I've been thinking of some new ideas for this music blog other reviewing albums and concerts I've been to and thought I'd write about something else. So today's subject is my Top 5 Favourite Guitarists! So rather than sit here and blabber on, let's get right into it. What I must add before I get into it is that these are my personal favourites so not everyone might agree with my lists but like I said; it's personal opinion.
1. Brian May
I have always been aware of Queen's legendary music catalogue ever since I was little and have memories of watching footage of a Queen concert from the 80s as a little girl. My admiration for Brian May as both a person and a guitar player has continually grown over the years and I was lucky enough as you have probably read in an earlier post to see Brian live in concert with Queen earlier this year. I was already a fan, but seeing him play live was just incredible! His guitar playing has a distinctive sound that I don't think I've ever heard anyone else's playing sound like.
Brian's iconic guitar known as "The Red Special" was built by both Brian and his father when he was just a 16 years old and in school using any material that he had available to him. According to my research it cost him just £8 to make which is pretty incredible to think about. Apparently, the neck of the guitar was made using the wood from a 100 year old (ish) fireplace mantel which earned the guitar one of its nicknames "The Fireplace". Another fact that you may not know is that rather than using a pick or a plectrum (whatever you prefer to call it) Brian opts for a sixpence coin and during quieter parts of a song uses his fingers to pick the guitar strings instead.
2. Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Buckingham, lead guitarist of Fleetwood Mac is another of my all-time favourite guitar players. Again, he has an extremely unique technique when it comes to playing guitar where he uses his fingers alone to pick the strings of his guitar. I recently read somewhere that Lindsey first developed this particular technique when he took to bed for a year, ill with mononucleosis just a short period of time before he and Sevie Nicks were due to move to LA to pursue a career in the music industry. I have linked a video below of Lindsey playing guitar to give you a taste of just how much of an incredible player he is.
3. Orianthi Panagaris
I have been a huge fan of Ori since 2009 when I saw her in Michael Jackson's This is It movie, I was about 10 years old at the time and was in complete and utter awe watching her play. Around that time I was given the opportunity to learn guitar at school and probably wouldn't have actually taken up the opportunity to learn guitar had it not been for Orianthi's influence. It was so cool to see such an amazing female guitarist and I wanted to be just like her, that is most definitely where my love for musical instruments began!
She can seriously shred a guitar like nobody's business-she'd put a lot of guys to shame with her playing! Over the time that I've been a fan of hers I've done my fair share of research and learnt a lot about her and apparently she left school at 15 to focus on her music career and release her first and it certainly paid off! Over the years she worked, performed and toured with music legends such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Alice Cooper, Dave Stewart, Carlos Santana, Steve Via and most recently, former lead guitarist of Bon Jovi who show toured the UK and Europe with last year and is also, currently recording an album with. During that time she's released her own solo albums Believe and Heaven in This Hell both of which are filled from start to finish with her incredible guitar riffs and solo!
I personally owe a huge thanks to Ori for her influence over the years and of course taking some time at one of her concerts last year to chat with me backstage. It was a memory that'll last a lifetime and definitely inspired the young musician in me!
4. Prince
Prince is probably best known for his massive success with his 1984 album Purple Rain and of course songs such as 1999, Raspberry Beret, Diamonds and Pearls, Kiss and Little Red Corvette. However, one thing that isn't acknowledged as often is his talent when it comes to playing guitar. There isn't much video footage of Prince on YouTube due to his own personal decisions. I have however, embedded one of the few videos that I came across to let you guys see one of his incredible guitar solos right before your very own eyes! Prepare to be blown away my friends!
5. Jimi Hendrix
Now, I'm pretty sure this guy would be on almost everyone's lists of favourite guitar players because he is by far one of the best guitarists to ever live in my opinion! Jimi was in a league of his own and to top his playing would be near impossible. Being left handed, Jimi used right handed guitars, turned them upside down and had them restrung to suit playing his guitar left handed. Jimi received his first guitar at the age of 15 as a gift from his father Al, costing him just $5. And thank goodness he did, because none of the incredible music and guitar solos that Jimi created during his lifetime would have exisisted and inspired so many music lovers out there!
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