Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) was an American rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer who made the 1967–68 Track/Reprise albums Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland with his London-based power trio The Experience. Months after his 1970 live release Band of Gypsys, Hendrix died at age 27. Lauded in his lifetime as a […]
Santana are an American Latin-rock jam band from San Francisco, formed in 1966 by guitarist Carlos Santana. Their self-titled debut, released after a breakout appearance at Woodstock, fused sustained electric solos with syncopated hand percussion and thick organ layers by Gregg Rolie. Abraxas (1970) added expanded textures, drawing from Afro-Cuban rhythms and modal frameworks. The […]
Rory Gallagher (March 2, 1948 — June 14, 1995) was an Irish blues-rock and hard-rock guitarist active from the late 1960s to the early ’90s. He first gained prominence as the frontman for the Cork power-trio Taste, which released two albums in 1969 and 1970. Launching his solo career in 1971, he issued four albums […]
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 […]
Pat Metheny is an American jazz guitarist who released thirteen group and solo albums on ECM (1976–1984), followed by titles on Geffen. His best-known cuts include the 1978 fusion staple “Phase Dance,” the 1985 soundtrack ballad “This Is Not America” (a collaboration with David Bowie), and the 1989 smooth-jazz number “Slip Away.” Background He was […]
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 […]
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 […]
George Benson (March 22, 1943) is an American jazz-funk guitarist and singer from Pittsburgh. He recorded small-group jazz and orchestrated CTI albums before a run of vocal-led Warner Bros. releases. Benson first recorded as a child and joined organist Jack McDuff, then debuted as a bandleader in 1964 on Prestige. Between 1976 and 1983, Benson […]
Al Di Meola 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 Midnight Sun and Elegant […]
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 […]
Kazumi Watanabe — 渡辺香津美 (born Oct. 14, 1953) — is a Japanese jazz-rock guitarist who cut his first album in 1971 at age 17. Between 1975 and 1996, he released albums biannually on Better Days, DOMO, and Gramavision. During the early 1980s, he led the namesake Kazumi Band for two albums. He also backed Ryuichi […]
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 […]
Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian jazz-rock guitarist who’s released more than 25 albums since 1968 in solo and combo form, mostly on ECM. He gained jazz world plaudits in the late 1960s playing with Jan Garbarek and the Arild Andersen–Jon Christensen rhythm section. His early work includes Sart (1971) with Garbarek and What Comes After […]
John Abercrombie (Dec. 16, 1944 — Aug. 22, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist who played in the supergroups Dreams and Atmospheres. In 1975, he debuted as a bandleader with the ECM release Timeless. His output spans jazz-rock, free-form, post-bop, and solo unaccompanied sets. Background John Abercrombie was born on December 16, 1944, in Port […]
Rick Derringer (August 5, 1947 — May 26, 2025) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer famed for his 1973 evergreen “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo.” He originated in Sixties pop-rockers The McCoys of “Hang On Sloopy” fame. After stints with Johnny and Edgar Winter, he launched a solo career interspersed with albums by […]
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 […]
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 […]
Fred Frith is an English avant-garde multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser who gained international cult renown as a member of Henry Cow, which made three studio albums and two collaborative discs with Slapp Happy. They instigated the UK/Euro Rock In Opposition network but disbanded over musical differences that spawned the Art Bears. As a solo artist, […]
Pat Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and bandleader who released eight albums and a live disc between 1976 and 1984 on Polydor. His popularity peaked with the 1977/78 albums Makin’ Magic, Putting It Straight, and Heat in the Street, recorded with input by Glenn Hughes (Trapeze, Deep Purple), Pat Thrall […]
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, […]
Trevor Rabin (born Jan. 13, 1954) is a South African-born/U.S.-naturalized guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer who first emerged in the Johannesburg art-rock/pop band Rabbitt, which he joined in 1972 at age eighteen. Rabbitt scored locally with the chart-topping symphonic-ballad “Charlie” and the album Boys Will Be Boys!, which Rabin wrote, produced, arranged, and largely performed. […]
Sonny Sharrock (Aug. 27, 1940 — May 25, 1994) was an American avant-jazz guitarist, active for twenty-five years on the New York free-jazz scene. He started in the late-1960s beside saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, flutist Herbie Mann, and reedist Byard Lancaster. He cut Black Woman in 1969 with his wife Linda Sharrock, followed with Monkey-Pockie-Boo and […]
Phil Manzanera is an English musician, songwriter, and producer who emerged as the guitarist of Roxy Music. Between 1972 and 1982, he recorded eight studio albums with the band. Pre-fame, he played in Quiet Sun, which reformed for the 1975 album Mainstream. In 1976, he brought Kiki art-rockers Split Enz to the UK and produced […]
Joe Walsh (born Nov. 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter from Wichita, Kan., who emerged at the turn of the 1970s in hard-rockers the James Gang, appearing on the albums Yer’ Album, Rides Again, and Thirds. In 1972, he debuted as a solo artist with the ABC Dunhill release Barnstorm, named for […]
Pat Martino (1944–2021) was an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia. He first recorded behind saxophonist Willis Jackson on multiple mid-Sixties titles on Prestige Records, which issued his first five solo albums between 1967 and 1970. After his 1972 Cobblestone release The Visit!, Martino cut two albums for Muse Records and switched from post-bop to jazz […]
Peter Green (Oct. 29, 1946 – July 25, 2020) was 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 […]
Adrian Belew 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 side projects, Belew joined the reformed King Crimson for their […]
Gordon Giltrap (born April 6, 1948) is an English classical guitarist and composer who released two 1968/69 albums on Transatlantic Records, followed by a one-album stint with Accolade and the 1971 MCA release A Testament of Time. He achieved UK fame with “Heartsong” and the 1976–78 classical-pop albums Visionary, Perilous Journey, and Fear of the […]
Eric Clapton (born March 30, 1945) is an English guitarist, singer, and songwriter who emerged as the original soloist in the R&B/beat combo The Yardbirds. He played on their first two singles and 1964 Five Live Yardbirds LP, then cleared for fellow rising star Jeff Beck. In 1966, Clapton featured on the first album by […]
Jan Akkerman (born Dec. 24, 1946) is a Dutch guitarist who achieved global renown as a member of Focus. He first recorded instrumental rock in Johnny & His Cellar Rockers, which morphed into The Hunters, a Nederbeat act that scored a 1966 hit with “Russian Spy and I.” His solo debut, Talent for Sale, appeared […]
Steve Khan (born April 28, 1947) is an American jazz guitarist and composer from Los Angeles who established his career in New York during the 1970s. He recorded with the Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Bob James, Freddie Hubbard, Hubert Laws, and Grover Washington Jr. before Columbia issued his 1977 solo debut, Tightrope. Khan followed with The […]
Robben Ford is an American jazz and blues guitarist whose career spans work with Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, George Harrison, and Tom Scott. He formed the group that became the Yellowjackets around the sessions for his 1979 album The Inside Story and remained closely associated with the band through its early development. Ford later established […]
Lee Ritenour (born Jan. 11, 1952) is an American jazz/pop session guitarist and recording artist from Los Angeles. He launched a prolific solo career with First Course in 1976 and recorded extensively with recurring collaborators Eric Tagg, Dave Grusin, and Harvey Mason before joining Fourplay in the early 1990s. The Tagg-sung “Is It You?” reached […]
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 […]
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). […]
Ryo Kawasaki — 川崎燎 (Feb. 25, 1947) — is a Japanese jazz-rock guitarist who released the album Juice on RCA in 1976, followed by a pair of titles on East Wind and a further round of discs on assorted labels over the ensuing seven-year period. His emergence as a solo artist coincided with a two-album […]
Masayoshi Takanaka — 高中正義 (March 27, 1953) — is a Japanese guitarist and composer who emerged in the band Flied Egg during the early 1970s, after which he joined the Sadistic Mika Band for the balance of the decade. Between 1976 and 1984, he released 15 albums on Kitty Records, followed by another round of […]
Kyoji Yamamoto — 山本恭司 (March 23, 1956) — is a Japanese guitarist, best known as the founder and mainstay of hard-rockers Bow Wow, active fifteen years from 1975, during which time he appeared on albums by Romy, Ann Lewis, Yuhki Nakajima, and Munetaka Higuchi. As a solo artist, Yamamoto made the 1980 album Horizon on […]
Kiyoshi Sugimoto — 杉本喜代志 (Feb. 3, 1942) — is a Japanese jazz-rock guitarist who co-headed five albums between 1968 and 1971 and Nippon Columbia, culminating with two quartet/sextet titles and the 1972–75 albums Babylonia Wind, Guitar Method, and Our Time. He returned with the 1978 Express jazz-funk album L.A. Master and the 1981 Better Days […]
Akira Wada (born 1956) is a Japanese guitarist best known for his work with jazz-rockers Prism. Between 1981 and 1984, he released a string of solo and collaborative albums on Warner, Moon, and TDK. Background Akira Wada was born on August 26, 1956, in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. His father listened to classical music, while his […]
Grant Green (June 6, 1935 — Jan. 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer from who released more than 20 albums on Blue Note between 1961 and his death in 1979 at age 43. Background Grant Green was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He received early guitar instructions from his father, […]
Gary Boyle (born Nov. 24, 1941) is a English-Indian guitarist who emerged in Brian Auger & the Trinity. Between 1971 and 1975, he played on albums by Mike Westbrook, Keith Tippett, Ann Odell, Lynsey De Paul, and Stomu Yamash’ta‘s East Wind. Concurrently, he formed the jazz-rock band Isotope, which cut three 1974–76 albums on Gull […]
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 who emerged as a quartet leader with two albums in 1968/69 on CBS. 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 1972 and 1975, […]
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 […]
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 1977 album Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs on Warner Bros. […]
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. Background Karl Alfred Ratzer was born July 4, 1950, in Vienna, Austria. His father, Karl Stojka, […]
