I've seen @dreamrafa and @pechichemena post about their influences, so I thought I'd post some of mine.
I'm probably a bit older than them, so mine tend to go back a little further. I'm a big fan of the classic rock bands and it's a style I can aspire to play. In fact I have played songs by these guys over the years in various bands. I only got into my first proper band a few years back and had a few others, but none of them played gigs. It was all just rehearsal room jams.
I know these are some of the obvious candidates, but that's for good reasons.
Jimmy Page
Jimmy is my hero. His experience as a session player made him incredibly versatile. Led Zeppelin covered a wide range of music including blues, folk and epic orchestrated pieces. I've attempted many of their songs. I think just about every guitarist can play Stairway to Heaven to some extent, but it's fun to play. I tried to learn the solo a while back, but it's not easy. I was fortunate to see Page and Plant live when they played a lot of Zep. That's the nearest I got to seeing one of my favourite bands. It's just a shame that Jimmy doesn't play much these days. He, Plant and Jones did reform a few years back, but didn't take it any further.
Eric Clapton
Eric has influenced a lot of people. He immersed himself in the blues and was one of those who helped popularise it for a mass audience. He's had a lot of success with more pop-based music, but he keeps returning to blues. Blues is popular amongst musicians as it's basically a simple structure that you can play around with. A lot of the time you can use the standard pentatonic scale to solo to your heart's content, but it's open to more experimental playing too. This performance by Cream is a great example of that. The interaction between the three of them is magical. I have seen Clapton live, but I miss the energy of his early years.
Jimi Hendrix
Hendrix was the first real guitar hero. As well as being a stunning player he was a real showman. People have spent lifetimes trying to emulate what he did. He had complete mastery of his instrument and it's so sad that he died so young. Who knows what he could have gone on to do.
Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie has come up with so many great riffs. He was one of the first to use classical influences in rock. I saw Deep Purple in 1987 when it was still the classic line-up. Ritchie went off to do other projects, but he's been playing rock again lately.
Brian May
Brian has one of the most recognisable styles in rock. He really found his own voice early on. That's partly down to his unique guitar that he built himself, but also his way of playing. He did such cool things with harmonies. I saw Queen live twice and they were some of the best gigs I ever experienced.
There are many more I could have included in this list such as David Gilmour, Andy Summers, Tony Iommi and Billy Gibbons. They have all influenced what I want to play. I also admire players like Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert and Guthrie Govan, but a lot of what they play seems way beyond me.
All I can do as a player is to try and learn from the greats and find my own innovations. I don't expect to ever be a professional musician, but music is my hobby that gives me a lot of pleasure. I hope some of it is enjoyed by others too.
Rock on!
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I think you're missing the Eric video?
We share some favourites there as I'm also a huge fan of Jimmy, Eric, Jimi and May. I've avoided using the word influence there as I'm unsure how they've changed me...I need to work that out.
Lennon has though so he is definitely up there and also Slash. Both make me reflect back on periods of my life and maybe decisions I've made or ways I've behaved.
Fixed that. I think it depends a lot on what was around when you are growing up. We didn't have access to the internet, so it was what we heard on the radio or TV and whatever records we could get hold of. I only wish I'd played far more back then to build my skills.
Most or what I like now is what my dad listened to when I was a lad. I didn't really take to it until later life though. My sister was more of the music fan back then so I was mostly exposed to Aha, Michael Jackson and Madonna.
My parents were more into singers like Peggy Lee and Pat Boone, but then music was not a massive thing in our house. They did encourage us to play an instrument and I'm glad I kept it up. My sister was more into music than I was initially. It's only in my late teens that I really got into it.
This is a very nice list @steevc , actually I went to all of these guys in a backwards manner , In a sense of who did my heroes get their inspiration from ? You'll most likely end up with Hendrix , page , Clapton . At first I didn't get Hendrix that much , that wild aggressive playing I got it as noise. But after I got into his songs I discovered him as an amazing songwriter and then everything else made sense. I started digging into all these players. Brian May would definitely be in my top 10 , learning any one of his solos will teach you good phrasing and taste but since I cut it to 5 he was left out! Hahahaha thanks for the mention and sharing! Cheers.
These are some of the founders of rock as we know it. It's interesting to hear them talk about their influences. That is generally the old blues players, but you'll hear others mentions like Chuck Berry and Lonnie Donegan.
Nice List. These are definitely some of the best that have ever played. My list goes a little something like
As you can probably tell by the list, I love instrumental rock. I have a cover of Cliffs of Dover on my channel :D
You and I share very similar taste in guitarists @steevc.
The Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused video is so good in this post I watched it twice 😉
I'd also throw in Zakk Wylde & Randi Rhodes for good measure and who could forget Stevie Ray Vaughan in a list of guitar greats? 🎸
SRV is great too. I've just not listened to those other guys enough to form an opinion, but I hear them mentioned a lot, especially Randy.
That's my Heavy Metal side coming out there with Zakk & Randi.
I agree with @stav about not referring to them as influences though as I don't play anything like the guitarists I admire, well I don't think I do. Inspiration for sure, but I have no idea who or what my actual influences really are.
My guess it was actually the few teachers at my school that could play guitar when I was young and local guitarists I have grown up watching that are probably my biggest influences, but they weren't necessarily my inspiration. If that makes sense?
BTW: Cool selection for the Clapton clip. 😉😉
They influenced me to keep playing guitar. I know I can't emulate them totally, but I can learn from them. I understand what you are saying.
What do you think of Eddie van Halen?
Also certainly worth mentioning.
I know he's influenced a lot of people, but I just never listened to him as much.
At work now but interested in what you can recommend for me. Do you think I will be able to learn to play guitar from home or do I need to find myself a dedicated teacher?
If starting from scratch a teacher can be useful to get started. They can help you avoid bad habits. That said, I'm sure a lot of people do learn purely online. At least try to find local people you can play with.
That's a strong bunch! Nice vintage selection :) My favorite guitarists from the ones you've mentioned are both outside your top five - Vai and Satriani.
Those guys are amazing, but they came along later for me and they just seem to be from another planet.
Oh yeah, that's true. But I do tend to prefer the shredders and especially the ones creating music that's more extreme. I might be a keyboard player, but I can probably lits more guitarist that have influenced my playing style than keyboardists. I wonder what you think of and have you heard of guys like Michael Amott, Alexi Laiho and Jeff Loomis.
I know some of the names, but that's about it. I can admire the skills of some shredders, but may not be into the music.
That happens to me a lot, too. After all music is not a race or a skills competition - it's an art form. And if the music itself is lacking (or not on your personal frequency so to say), than speed and technique can't really make up for it. My favorite type of shredders are the ones who put their skill in service of the actual music instead of just shredding aimlessly.
Awesome list! Thanks for sharing! I was greatful to see Clapton in the 90s. Wonderful experience.
Music is my second best hobby, Poetry is at the top of list. I am fond of semi-classical music and i did not know these names before and i will check them now on youtube.
Love when I hear strings
wow thats nice, even i alos love guitar , and planning this year to learn....:-)
welcome to steemit , upvoted you will regularly do also please upvote me and follow @adityajainxds
Please do not beg for votes. Earn them with good comments and posts. Good luck with your guitar journey. BTW I've been on Steemit for a long time :)
Wow!!! i just upvoted and followed you...right sir @steevc, because quality post brings quality reward, and i so love hearing the strings, its has a way of speaking to me... i love you guys are doing i m a singer and that what my blog is for, it will be of great privilege if you visit my blog sometime, and once again good work... thanks.
they are shooting with notes! all of which I like very much. It is good to remember again. Thank you for reminding
wow cool!!
Gz! :)
What?
on your nice vote you received
oh yeah,,,amazing.My hobbies in life would be a good guitarist, but I could not be. . I am very dear to the music, so I respect all artists