor and then began a very important career as a soloist. He also had a short involvement with the band Deep Purple in 1993. Since 2008 he has been the lead guitarist for the band Chickenfoot (17).
18- Steve Vai
Steven Siro Vai, born June 6, 1960, is an American guitarist, songwriter, singer and producer. He has had a prolific career as a soloist coming to win 3 Grammy Awards. He has performed tours with Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth and Whitesnake has recorded with several rock artists.
19- Ozzy Osbourne
Born as John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, he is a British singer-songwriter and actor. It attracted fame in the 70's as the lead singer of heavy metal band Black Sabbath. In 1979 he was fired from the band and began a successful solo career.
She is part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Music Hall of Fame in the UK for both her career as a part of Black Sabbath and her solo career.
20- Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, born November 12, 1945, is a Canadian songwriter, producer and director. In 1966 form the band Buffalo Springfield along with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and others.
His most relevant features are the distorted sound work of his guitar, the deeply personal lyrics of his songs and a characteristic tenor voice. He is part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for both his solo career and for being part of Buffalo Springfield.
21- Randy Rhoads
Randall William Roads, born December 6, 1956 and died on March 19, 1982, was an American heavy rock guitarist. In his career he managed to get to play for Ozzy Osbourne and the band Quiet Riot.
His guitar style combined classic musical influences along with his own heavy metal style. Despite his short career he had a great influence on neoclassical metal.
22- Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank Iommi, born February 19, 1948, is a British guitarist, songwriter and producer. Iommi is the lead guitarist and founding member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath.
In 2000 he released his first solo album followed by another in 2005. He was named the number 25 on the list of the greatest guitarists according to Rolling Stone magazine.
23- B.B. King
Riley B. King, born September 16, 1925 and died on May 14, 2015. He was a blues singer, electric guitarist and American producer. King was the person who introduced a style of soloist based on the dubbing of strings and a vibrato that came to influence to many other guitarists of later blues.
King is part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is considered to be one of the most influential blues singers of all time.
24- George Harrison
Born on February 25, 1943 and died on November 29, 2001, he was a British guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer who achieved worldwide fame for being part of the band The Beatles.
He is known for introducing to the band instruments of Indian origin in his music. Harrison released several albums as a soloist and in 1988 formed the supergroup Traveling Wilburys. He is part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his participation in The Beatles and for his solo career.
25- Slash
Saul Hudson, born July 23, 1965, is a British musician and composer. He is widely known for being the lead guitarist for American rock band Guns N 'Roses.
After leaving the group in 1996, he founded the supergroup Velvet Revolver. He has released three solo albums. In 2016 he returned to Guns N 'Roses, 20 years after his departure. In 2012 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of the band.
26- Keith Richards
Born on December 18, 1943, he is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. His fame has reached him as one of the founding members of the rock band The Rolling Stones.
Many of the songs he wrote that have been sung by Mick Jagger are on Rolling Stone's list of"500 Best Songs of All Time".
27- Brian May
Brian Harold May, born July 19, 1947, is a British musician, singer, songwriter and astrophysicist. He is known for being the lead guitar of the rock band Queen.
Along with lead singer Freddie Mercury and percussionist Roger Taylor, they founded the band in 1970. For their presentations they use a guitar built by the same that he calls"Red Special".
28- David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, born March 6, 1946. He is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He joined the progressive rock band Pink Floyd as guitarist and vocalist in 1968.
Following the departure of Roger Waters in 1985, Gilmour assumed the lead of the band. As soloist he has made 4 studio albums.
29- Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold beck, born June 24, 1944 is a British rock guitarist. He has been one of the three guitarists who have played with The Yardbirds, the other two being Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.
He has received the Grammy Award on 7 occasions and is part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for both his solo and group career.
30- Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, born January 26, 1955, is a Dutch and American musician, composer and producer. He is known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of American heavy rock band Van Halen. He is considered one of the greatest guitarists in the world.
31- Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss, born June 9, 1915 and died on August 13, 2009, was a guitarist of American jazz, country and blues music. He is also a composer, inventor and lutier.
He was one of the pioneers in the solid body electric guitar that gave way to the sound of Rock and Roll. Along with many honors, Paul is one of the few artists to have a permanent private exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray Vaughan, born October 3, 1954 and died on August 27, 1990, was an American musician, songwriter and producer. Although his career for the public was short, he is considered one of the most important electric guitarists in the history of music.
33- Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page, born January 9, 1944 is a British musician, songwriter and producer who is known for being the lead guitarist and founder of rock band Led Zeppelin.
He was also a member of the band The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968. He was selected as the second best guitarist in history according to Rolling Stone magazine.
34- Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, born March 30, 1945 is a British rock and blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the only artist to have been included three times in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: as a soloist, and as a member of the bands The Yardbirds and Cream.
He is generally referred to as one of the most influential guitarists of all time.
35- Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall Hendrix, born November 27, 1942 and died on September 18, 1970, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his public career lasted only four years, he is widely recognized as one of the most influential guitarists in the history of popular music.
His place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music.