http://www.timeslive.co.za/entertainment/music/2011/11/23/jimi-named-rolling-stone-s-top-guitarist
Legendary musician Jimi Hendrix was named the greatest guitar player in history by Rolling Stone magazine.
The list was compiled by a panel of music experts and top guitar players.
“Jimi Hendrix exploded our idea of what rock music could be: He manipulated the guitar, the whammy bar, the studio and the stage,” said Grammy-winning guitarist Tom Morello in the magazine, citing Hendrix’s Purple Haze and The Star-Spangled Banner as key tracks.
Hendrix is joined by the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Keith Richards, Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend among the top 10, in a list laden with rock ‘n’ roll icons spanning decades.
The panel of experts recruited to vote for their favorite guitar players included musicians such as Lenny Kravitz, Eddie Van Halen (who was voted in at number eight), Brian May and Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys, along with a selection of Rolling Stone’s senior writers and editors.
The experts also weighed in on their favorites, with Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready calling Eddie Van Halen “a master of riffs” and Joe Perry praising Jimmy Page’s “vision of how to transcend the stereotypes of what the guitar can do”.
The full list will be featured in a special issue with four special covers of Van Halen, Clapton, Hendrix and Page, and will be on newsstands and online at www.rollingstone.com on Friday. Rolling Stone’s top 10 greatest guitarists follow:
Jimi Hendrix
Eric Clapton (The Yardbirds, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Derek and the Dominos)
Jimmy Page (The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin)
Keith Richards (Rolling Stones)
Jeff Beck (The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck Band)
B.B. King
Chuck Berry
Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen)
Duane Allman (The Allman Brothers Band)
Pete Townshend (The Who)
Some of the guitarists who didn't make the cut are Kirk Hammett from Metallica, Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, Carlos Santana, Johnny Ramone of The Ramones, Jack White of The White Stripes and John Frusciante, formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
