Geez, even Jimi knew Johnny ruled.
By Steve Newton
Back in September of 2010 Gibson.com posted what it felt were the 50 greatest guitar solos of all time, and boy did they ever blow it.
Most conspicuous by his absence is Texas blues-rock legend Johnny Winter. I for one am getting sick and tired of so-called experts ignoring the huge cache of stunning solos the albino picker has layed down over the years.
They got all sidetracked giving four picks each to Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, and three each to Eric Clapton and Eddie Van Halen, and didn’t bother doling even one out to Winter. Have they not heard him rip it up on “Still Alive and Well”, “Rock Me Baby”, or “Can’t You Feel It”?
Other highly regarded guitar heroes who got undeservedly shut out include: Carlos Santana, Mick Ronson, Peter Green, Steve Marriott, Gary Moore, Robin Trower, Joe Satriani, John Fogerty, Tony Iommi, Brian Setzer, Michael Schenker, Steve Howe, Alvin Lee, Buck Dharma, Buddy Guy, and Billy Gibbons.
Here’s Gibson.com’s complete list, followed by further analysis and a few picks of my own.
1. “Stairway to Heaven”, Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
2. “Eruption”, Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
3. “All Along the Watchtower”, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
4. “Hotel California”, Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)
5. “Comfortably Numb”, Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
6. “Free Bird”, Lynyrd Skynyrd (Gary Rossington, Allen Collins)
7. “Layla”, Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Duane Allman)
8. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, The Beatles (Eric Clapton)
9. “Johnny B. Goode”, Chuck Berry
10. “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Queen (Brian May)
11. “Crazy Train”, Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)
12. “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers”, Jeff Beck
13. “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
14. “Hot for Teacher”, Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
15. “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
16. “November Rain”, Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
17. “Mr. Crowley”, Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)
18. “Whole Lotta Rosie”, AC/DC (Angus Young)
19. “Like a Hurricane”, Neil Young and Crazy Horse
20. “Sultans of Swing”, Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)
21. “Texas Flood”, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
22. “One”, Metallica (Kirk Hammett)
23. “Cortez the Killer”, Neil Young and Crazy Horse
24. “Rock Around the Clock”, Bill Haley and His Comets (Danny Cedrone)
25. “Sweet Jane” (live), Lou Reed (Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner)
26. “Purple Rain”, Prince and the Revolution (Prince)
27. “Heartbreaker”, Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
28. “Jessica”, Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts)
29. “Machine Gun”, Jimi Hendrix
30. “Crossroads”, Cream (Eric Clapton)
31. “Time”, Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
32. “Are You Experienced”, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
33. “Race with the Devil”, Gene Vincent (Cliff Gallup)
34. “Don’t Believe a Word”, Thin Lizzy (Brian Robertson)
35. “Purple Haze”, The Jimi Hendrix Experience
36. “Besame Mucho”, Wes Montgomery
37. “Sympathy for the Devil”, The Rolling Stones (Keith Richards)
38. “Blue Sky”, Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
39. “My Sharona”, The Knack (Berton Averre)
40. “Marquee Moon”, Television (Tom Verlaine)
41. “Hitch a Ride”, Boston (Tom Scholz)
42. “The End”, The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon)
43. “Whole Lotta Love”, Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
44. “Train Kept A-Rollin’” (live), Aerosmith (Joe Perry)
45. “Highway Star”, Deep Purple (Ritchie Blackmore)
46. “Dirt”, The Stooges (Ron Asheton)
47. “Off the Handle”, Rory Gallagher
48. “The Great Curve”, Talking Heads (Adrian Belew)
49. “The Messiah Will Come Again”, Roy Buchanan
50. “Beat It”, Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen)
It was great to see Jeff Beck‘s version of Stevie Wonder’s “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers” up there, as well as the tune that inspired it, Roy Buchanan‘s “The Messiah Will Come Again”. I’m also glad that Rory Gallagher snuck in there at number 47 with “Off the Handle”, although his “Tattooed Lady” might have been a better choice.
Skynyrd‘s “Free Bird” was an obvious pick, but its companion piece by the Outlaws, “Green Grass & High Tides”, should have also made the cut. And Eddie Van Halen definitely kicks it on “Hot For Teacher”, but I’ll take his impassioned solos on “I’ll Wait” and “Little Dreamer” any day.
Brian Robertson’s solo on Thin Lizzy‘s “Don’t Believe a Word” is killer, but there’s twice as many wicked guitar wipeouts on Lizzy’s “Cowboy Song”. And what’s up with Boston’s “Hitch a Ride”? Isn’t Tom Scholz’s solo on “More than a Feeling” that band’s ultimate six-string statement?
Anyway, it’s easy to criticize a survey like this, so let’s keep doing it.
Here’s 10 guitar solos from some fairly well-known songs that should have been on the Top 50.
1. “Once Bitten Twice Shy“, Ian Hunter (Mick Ronson)
2. “Get Outta Denver,” Bob Seger (Jim McCarty)
3. “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers”, ZZ Top (Billy Gibbons)
4. “Burnin’ For You“, Blue Oyster Cult (Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser)
5. “Hurry Sundown,” the Outlaws (Hughie Thomasson)
6. “Handle Me With Care”, the Traveling Wilburys (George Harrison)
7. “Hocus Pocus”, Focus (Jan Akkerman)
8. “Stone Cold Sober“, Rod Stewart (Steve Cropper)
9 “Romeo and the Lonely Girl“, Thin Lizzy (Scott Gorham)
10. “I Won’t Back Down”, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Mike Campbell)
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