101 Great Unsung Guitar Heroes

Riaan-Combrink

Found a really intersting post in a forum regarding 101 unsung guitar heroes. I am unfamiliar with most, although I recognise many of their collaborations and connections as discussed by the author in the text.

Gonna copy the link right now so I don't forget again!

http://www.guitarzone.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=182755

Some of these guys are serious dudes; eg.
Guitar Slim
He paid hookers by the week, drank mineral oil to “lubricate” his voice, dyed his hair blue, and performed with a 150' guitar cable in the ’50s—often while riding on the shoulders of Johnny “Guitar” Watson.

Some of those who I am familiar with are Robbie Blunt, Tommy Bolin and Mike Oldfield. Even our own RSA Ray Phiri gets a mention via his seminal contributions to Simon's Graceland record.

PS: If you don't know Robbie Blunt, check out his work with Robert Plant here (click on "listen to samples' tab on the page, and click on 'Big Log' and 'In the mood" when the media page opens). Great tone and clean style IMO.
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/Principle-of-Moments/Robert-Plant/e/081227415921/?itm=4

I've noticed some of you have eclectic tastes and encyclopedic players' knowledge, so see who else you recognise ...

Riaan C

Riaan-Combrink

Here's the link to the actual magazine article, not the forum discussion. Formatted better and easier to read.

Cheers

Riaan C

http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/101-forgotten-greats/feb-07/27696

AlanRatcliffe

Eep! I only knew 39 of them, although some I had forgotten about until reminded by the article. Some aren't all that obscure, like Lenny Breau, Jan Akkerman, Bumblefoot, Brett Garsed, Guthrie Govan, Wayne Krantz, Shawn Lane, Lonnie Mack, Emily Remler, etc. - or is it just me?

Guitar Slim I know because he was one of Zappa's heroes.

Steve Hillage? LOL - I was listening to Gong yesterday.

Jake E. Lee - my favourite Ozzie guitarist.

Rodrigo y Gabriela? Unknown? No...

Renesongs

Yeah some of these unsung heroes have even been mentioned before in this forum Ron Thal, Shawn Lane Jan Akkerman. Mickey Baker is a name I know only to well. When I was trying to do the serious stuff you know, wear shades and a beret, play jazz guitar grow a goatee whatever... there was this dog-eared book doing that rounds by Mickey Baker called guitar methods Volume one, or something like - That's where you got to learn stuff like Major seventh chords and the dreaded tritone substitution. aaaaahh ☹

AlanRatcliffe

When I was trying to do the serious stuff you know, wear shades and a beret, play jazz guitar grow a goatee whatever...

...read beat poetry... ?

Riaan-Combrink

Renesongs wrote: When I was trying to do the serious stuff you know, wear shades and a beret, play jazz guitar grow a goatee whatever...

Ginsberg, Kerouac, Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, perhaps???

Renesongs

Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsburg, Tom Wolf, Ken Kesey, Robert Persig, William S. Burroughs, Gregory Corso - yeah they were the guys that fried my brain a bit

Riaan-Combrink

Cool trivia is that the band "Steely Dan" took their name from a steam-powered di&%o in Burrough's The Naked Lunch!! Steely Dan III from Yokohama, in fact ...

I don't know Corso, so I'll check that out.