In one of the more unsurprising poll results we’ve seen, Jimi Hendrix has been voted ‘the greatest guitarist of all time’ by Rolling Stone magazine.
Hendrix leads a list comprising all the usual suspects, with Tom Morello telling Rolling Stone Hendrix “…exploded our idea of what rock music could be: He manipulated the guitar, the whammy bar, the studio and the stage.”
A trio of British six-string impresarios immediately follow Hendrix, with Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page, and The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards completing the top 4.
Blues and rock n roll pioneers B.B. King and Chuck Berry are placed at #6 and #7 respectively, while The Who‘s Pete Townshend bookends the top 10.
The list was drawn up by a panel of experts including Lenny Kravitz, Eddie Van Halen, who himself was voted in at number eight, and Brian May, along with a selection of Rolling Stone’s senior writers and editors.
Top 10:
1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Eric Clapton
3. Jimmy Page
4. Keith Richards
5. Jeff Beck
6. B.B. King
7. Chuck Berry
8. Eddie Van Halen
9. Duane Allman
10. Pete Townshend
Jimi invented Metal and everything Rock knows about the guitar after 1970 came from his psychedelic twisting of what the instrument could do. I paid homage to Hendrix with a portrait called Purple Haze on the anniversary of his passing recently. You can see it at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/09/purple-haze-jimi-hendrix.html and tell me how the voodoo child’s music has influenced you!