Listeners of BBC Radio 2 voted Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love the greatest guitar riff of all time. The winner topped a shortlist of 100 classic rock guitar riffs put together by a panel of Radio 2 and 6 Music DJs, critics and record producers.
Guns ‘N’ Roses‘ Sweet Child O’ Mine was second in the poll, with Back In Black (AC/DC) and Smoke On The Water (Deep Purple) the next most popular.
Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page said he was “knocked out” by winning the vote.
“I wanted a riff that really moved, that people would really get, and would bring a smile to their faces, but when I played it with the band, it really went into overdrive,” he said.
“There was this intent to have this riff and the movement of it, so it was menacing as well as quite sort of caressing.”
The combined talents of Page, Robert Plant and John Bonham sent the riff into “overdrive”, Page said
“Whole Lotta Love is one of the most important guitar riffs of the 20th century,” said record producer and panellist Steve Levine. “The moment you hear literally two notes of it, you know exactly what it is.”
Top 10 guitar riffs
Source: BBC Radio 2
Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin
Sweet Child O’Mine – Guns ‘N’ Roses
Back in Black – AC/DC
Smoke On The Water – Deep Purple
Layla – Derek and The Dominoes
How Soon Is Now? – The Smiths
Down Down- Status Quo
Money For Nothing – Dire Straits
You Really Got Me – The Kinks
Money – Pink Floyd
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