Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) was an American rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer who released three 1967–68 albums on Track–Reprise with his London-based power-trio The Experience, followed by the 1970 live release Band of Gypsys. Early Life He was born Johnny Allen Hendrix on November 27, 1942, in Seattle, to James Allen “Al” Hendrix (1991–2002) and […]
Eric Clapton (born March 30, 1945) is an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter who initially courted fame as the original soloist in the R&B/beat combo The Yardbirds. He played with the band between late 1963 and early 1965 before handing the slot to fellow rising star Jeff Beck. In 1966, Clapton was the featured performer […]
Jan Akkerman (born Dec. 24, 1946) is a Dutch guitarist who achieved global renown as a member of Focus between 1969 and 1976. In a career that has spanned half a century, he has released more than 25 solo albums. Discography: Talent for Sale (1968) Profile (1972) Tabernakel (1973) Eli (1976 • Jan Akkerman & […]
Gary Moore (April 4, 1952 — Feb. 6, 2011) was an Irish blues-rock/hard-rock/jazz-rock guitarist with a musical career that spanned more than 40 years. He first emerged as a member of the Limerick rock combo Granny’s Intention, which issued the album Honest Injun on Deram in 1969. This was followed by two albums with blues-rockers […]
Rory Gallagher (March 2, 1948 — June 14, 1995) was an Irish blues-rock/hard-rock guitarist who was active between the late 1960s and early ’90s. He first emerged as the frontman of Cork power-trio Taste, which issued two albums circa 1969/70. He launched his solo career with back-to-back albums on Atco/Polydor in 1971. His popularity peaked […]
Sonny Sharrock (Aug. 27, 1940 — May 25, 1994) was an American avant-jazz guitarist from Ossining, N.Y. Discography: Black Woman (1969) Monkey-Pockie-Boo (1970) Green Line (1971 • Steve Marcus, Sonny Sharrock, Miroslav Vitous & Daniel Humair) Paradise (1975 • Sonny & Linda Sharrock) Dance With Me Montana (1986 • Sonny Sharrock Trio) Guitar (1986) Seize […]
George Benson (March 22, 1943) is an American jazz-funk guitarist and singer from Pittsburgh. Discography: The New Boss Guitar of George Benson With The Brother Jack McDuff Quartet (1964) It’s Uptown (1966 • The George Benson Quartet) The George Benson Cookbook (1967 • The George Benson Quartet) Giblet Gravy (1968) Shape of Things to Come […]
Pat Metheny (born Aug. 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist from Kansas City, Mo., who released 13 group and solo albums on ECM between 1976 and 1984, followed by another round of albums on Geffen during the late 1980s and early ’90s. Discography: Jaco Pastorius / Pat Metheny / Bruce Ditmas / Paul Bley […]
Santana are an American Latin-jazz/rock band from San Francisco, formed in 1966 by guitarist Carlos Santana. Members: Carlos Santana (guitar, vocals), Gregg Rolie (keyboards, vocals, 1966-72), Rod Harper (drums, 1966-67), Gus Rodriguez (bass, 1966-67), Michael Carabello (congas, 1966-67, 1969-71), Tom Frazier (guitar, 1966-67), Bob “Doc” Livingston (drums, 1967-69), David Brown (bass, 1967-71, 1974-76), Marcus Malone […]
Steve Khan (born April 28, 1947) is an American jazz guitarist from N.Y.C. Discography: Tightrope (1977) The Blue Man (1978) Arrows (1979) Evidence (1980) Eyewitness (1981) Modern Times / Blades (1982) Casa Loco (1983) Helping Hand (1987) Local Color (1987 • Steve Khan & Rob Mounsey) Public Access (1989) Let’s Call This (1991)
Pat Martino — aka Pat Azzara (born Aug. 25, 1944) — is an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia. Discography: El Hombre (1967) Strings! (1967) Baiyina (The Clear Evidence) (1968) East! (1968) Desperado (1970) The Visit! (1972) Live! (1973) Consciousness (1974) Joyous Lake (1976) Starbright (1976) We’ll Be Together Again (1976) Exit (1977) The Return (1987)
Robben Ford (born Dec. 16, 1951) is an American jazz and blues guitarist from Woodlake, Calif. Discography: Schizophonic (1976) The Inside Story (1979) Love’s a Heartache (1983) Standing on the Outside (1983 • The Kazu Matsui Project) Talk to Your Daughter (1988)
Larry Coryell (April 2, 1943 — Feb. 19, 2017) was an American guitarist who emerged in the late-1960s jazz-rock-psych combo The Free Spirits. During the mid-1970s, he led the jazz-rock supergroup The Eleventh House, cutting the albums Introducing, Level One, and Aspects. He also partook in Wolfgang Dauner’s Et Cetera with Colosseum drummer Jon Hiseman, […]
Al Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist who emerged in the jazz-rock supergroup Return to Forever, playing on the 1974–76 albums Where Have I Known You Before, No Mystery, and Romantic Warrior. As a solo artist, he’s issued more than 40 albums, starting with the 1976/77 Columbia titles Land of the […]
Lee Ritenour (born Jan. 11, 1952) is an American jazz/pop session guitarist and recording artist from Los Angeles. Discography: First Course (1976) Captain Fingers (1977) Gentle Thoughts (1977) Concierto de Aranjuez (1978 • Aranjuez) Friendship (1978) Sugar Loaf Express (1978) The Captain’s Journey (1978) Feel the Night (1979) Rio (1979) Rit (1981) Rit/2 (1982) On […]
Peter Banks (1947–2013) was an English rock guitarist who co-founded Yes and played on their first two albums: Yes (1969) and Time and a Word (1970). He then formed Flash, which released the 1972/73 albums Flash, In the Can, and Out of Our Hands on Sovereign. In 1973, he collaborated with Focus guitarist Jan Akkerman […]
Adrian Belew — aka Robert Steven Belew (born Dec. 23, 1949) — is an American art-rock guitarist and composer from Covington, Ken., who emerged in the late 1970s as a backing player for David Bowie (Stage, Lodger) and Frank Zappa (Sheik Yerbouti). After his involvement in the Talking Heads album Remain in Light and related […]
John McLaughlin (born Jan. 4, 1942) is an English jazz-rock guitarist from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, active on the international jazz scene since the late 1960s. In 1969, he joined Tony Williams Lifetime for three albums and also appeared on the sessions for Miles Davis‘ seminal electrification releases In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew (1970). […]
Jeff Beck (1944–2023) was an English rock guitarist who emerged as the lead soloist in the Yardbirds during the mid-1960s. In 1968, he formed the first edition of the Jeff Beck Group with vocalist Rod Stewart and bassist Ron Wood, releasing two albums on Columbia in 1968 and 1969. In 1971, Beck formed a second […]
Kazumi Watanabe — 渡辺香津美 (born Oct. 14, 1953) — is a Japanese jazz-rock guitarist who has been active since the early 1970s, recording his first album at age 17 for Express in 1971. Between 1975 and 1996, he released one-to-two albums per year on Better Days, DOMO, and other labels. During the early 1980s, he […]
Terje Rypdal (born Aug. 23, 1947) is a Norwegian jazz-rock guitarist who’s released more than 25 albums since 1968 in solo and combo form, mostly on ECM. Background and Early Bands Rypdal was born in Oslo, Norway, the son of a composer and orchestra leader. As a child, he studied classical piano and trumpet. In […]
Gordon Giltrap (born April 6, 1948) is an English classical guitarist and composer from Brenchley, Kent, who released two albums on Transatlantic Records circa 1968/69, followed by a third on MCA in 1971, during which time he also recorded two albums with the folk combo Accolade. He gained newfound popularity with a trio of albums […]
Grant Green (June 6, 1935 — Jan. 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer from St. Louis, Mo., who released more than 20 albums on Blue Note between 1961 and his death in 1979 at age 43. Discography: Grant’s First Stand (1961) Green Street (1961) Grantstand (1962) Sunday Mornin’ (1962) The Latin Bit […]
Fred Frith (Feb. 17, 1949) is an English avant-rock/improv guitarist and composer from Heathfield who gained international cult renown as a member of Henry Cow, recording five studio albums with the band between 1973 and 1978. Over the following three-year period, he issued of trio of albums with Cow-spinoff The Art Bears. As a solo […]
Pat Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and bandleader who released eight albums and a live disc on Polydor between 1976 and 1984. He was born Patrick Henry Travers in Toronto, Ontario, where he took up guitar at age 12. In nearby Ottawa, he saw an early concert by Jimi Hendrix. […]
Steve Hillage is an English guitarist, composer, and producer from London who first recorded under the pseudonym Simon Sasparella in psych-rockers Arzachel, the starting vehicle of keyboardist Dave Stewart (Egg, Hatfield & the North). The two re-teamed in Khan (with bassist Nicholas Greenwood) for the 1972 Deram release Space Shanty. In 1973, Hillage backed Kevin […]
Steve Hackett is an English classical/rock guitarist with a career in music that dates back to 1970. He rose to prominence as a member of Genesis between 1971 and 1977, during which time he played on six of the band’s studio albums: Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, The Lamb Lies Down on […]
Robin Trower (born March 9, 1945) is an English rock/blues guitarist with a musical career that dates back to the early 1960s. He first rose to prominence as a member of Procol Harum, with whom he played from 1967 to 1971. He made his solo debut with the 1973 release Twice Removed from Yesterday and […]
Robert Fripp (born May 16, 1946) is an English guitarist and composer from Wimborne Minster, Dorset, who first recorded in the psych-pop trio Giles, Giles and Fripp. The band released one album in 1968 before evolving into King Crimson, which Fripp led through multiple iterations between 1969 and 1974 and again between 1981 and 1984. […]
Ray Russell (born April 4, 1947) is an English jazz-rock guitarist from Islington who released two albums with his namesake quartet on CBS in 1968 and 1969. During the early 1970s, he appeared on albums by Bob Downs, Michael Gibbs, and Bill Fay amid a two-album stint with the Scottish brass-rock ensemble Rock Workshop. Between […]
Steve Howe (born April 8, 1947) is an English guitarist best known for his recurrent tenures in Yes and Asia. His first recorded stints were in the mid-’60s R&B/beat groups The Syndicats and The In Crowd. The latter morphed into Tomorrow, a seminal psych act that issued two singles and a 1968 self-titled album. After […]
Peter Green (born Oct. 29, 1946) is an English blues-rock guitarist from Bethnal Green who served as Eric Clapton’s successor in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, recording one album with the band in 1967 before departing with bassist John McVie to co-found Fleetwood Mac that same year. The band recorded four proper albums and several standalone singles […]
Pete Townshend (born May 19, 1945) is an English musician, composer, and singer who rose to global prominence as the guitarist and songwriter for The Who, which released 10 studio albums between 1965 and 1982. His first proper solo album, Who Came First, appeared on Track Records in 1972. As the Who’s activities became more […]
Allan Holdsworth (Aug. 6, 1946 — April 16, 2017) was an English guitarist from Bradford, West Yorkshire, who emerged in the jazz-psych band ‘Igginbottom in the late 1960s. During the 1970s, his profile rose with stints in Nucleus, Tempest, Gong, Soft Machine, UK, and Bruford. As a solo artist, he released the album Velvet Darkness […]
Eddie Hazel (April 10, 1950 — Dec. 23, 1992) was an American guitarist from Brooklyn who played in the bands Funkadelic and Parliament during the 1970s as well as the collective offshoot P-Funk All Stars during the 1980s. As a solo artist, he released the album Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs on Warner Bros. in […]
Karl Ratzer is an Austrian guitarist who cut a 1972 album with the post-psych band Gipsy Love. He made numerous solo albums of instrumental jazz-rock, starting with the 1978–79 Vanguard titles In Search of the Ghost and Street Talk. Discography: In Search of the Ghost (1978) Finger Prints (1979) Street Talk (1979) Dancing on a […]
