Yes. At the time, unless you followed the blues, most of the 50s guys like Buddy and Chuck had sort of disappeared. Even Elvis. If you had older brothers and sisters maybe they had old records. But Meet the Beatles was the first album I bought myself.
In Britain, Brian May was interviewed on a children's TV show called Magpie back in the early 1970s. He introduced his home-made guitar, his rig and his six-pence plectrum. It was the coolest five minutes of TV in the history of the cathode ray tube, and left a generation of kids like me determined to get a guitar and start playing!
Honorable mention to Stevie Ray Vaughan, maybe his appearance on Austin City Limits. It’s hard to imagine what blues and electric guitar would be like now without SRV.
For me the most important moment is always going to be Charlie Christian. He didn’t make _me_ pick up a guitar, but he took the lead line away from horns for the first time, putting the guitar in the center of the melody. All of us guitar players love the sweet leads of our heroes, and if someone with the talent and confidence of Christian hadn’t done it, we wouldn’t have those licks and riffs we love to hear and strive to play or invent. Great video Keith and team! What a wonderful Saturday morning you made for me. ✌️😌🎸
Keith, a great moment was when Clapton plugged his LP into a very loud overdriven Marshall while making the Beano album. That sent a shock wave throughout the guitar universe and was hugely influential for many players, including EVH who learned to play by listening to Clapton records. Eddie's lifelong quest for tone goes back to those early Clapton sounds.
@@georgebennett3197 I still remember the first time I heard that record. I was like, oh my God! This is the pinnacle of rock guitar tone. Not gonna lie I was kind of surprised it wasn’t mentioned in this list, especially because of how important it is to Keith and also knowing the other videos dedicated to the Beano record. Great video. Love everything he does.
perhaps not in the US, but nearly everywhere else in the anglophone world, after the Shadows everyone wanted a fiesta red strat. (Great choice of Scenius buddies BTW)
The first school day after the Beatles first played on Ed Sullivan, almost every kid was forming a band, AND THEN trying to figure out what instruments they were going to play. A surprising number stuck to it. And the rest kept showing up to hear us play.
Jim Marshall building big loud amps could be a defining moment and Clapton use of these amps and his playing on the John Mayall’s ‘Beano’ album inspired many like never before.
As a guitar player for the past 60 years all I can say for my personal experience is that The Beatles inspired me to want to play the guitar in the first place and Eric Clapton during the Cream years inspired the playing style that appealed to me most during that time. And finally the guitar player that had the biggest impact on me over all was Allan Holdsworth. Since I always felt a disconnect from tradition and have been somewhat of a loner for most of my life, it's no surprise that Holdsworth had the biggest impact on me of all! I mean seriously...Allan Holdsworth must have been from another planet, and in that regard he and I are kindred spirits! I can never play as well as Holdsworth but I most certainly relate to where he's coming from...Another dimension for sure. And sadly, I seriously doubt that he'll ever truly get the recognition he deserves.
I'm 77, so The first rock guitar player I ever heard was actually Chuck Berry playing Johnny B. Good, and I can still (almost) repeat that opening riff, in my head, and it was on the ED Sullivan show. In rock guitar, he lead the way. Marty McFly did a good job, I sat and smiled through the entire guitar segment. I know some will argue this point , but rock came out of "delta blues: so the real leaders are the likes of Muddy Waters. He is the only blues great I got to see in concert (with the Alman Bros. in Cleveland), and it was great. Many have made advances and changed rock guitar, but it all goes back to Chuck Berry and Johnny B. Good. How ever, what got me interested in ever playing guitar was a band called "The Ventures" and the tune "Walk Don't Run" Everything was instrumental (1960) The greatest day in (electric) guitar? The day Les Paul made "The Log". ;-)
The song "Apache" by the Shadows, it topped the charts in the UK in mid 1960, and the Danish guitarist Jørgen Ingemann released an cover of this song in November 1960 which peaked at number 2 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
It was Jørgen Ingmann's 1959 album "Guitar in Hi-Fi" that got me started on my guitar journey that lasts till today. I still have the record, and each time I listen to it I am mindblown by Ingmann's inventiveness (he was called "the Les Paul from Denmark"), his phrasing, tone, articulation and arranging/producing skills. One of the most underrated guitarists ever...
Great 15:01 video brother. It brought back many memories. I'm 70 and started playing in 1958. My family and neighbors played so I just had to learn. Yes I sit with a phonograph and a stack of records to learn the different parts. I watched the Ed Sullivan show every week also Flat and Scruggs and Porter Wagoneer along with Lawrence Welk and just about every show that had live music on TV. I was caught up with all the different Genres and I became more versatile. Still do. Have a great day.
After listening to Jimi at Woodstock and the Band of Gypsys, it was Steve Vai as Jack Butler in Crossroads. That moment made me realize that there was even more magical possibilities to chase. I had just bought my first guitar: a 1984 black Squier strat.
@@CHodgy I agree. Ry Cooder made me decide to search for that magical slide style. You can always spot his guitar, even when he is hovering in the background.
@@svenkaahedgerg3425 It just lead to a dichotomy in my playing though. I started following Ry Cooder with his pure tone on one side, and Steve Vai screaming noise on the other. Try fitting in with that mindset! The Blues bars told me I was too loud, and the metal bands said I was too quiet. Oh well, joke em...
@@CHodgy again, I agree 👍 Steve Vai has a very special touch, which is usually only found in blues guitar. Similar to Jimi Hendrix. Ry Cooder has the mean, heavy touch, normally found in metal... They are extremely special musicians.
@@CHodgy I even bought an Ibanez Jem when the premium model came. I brought it to our blues jam and played slide on it too. It was a lot of fun seeing the reactions from the traditionalists 😁.
A few other really significant moments - like the first note Keith Richards plays on satisfaction or the first time you heard Smoke on The Water or the first time you heard Iron Man, the first time you heard anything from Stevie Ray or Steve Vai. Or of course Eddie , or Freebird . But the significance of that performance on the Ed Sullivan show is that you were also so completely aware of not only how it was making you feel, but how it was clearly impacting everyone else there. It was overwhelming. And even now when you watch those old recordings it is clear that it was defining a generation. The second most influential moment in guitar history would have to be any time a newbie has the realization that he or she is able to make their own music with one of these guitars, and on it goes.
It's a progression starting with Christian's, Solo Flight. Then, Johnny B Goode. Then, Link Wray's RUMBLE...then, the Kinks You Really Got Me, then...the solo on Sunshine of Your Love. Then, Hendrix at Monterey, Then, Led Zep 1. Then, Mahavishnu Orchestra. Then, Eddie.
Probably not a major moment for most, but I remember where I was when I heard Vernon Reid’s solo on “Cult of Personality.” I remember asking my friend Nate “What did I just hear?”, and rewinding the tape and listening to it again.
Hendrix at Monterey, Queen at Live Aid, and Nirvana Unplugged all cemented my love for guitar. There are so many iconic moments in guitar history, but those are ones I always go and look up on UA-cam when I need inspiration.
Jimi was trained and mentored by Buddy Guy, both musically and in his stage act. Buddy also influenced Eric Clapton who put his own take on classic electric guitar blues (Chicago style).
I think Eric Clapton and Beano album should be mentioned that album really influenced a whole generation of blues rock guitarists and I would say was the catalyst for the Les Paul's popularity (Les Pauls weren't particularly popular when it actually being sold in the 50s)
I don't think The Beatles on Ed Sullivan can be topped for many reasons. I think some honorable mentions were overlooked. Keith Richards sound on "Satisfaction", Clapton's sound on the Bluesbreakers album and the release of Appetite for Destruction. Slash's playing on that album was a return to the classic hard rock style in an era when it seemed most rock guitarist wanted to sound like Van Halen. Plus he brought the Les Paul back to life.
Yup, not the top moment of all time, but Keith changed the guitar world when he used that fuzz pedal on Satisfaction. You can hear him clicking it on/off several times on the track. Definitely belongs on the list. Also maybe the invention of the wah.
This was great - thanks Keith. For me - there were so many reasons to play guitar. I was lucky to grow up with parents who played me the Stones, Beatles, Hendrix, Led Zep, Sabbath, Cream, CSN&Y, etc. But I think the defining moment for me was in 1978 - a friend came over with a cassette tape of a new band he had just discovered. We put it in my parents Onkyo hi fi system - and I heard a slow swell on guitar, followed by some haunting clean guitar licks - bathed in a ton of reverb. Then the band kicked in - and I was hooked. That album - Dire Straits self titled debut (Down To The Waterline was the song). It took me another ten years to finally get my own guitar and start playing - but it was that moment that I will always remember.
Yep, 1964 I was 6 years old. My mom and S&H Greenstamps helped my buy my first Montgomery Wards acoustic. 3 years later the same process got me my first electric. It was another year or so before we could afford an amplifier. I have scrimped and saved my way to a large collection since then, but I still blame the Fab Four. But then Ed made it impossible for all of us to call ourselves guitar players.
What a great instrument, with a long list of significant moments that Rocked the World. For me, it was the first time hearing the album "Are You Experienced."
OK. Here's a left field suggestion as it involved someone playing an acoustic guitar but is very important in electric guitar history. In November 1956 Lonnie Donegan played a number of nights at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool, playing skiffle music. George Harrison went to see him more than once and Paul McCartney saw him and decided he wanted to play guitar instead of trumpet. Not sure if John Lennon saw him play there but he formed the Quarrymen within a couple of weeks. Without that there may never have been the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show.
although weren't some skiffle groups known for sometimes improvising their own instruments and fitting primitive pickups on stuff like diddly-bows and washtub basses?
Having trouble replying to a reply to my comment. Here goes... I'm not sure skiffle was around long enough for that, as a major fad at least. It was mainly bass and rhythm that were improvised.
Hearing the Beatles didn't make me think of guitar - the songs got in the way. Hearing the blues greats didn't make me want to sing - but, man, that guitar! Brits tried to blend the two but, only early Fleetwood Mac and Savoy Brown really caught my ear. Blending the best of both, the Paul Rogers efforts fed me for decades. In the meantime there was Mark Knopfler - playing and writing to his own voice.
2 most important “moments”. Production of the Broadcaster/ Telecaster and the Beatles playin on Ed Sullivan Show. Born in 1952 and playing music since 1965 so I have a frontline historical perspective.
I wil say the invention of the electric bass by Leo Fender (God bless him). Cos how would (electric) guitar music sound now if there was only an upright bass? 🤔
That is a big one for sure. It's funny how that flip flops. In a small jazz bar, a stand-up bass can just go right through you. Sometimes, like the drums, the bass has to be muffled, or it's like having a 12" sub with a boombox with 4" speakers. 😂 Then you get into an electric band or an orchestra, or even a "big band" with lots of brass to overload your eardrums, and they can be easily overshadowed or disappear completely. That said, never drive at night, tired, with the heat cranked because it's winter, and listen to bass heavy jazz. 😂
Well... The Stray Cats clearly rocked with a hot lead guitar in Brian Setzer, a literally stand up drummer in Slim Jim Phantom, and the literal stand up bass player in Lee Rocker. Of course, they are also the exception to the rule of electric bass going hand in hand with the electric guitar. You can find videos from their show at Montreux in 1981, and see these guys in action.
For me it is the Fender Broadcaster. There were earlier electrics, but Leo Fender changed the world. From a music perspective, my first rock record was a promo ad by a fictitious band called the GTO Tigers whose record was about the 1965 Pontiac GTO. Those folks who remember that car, will probably remember it with fondness. My grandmother bought me a stack of Stax and Motown, not knowing what it was but the first real rock band record I had was a Beatles 45. But, I still wanted that GTO. Would take one today still. 1965, gold with white ragtop, tiger tail hanging from the rear view mirror.
i'd have to say Scotty Moore on Heartbreak Hotel. Not because it was the first great break that Scotty did behind Elvis, but because it was the first Elvis record with RCA.s distribution behind it. George Harrison reportedly fell off his bicycle on hearing it. Paige, Beck, Keith all talk about it being one of, if not the reason that they went and found a guitar.
The most important moment in Electric Guitar History is when ANY guitarist picks up the instrument, strokes the strings, and is hooked. The world wins.
Exactly ! I was 14 when a friend gave me an old electric guitar from '68 with no bridge. Came back home, made one out of wood, put strings on and played it like that for 2 years before fitting a Schaller bridge. One of the best days of my life !
I was an extra on the shoot for the enchantment under the sea dance in Back to the Future. It turned out my old guitar teacher Paul Hansen was Michael J Fox’s guitar teacher for the movie. Paul introduced me to Michael and we ended up having lunch together just the two of us talking about guitars. Very cool dude. It’s the only extra gig I ever had. Turned out to be a legendary guitar moment. I love it 😊
@@theleviathan89 In 2011, my wife and I spent our honeymoon in Pasadena and LA. We went and visited Whittier High School and the dance floor space is now their library.
@@TwoWrights The enchantment under the sea dance was filmed at a church at the corner of Franklin and Highland in Hollywood. I just looked it up to tell you the name of the church and it has since been converted to a film production studio / church. United Methodist Church.
Couldn't agree more! His writing, storytelling and delivery are the best in the business. Always makes my day working in the shop and listening to Keith!
The Beano album. SRV and EVH learnt it note for note, so did many, many more. Eric Clapton was the conduit to blues rock of the late 60s, 70s and 80s. He listened to the older stuff, revved it up and brought it to the white guys. Steppin' Out smokes with the horns and John Mayall (RIP) on keyboards.
not to diminish the very important events that happened prior to this (Danny Cedrone solo on Rock Around the Clock - Beatles on Ed Sullivan - Scotty Moore solo on Heartbreak Hotel -The invention of the Telecaster etc...) However thee most important moment in electric guitar most definitely has to be related to Hendrix - but NOT Monterey or Woodstock. The only answer can be The Bag O’Nails club on Friday November 25, 1966, when Jimi played in front of all the Brit Rock Royalty of the moment. The game changed on that day. All of a sudden every English guitarist knew that they were playing second fiddle to Jimi & have look at the instrument like they never have before
Hands down, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964. If you weren't around during that time, somehow the Beatles motivated whoever you've listened to that made them want to play.
I mentioned Lee De Forrest to Keith, and of course Fleming. Keith liked that history, but we nerds know its "nerdy". At some point we need to recognize air, but maybe that does not make the list either.
@@barberelectronics5672 right, how far back do you go? Telsa, Maxwell, Faraday, Newton, Leibniz? It all good, I can go full nerd here, no doubt you as well.
Perhaps not the greatest of moments, but one of my favorite memories is of the day that it hit me, in one almost blinding flash of insight that, after listening to band after band during “The British Invasion of the 60’s,” was the realization that many of the individuals in those bands grew up listening to the Delta Blues, and that they had been sending many of those songs back to us, here in the States, with a new and fresh interpretation. That one moment started me on the road to search through those British blues tunes of the 60’s, in order to find the earliest recordings of the originals that I could find. Along the way I discovered more, far more than I ever expected. It also began my life-long love of the blues, and since then I have been chasing the tunes and tones of those earliest exponents of the blues, right up ‘til today’s artists who keep the blues alive for ours and future generations. Question for the People of the Five Watt: Does anyone have a line on a course or series of courses that center on the history of the blues, while also delving into the history of the gear used to perform and record those artists, along with some discussion and perhaps some demonstration of the techniques each artist brought to the art of the blues. I know that’s a lot to ask of a course or even a series of courses, but in my defense, I simply cannot abide a black box, any black box. It’s a gift and a curse. :) TIA! M
came here for this, the factually correct answer. the first guy to pick up an electric guitar for the purpose of using that sound as a lead instrument in a band for the first time has to count as the most important. * it introduced the first true electric lead guitarist to the biggest pop band at the time looking to level up to a new sound * and it forced the biggest band at the time to become an integrated act, which essentially coupled popular music and entertainment with the progress of civil rights ever since
That was great! Awesome memories. I grew up in a very religiously conservative home and most records were forbidden. I remember walking into the choir/band room in the 8th grade and "I Am The Walrus" was on the stereo in the room at high volume. I had never heard anything like it and while my parents wanted me to be a church organist (I disappointed them in many other ways), I had to have a guitar. Peace.
Sort of blurring the lines between, 'show business' and 'electric guitar music'. The '60's were my teen years. Everything was important. An explosion with fragments flying in every direction. I'd have to go with the Beatles on Sullivan. Local bands had adopted a lot of Hendrix sounds. I liked Van Halen but,... For guitar only identity The Stones own it. Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Women, Brown Sugar & more. So many new guitar sounds pouring out with every new release. Incredible. Since the Stones I thought Guns & Roses. They captured the Press and the Sound.( My kids played G & R endlessly.) BUT. The one really incredible guitar album that changed me. Really changed me? JEFF BECK Blow BY Blow. # 1. Thanks Good one Keith and crew.
I was inspired to play guitar by a girlfriend who played acoustic and I followed her lead for the next 25 years until I saw the video of Stevie Ray Vaughan at El Mocambo. That was a true road-to-Demascus epiphany for me. For the past 30 years I've barely touched my acoustic guitars.
My first guitar was a second hand Regal that I played while taking lessons back in 1957-58. I took up cornet in 5th grade , but always kept on dabbling with my guitar over the years. Nice video and thanks for sharing. Yes to the Beatles!!
Hey Keith, this was an excellent video (content, script, lighting, audio, editing, and photo selection) and especially Jeff's intro and outro. Enjoyed it with my morning coffee. Thanks to everyone at FWW and TrueFire.
There's also a vastly underrated player: Hubert Sumlin. His lead part on Howlin Wolf's Smokestack Lightning informed literally EVERY British blues/rock player. Jeff Beck, Clapton, Page, Greeny, loads of others. That little riff created British hard rock. Yardbirds and Led Zep in particular owe it everything.
all points very well made, well crafted in script content edit & delivery Keith being from a younger generation I was around for none of these important moments as they happened my most memorable moment, at around 6 years old, in electric guitar history, was totally curated by my grandpapa playing vinyl on his audio system he sat me down & played Hendrix albums & showed me video footage of Jimi playing ... so definitely for me that very 1st in-awe moment was Hendrix, it was other-worldly never heard anything like it I was transfixed ... think many people, including pro guitarists of the era, were staggered by Jimi so his appearance on the scene was definitely one of the seminal moments in electric guitar if it was possible to listen to one of his albums again as if it was for the very first time I'd ever heard it, it would be Axis Bold As Love
I started playing in '82. The 60s band/guitarist that made me want to play was The Who and Pete Townsend. I liked Beatles' music but The Who was what made me want to play. "My Generation" was on repeat
As for a more recent example for a "I want to play guitar" moment, Jet's Be My Girl made my brother buy a Peavey Strat copy and put down the drums. The summer of Johnny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd dropping their first albums made thousands of 16 year olds discover the blues, and I can remember where I was when I first heard Vince Gill playing Little Liza Jane. just one listen, and I'd never be the same. I will say that my first guitar hero was Joe Negri on Mister Rogers, though.
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. So many guitarists, both famous and unknown, point to that as the moment(s) that triggered the motivation to learn to play guitar. That TV appearance launched the electric guitar into an omnipresent influence on popular culture. I couldn’t agree more that for my generation (born in ‘61), the release of Van Halen 1 was the game changer. In a local record store, I bought it purely on account of the poster of the album displayed on the wall, something I never did, before or since. On my small motorcycle, I rode home with the album underneath my jacket. In our living room, I put on headphones and sat there stunned, listening to the entire record, thinking “Oh my god, wtf is this?” After the entire album had played through, I grabbed my Fender Mustang and learned three of the songs - which took several hours. Even reminiscing on that evening, many years later, still sends chills up my spine and produces a big grin.
Thank you so much for letting me remember why I started playing when I was 12 yrs old, and all the great bands and individuals who blessed my life with a era of greatness that changed the world. The first lead part I learned was Mike Bloomfield's "Born in Chicago", ( Paul Butterfield's Blues Band) spent hours locked up in my bedroom picking up the needle until I got every note of that solo. Then I knew I could do it. I to sat there that night and watched the Beatle's play on the Ed Sullivan Show, as well as the Rolling Stones, by that time I was hooked.
Although not a single event/moment, the three or four years John Mayall provided a context for Clapton, Green, and Taylor to each hone their skills in a really solid band.
Man, I'm constantly overwhelmed with the greatness of UA-cam. Videos like yours Keith make opening the computer each day a source of joy in a sometimes shitty world. Thanks. .....probably need to buy another T-shirt.
For me it was hearing Randy Rhoads play over the mountain when I was like 10. I grew up listening to Van Halen all the time because my dad always had it on, but the first time I heard Randy really make a guitar scream on the local 97.5 KMOD radio station, it changed my life. I wanted to play like that.
For me: 1) Cream - Badge, White Room or Crossroads were the first time I loved the guitar solo 2) Jimi - Star Spangled Banner was the first time I understood that a guitar and amp could be more than an instrument 3) Nirvana - simple can be profound 4) Dark Side of the Moon - guitar doesn’t need to dominate
Excellent presentation I agree with you that being in a band is a wonderful way of getting a group of friends together just to enjoy the creation of music
For me it was a midnight showing of Zeppelin's Song Remains the Same at a local movie theater around 1981. When Page plays Dazed and Confused I was hooked on what possibilities was ahead on the guitar.
The moment that got me started on my guitar journey, was watching Michael Nesmith on The Monkees TV show, A very inauspicious start compared to the heavy hitters mentioned here…. But it led me to a long career in music, and I eventually got around to being influenced by Hendrix, Santana, Roy Buchanan, Larry Carlton, Mark Knopfler et al………. 🎸
I played bass guitar as a kid and teenager all through the 1980's. I quit when I started college, but I picked up a 6-string guitar in 1990 after I heard Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare album. I was hooked. I changed my major from business to music, graduated, went on to study music in graduate school, and eventually ended up in a touring rock band by the early 2001. And it was all because of that album. Thanks, Steve!
Gonna date myself here boys, but my grandmother, who was a Nashville gal, dragged 10-year-old me to see Chet Atkins play with the North Caroliina Symphony in the early '70s. Went dragging my feet, and but after watching that cat play Yankee Doodle and Dixie at the same time on the same guitar, was just blown away.
I'm sure there are many defining moments which inspired people to pick up a guitar and that moment is going to be dependant upon your age and location. For me it was hearing the opening riff of Clapton playing Layla.
somebody has probably mentioned this. Shouldn't one of the most important moments have been the release of "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks? This song introduced us to power chords. What's more important to rock than the sound of power chords?
In 1966 The Monkeys and they were on TV every week. I was 8 years old and all I could think about was getting a guitar and playing in a band. I started with a Sears acoustic, then later a japanese semi hollow my Dad brought back from Viet Nam for me.
Yikes. The Monkees? First, learn how to spell their name. Then read about them. Only Mike Nesmith was a real guitar player. All their hits were recorded by studio musicians, with The Monkees singing. By the way, ever hear of The Beatles …?
@@larrypower8659 Garry NOT Linda. Not true. Cashman and West wrote and recorded most if not all of their first album. This I got straight from an interview with Tom Cashman. The rest of the guys in the TV band took an interest in making some of the music. Mickey Dolenz took drum lessons, Peter Tork had a little knowledge of the guitar and learned the bass and by the time the show ended, they played on almost all of their records and albums and successfully played and sang their songs on tour. Cashman said that they were really impressed that those guys worked hard at becoming real musicians. As far as not playing certain parts or songs, look at some of the musician credits on other people's records. Eric Clapton played the lead part on "As My Guitar Gently Weeps," but wasn't credited. George was. Only Roger McGuinn played on the Byrds first album when it was recorded. Read one of the interviews with Carol Kaye or some of the other Wrecking Crew musicians like Tony Mottola. Many, many albums of famous bands weren't played by the band members but "The Clique" as they liked to call themselves. The bands would have to learn the studio versions of their songs before going on tour. That goes on to this day. Carol Kaye came up with that jazzy bass intro to Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On." I could go on and on, but The Monkees were not unique in not playing on their own records in the beginning or later.
My sisters and baby sitter screamed through out the Beatles/ Stones era, so I turned to the more punk styles of the Animals, and the Kinks. The Band that made me want to play Guitar/Bass/Drums was the Ventures!
here in germany we didn't see GB or american tv shows...but the radio played them all...and we were full aboard the "bus"....sadly not too many "great bands made it internationally here.....but that didn't stop us play....and the final straw for me was Hendrix, Cream and Led Zep.....all the others followed....cheers...and cheers to Jeff....lovely and great guy......playes awesome guitar too....
Hey Keith are you ever going to do a history of guitars for Rory Gallagher? Everyone always does the main musicians like Hendrix,Clapton etc but Rory doesn’t get the credit he deserves as he is right up there if not passing a few of them but really think he deserves a history of especially since his guitar is set to sell in couple months his iconic 61’ Strat that everyone knows..🤘🎸🤘
Love the video. But don't forget all of us shredders! When Yngwie released Rising Force, we were deep into Van Halen, Rhoads, while learning the Zep and Sabbath classics in the mid 80s. Suddenly in one album the entire game changed when a 19 year old from Sweden released an album that was filled with blistering solo electric guitar that was so fast and accurate it didn't even seem real to us. We actually thought it was fake when we first got the tape from Shrapnel Records. Yngwie's technical abilities intimidated every famous electric guitarist at that time, even though many would not admit it. Not that it was the MOST important event (I vote Hendrix followed closely by Eruption) Regardless of your taste in guitarists, no one can deny the impact of that album on how the electric guitar was played, he launched the neoclassical era single handedly. And Yngwie's influence continues in the younger generation today...
For me (rugged individualist that I am) it's always been the first Paul Butterfield Blues Band album, ...in conjunction with them bloomin' Beatles' records on the NYC radio... Cripes, '64 &/or '65 I was just a blue-eyed baby boy of 14 (!) ...and yet I knew guitar was the road to GIRLS!
Randy rhoades, I had already had been listening to e.v. and never felt the need to play until I heard over the mountain ,I have yet to stop playing from that moment, love your work please don't stop
Chuck Berry hands down. In a world that the sax and sax solos were standard for early rock n roll, Chuck Berry changed that, and rock n roll, with his groundbreaking style and arrangements.
I'm thinking that every generation had that moment of, "Yeah, I want to do that!" I grew up with The Beatles but we didn't own a TV until 1970 so, I never actually saw them play. When Led Zepplin debuted, it hit so hard that I bought a poster with Page and that LP he was playing and that made me want a guitar. I was in search of something even harder so, Black Sabbath filled that desire. Hearing Boston's first album made me want to play even more. Van Halen was so incredible and almost intimidating. So many artists kept me learning more and more like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Cheap Trick and Metallica. When Sariani and Vai came out, it was a whole new ballgame. Just the ease at which they play some of the most incredible guitar riffs and solo and the production is unreal. When I need inspiration to play, those two are the go-to guitarists I will listen to.
At the age of 14 in 1964 I heard the Kinks play you really got me. It made me fall in love with the electric guitar. All these years later I still can't play but am still the greatest fan of rock guitar. Fome Hendrix through Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, David Gilmour, Brian Robertson and countless others I still love it. It's also the greatest sadness of my love that I just couldn't work out music and how to play the guitar, even though at 74 I'm still attempting, and can sing with what I think is quite a good voice Still I get off listening to great guitar players.
Hi Keith! If we look at the guitar on a larger perspective, some players had a big impact on the way it is played: Players like Django Reinhardt in manouche jazz style, Andrés Segovia in classical music, Wes Montgomery in jazz, Eddie Van Halen in rock music, all these guitar players changed the way the instrument is played...They invented new ways to play the guitar...Genuine innovators!
Another good thought-provoking video, Keith. I agree with The Beatles on Sullivan on 2/9/64. It was for me. Fred Gretsch told me about the following morning, February 10, when the phones blew up at the Gretsch factory in Brooklyn. Everyone calling wanted a guitar like George Harrison was playing. Soon, there was a six-month waiting period and Gretsch was forced to move drum production out of the Gretsch factory into a nearby building so they could ramp up guitar production ASAP. Instrument manufacturers didn't anticipate - and weren't prepared for - the huge shock wave that hit them overnight. The best case of electric guitar "cause and effect" that I'm aware of. Keep up the good work on your "infotaining" video series.
I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan the week I turned 6 years old and agree that was the foundation. From that point on my image of a band was 2 guitars, bass and drums. My 3 older siblings and musician parents were all watching that Sunday evening and had been anticipating the show for a while. It was a moment in history like like the moon landing. That got me interested and a few years later after learning a few folk songs on my dad’s acoustic my brother bought the Beano album and an SG and I was locked in our bedroom the next 5 years dropping the needle on beano learning everything I could figure out with no education. Clapton/mayal/ beano was the inspiration for me but the Sullivan show was the moment in history that changed the world for me.
February 1964 for me. Beatles on Ed Sullivan. All them girls screaming, ya that's the life for me!! Got a Kent guitar following Christmas. Realized I was a crummy guitar player , traded it all in for a set of drums. Still playing.
I'm a huge Bob Dylan fan so I'm thinking that when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival has to be pretty important. There are so many 'moments' that could be regarded as important it's hard to narrow it down to just one. I like this topic though. (Edit point): i have to admit, i made my comment as soon as i started watching, so when you got to Dylan's electric performance i was delighted that it was included.
When les Paul built one. Recorded one and amplified one. That's when. Every one had to have one first, to make any statement. This is a history question. Love it!
Great video. I will never forget hearing Van Halen 1 for the first time. I already played guitar and jammed with friends but it sent chills down my spine.
My personal most important moment is when I heard Sunshine of Your Love. The most important moment in history, I think, has to be Chuck Berry. He makes electric guitar a part of pop music. Of course he doesn't get there by himself. We shouldn't forget about Carl Perkins and Blue Suede Shoes. Carl was a big influence on the Beatles as well. But Chuck Berry was the first rock star guitarist. Also, Elmore James deserves a mention along with Muddy Waters.
Yep, 10 year old me, sittin' in front of the TV in 1964, waiting to get a first glimpse of the band creating all the excitement! The Beatles were it, and that's when I asked my parents for a guitar... so glad I did, and so glad they listened! Been playing music ever since!
Chuck Berry's 1st single / The Beatles on Ed Sullivan / Clapton in Beano album / Hendrix playing Killing Floor onstage with the members of Cream / Van Halen's 1st album.
It was 2004 and I was in high school. A senior came out and started playing something called master of puppets. I went to Walmart and bought the cd. It might have been 19 years old before I heard it but it changed my life and made me become a guitar player.
I'd echo Charlie Christian playing with Benny Goodman. The Story goes that the "audition" was in front of a club audience and that John Hammond had Charlie set his rig up. This without Benny's permission (some sources say that Benny had already turned CC/JH down previously; mostly because Benny didn't think there was place for the electric guitar in his band.) When the show started Benny was annoyed to see Charlie on stage, so he called for "Rose Room", which Benny assumed Charlie wouldn't know. It turns out that Charlie had practiced that tune a great deal. Benny must have been impressed, because (according to the story, at least) Charlie ended up playing 20 choruses on the tune. Since the Popular music of the day was Swing/Jazz, and since at that point in time the guitar was mostly relegated to the back of the stage as a rhythm instrument, it is certainly arguable that this event greatly accelerated the acceptance of the electric guitar into the realm of Popular music.
The 3 moments that moved me for sure was : 1- the opening to Johny B.Goode 2- Brian May’s “we will rock you” solo 3- Van Halen 1 album 🤯 Honorable Mention - Nuno - RISE solo
My first thought was the moment when Leo Fender saw a Bigby solidbody. I'm sure a successful, mass-produced, solidbody electric guitar would have happened without Leo, but the number of Fender and Squier logos in my house (which will likely be joined by a G&L logo) attest to how happy I've been with the approach he took.
"yeah...you guys might not be ready for that one yet...but your kids are gonna love it"
GREAT mention
My money is on The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. I don’t know how many stores of heard of people wanting to play guitar after seeing that show.
Yeah reason why I play lol
Yup - first thing that popped into my head when I saw the title . . .
@@Smokeyodayz Yeah? That’s awesome!
Yes. At the time, unless you followed the blues, most of the 50s guys like Buddy and Chuck had sort of disappeared. Even Elvis. If you had older brothers and sisters maybe they had old records. But Meet the Beatles was the first album I bought myself.
I asked for guitar lessons the first night the Beatles played on Ed Sullivan and have been playing ever since
Santana at Woodstock, I was lucky enough to be there. I got my first electric guitar shortly after.
That's my "I need to learn bass" song! Although 15 years later from a VHS recording of the movie from PBS.
For me, it was the first time I heard Hope You’re Feeling Better turned up way too loud. That is the quintessential “Guitar-God” song.
My favorite artist that ripped on guitar at Woodstock is the not so mentioned Johnny Winter. He's a favorite of mine.
In Britain, Brian May was interviewed on a children's TV show called Magpie back in the early 1970s. He introduced his home-made guitar, his rig and his six-pence plectrum. It was the coolest five minutes of TV in the history of the cathode ray tube, and left a generation of kids like me determined to get a guitar and start playing!
Did he mention the Rangemaster distortion pedal that Rory Gallagher showed him when may was young?
Honorable mention to Stevie Ray Vaughan, maybe his appearance on Austin City Limits. It’s hard to imagine what blues and electric guitar would be like now without SRV.
For me the most important moment is always going to be Charlie Christian. He didn’t make _me_ pick up a guitar, but he took the lead line away from horns for the first time, putting the guitar in the center of the melody.
All of us guitar players love the sweet leads of our heroes, and if someone with the talent and confidence of Christian hadn’t done it, we wouldn’t have those licks and riffs we love to hear and strive to play or invent.
Great video Keith and team! What a wonderful Saturday morning you made for me. ✌️😌🎸
shame he died so young before he got to see the mass popularization of electric guitar
Christian didn't just do it first, he did stuff that advanced players of today STILL can't match. And with inferior equipment.
That 'most important' moment for me is John Hammond arranging Charlie to sit in with Benny Goodman- we are still listening to those recordings
Word. That’s why his solos are my starting point for transcribing. George Barnes and T-Bone Walker are close 2nds.
Agreed. Him and Django.
Keith, a great moment was when Clapton plugged his LP into a very loud overdriven Marshall while making the Beano album. That sent a shock wave throughout the guitar universe and was hugely influential for many players, including EVH who learned to play by listening to Clapton records. Eddie's lifelong quest for tone goes back to those early Clapton sounds.
Yeah...the moment the needle drops on track one of the Beano Album!!!
It's for sure the Beano album, hands down.
Yep, here's a third for Clapton that LP, the Marshall and the Beano album.
@@georgebennett3197 I still remember the first time I heard that record. I was like, oh my God! This is the pinnacle of rock guitar tone. Not gonna lie I was kind of surprised it wasn’t mentioned in this list, especially because of how important it is to Keith and also knowing the other videos dedicated to the Beano record. Great video. Love everything he does.
perhaps not in the US, but nearly everywhere else in the anglophone world, after the Shadows everyone wanted a fiesta red strat. (Great choice of Scenius buddies BTW)
The first school day after the Beatles first played on Ed Sullivan, almost every kid was forming a band, AND THEN trying to figure out what instruments they were going to play. A surprising number stuck to it. And the rest kept showing up to hear us play.
Jim Marshall building big loud amps could be a defining moment and Clapton use of these amps and his playing on the John Mayall’s ‘Beano’ album inspired many like never before.
As a guitar player for the past 60 years all I can say for my personal experience is that The Beatles inspired me to want to play the guitar in the first place and Eric Clapton during the Cream years inspired the playing style that appealed to me most during that time. And finally the guitar player that had the biggest impact on me over all was Allan Holdsworth. Since I always felt a disconnect from tradition and have been somewhat of a loner for most of my life, it's no surprise that Holdsworth had the biggest impact on me of all! I mean seriously...Allan Holdsworth must have been from another planet, and in that regard he and I are kindred spirits! I can never play as well as Holdsworth but I most certainly relate to where he's coming from...Another dimension for sure. And sadly, I seriously doubt that he'll ever truly get the recognition he deserves.
I can’t believe you left out Ten Years After’s Woodstock performance of “I’m Going Home” with Alvin Lee’s red 335.
Even as a teen, I found that to be pure guitar wankery.
completely agree. seminal.
I'm pretty deep in music history even if I'm only 40. Either I'm missing a joke or...why was this important?
I'm 77, so The first rock guitar player I ever heard was actually Chuck Berry playing Johnny B. Good, and I can still (almost) repeat that opening riff, in my head, and it was on the ED Sullivan show. In rock guitar, he lead the way. Marty McFly did a good job, I sat and smiled through the entire guitar segment.
I know some will argue this point , but rock came out of "delta blues: so the real leaders are the likes of Muddy Waters. He is the only blues great I got to see in concert (with the Alman Bros. in Cleveland), and it was great. Many have made advances and changed rock guitar, but it all goes back to Chuck Berry and Johnny B. Good.
How ever, what got me interested in ever playing guitar was a band called "The Ventures" and the tune "Walk Don't Run" Everything was instrumental (1960)
The greatest day in (electric) guitar? The day Les Paul made "The Log". ;-)
The song "Apache" by the Shadows, it topped the charts in the UK in mid 1960, and the Danish guitarist Jørgen Ingemann released an cover of this song in November 1960 which peaked at number 2 in the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.
It was Jørgen Ingmann's 1959 album "Guitar in Hi-Fi" that got me started on my guitar journey that lasts till today. I still have the record, and each time I listen to it I am mindblown by Ingmann's inventiveness (he was called "the Les Paul from Denmark"), his phrasing, tone, articulation and arranging/producing skills. One of the most underrated guitarists ever...
Great 15:01 video brother. It brought back many memories. I'm 70 and started playing in 1958. My family and neighbors played so I just had to learn. Yes I sit with a phonograph and a stack of records to learn the different parts. I watched the Ed Sullivan show every week also Flat and Scruggs and Porter Wagoneer along with Lawrence Welk and just about every show that had live music on TV. I was caught up with all the different Genres and I became more versatile. Still do. Have a great day.
After listening to Jimi at Woodstock and the Band of Gypsys, it was Steve Vai as Jack Butler in Crossroads.
That moment made me realize that there was even more magical possibilities to chase. I had just bought my first guitar: a 1984 black Squier strat.
Crossroads got me started as well. I tried "Feelin Bad Blues" first though.
@@CHodgy I agree. Ry Cooder made me decide to search for that magical slide style. You can always spot his guitar, even when he is hovering in the background.
@@svenkaahedgerg3425 It just lead to a dichotomy in my playing though. I started following Ry Cooder with his pure tone on one side, and Steve Vai screaming noise on the other. Try fitting in with that mindset! The Blues bars told me I was too loud, and the metal bands said I was too quiet. Oh well, joke em...
@@CHodgy again, I agree 👍
Steve Vai has a very special touch, which is usually only found in blues guitar. Similar to Jimi Hendrix.
Ry Cooder has the mean, heavy touch, normally found in metal...
They are extremely special musicians.
@@CHodgy I even bought an Ibanez Jem when the premium model came. I brought it to our blues jam and played slide on it too.
It was a lot of fun seeing the reactions from the traditionalists 😁.
A few other really significant moments - like the first note Keith Richards plays on satisfaction or the first time you heard Smoke on The Water or the first time you heard Iron Man, the first time you heard anything from Stevie Ray or Steve Vai. Or of course Eddie , or Freebird . But the significance of that performance on the Ed Sullivan show is that you were also so completely aware of not only how it was making you feel, but how it was clearly impacting everyone else there. It was overwhelming. And even now when you watch those old recordings it is clear that it was defining a generation. The second most influential moment in guitar history would have to be any time a newbie has the realization that he or she is able to make their own music with one of these guitars, and on it goes.
It's a progression starting with Christian's, Solo Flight. Then, Johnny B Goode. Then, Link Wray's RUMBLE...then, the Kinks You Really Got Me, then...the solo on Sunshine of Your Love. Then, Hendrix at Monterey, Then, Led Zep 1. Then, Mahavishnu Orchestra. Then, Eddie.
Probably not a major moment for most, but I remember where I was when I heard Vernon Reid’s solo on “Cult of Personality.” I remember asking my friend Nate “What did I just hear?”, and rewinding the tape and listening to it again.
Invention of the double coil pickup? Invention of the electric guitar itself? The moment Adolph Rickenbacker's parents got frisky?
Hendrix at Monterey, Queen at Live Aid, and Nirvana Unplugged all cemented my love for guitar. There are so many iconic moments in guitar history, but those are ones I always go and look up on UA-cam when I need inspiration.
Jimi changed the entire landscape for electric guitar. Monterey Pop opened everybody's eyes.
Much like EVH did 10 years later.
They’re the only 2 that raised the bar.
The entire audience was peaking on Orange Sunshine. Anything would've been fantastic.
Jimi was trained and mentored by Buddy Guy, both musically and in his stage act. Buddy also influenced Eric Clapton who put his own take on classic electric guitar blues (Chicago style).
I think Eric Clapton and Beano album should be mentioned that album really influenced a whole generation of blues rock guitarists and I would say was the catalyst for the Les Paul's popularity (Les Pauls weren't particularly popular when it actually being sold in the 50s)
Absolutely. That album changed how we played guitar, and Clapton's playing contiunued to influence so many guitarists in the 60s.
I don't think The Beatles on Ed Sullivan can be topped for many reasons. I think some honorable mentions were overlooked. Keith Richards sound on "Satisfaction", Clapton's sound on the Bluesbreakers album and the release of Appetite for Destruction. Slash's playing on that album was a return to the classic hard rock style in an era when it seemed most rock guitarist wanted to sound like Van Halen. Plus he brought the Les Paul back to life.
Yup, not the top moment of all time, but Keith changed the guitar world when he used that fuzz pedal on Satisfaction. You can hear him clicking it on/off several times on the track. Definitely belongs on the list. Also maybe the invention of the wah.
This was great - thanks Keith. For me - there were so many reasons to play guitar. I was lucky to grow up with parents who played me the Stones, Beatles, Hendrix, Led Zep, Sabbath, Cream, CSN&Y, etc. But I think the defining moment for me was in 1978 - a friend came over with a cassette tape of a new band he had just discovered. We put it in my parents Onkyo hi fi system - and I heard a slow swell on guitar, followed by some haunting clean guitar licks - bathed in a ton of reverb. Then the band kicked in - and I was hooked. That album - Dire Straits self titled debut (Down To The Waterline was the song). It took me another ten years to finally get my own guitar and start playing - but it was that moment that I will always remember.
To this day, that’s still my favorite Dire Straits song.
Yep, 1964 I was 6 years old. My mom and S&H Greenstamps helped my buy my first Montgomery Wards acoustic. 3 years later the same process got me my first electric. It was another year or so before we could afford an amplifier. I have scrimped and saved my way to a large collection since then, but I still blame the Fab Four. But then Ed made it impossible for all of us to call ourselves guitar players.
I saved up 37,000,102 stamps, and then they went out of business.
I was JUST asking someone if they had EVER heard of S&H (and lue Chip) stamps
What a great instrument, with a long list of significant moments that Rocked the World. For me, it was the first time hearing the album "Are You Experienced."
Very hard to argue that.
OK. Here's a left field suggestion as it involved someone playing an acoustic guitar but is very important in electric guitar history. In November 1956 Lonnie Donegan played a number of nights at the Empire Theatre, Liverpool, playing skiffle music. George Harrison went to see him more than once and Paul McCartney saw him and decided he wanted to play guitar instead of trumpet. Not sure if John Lennon saw him play there but he formed the Quarrymen within a couple of weeks. Without that there may never have been the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show.
although weren't some skiffle groups known for sometimes improvising their own instruments and fitting primitive pickups on stuff like diddly-bows and washtub basses?
Having trouble replying to a reply to my comment. Here goes... I'm not sure skiffle was around long enough for that, as a major fad at least. It was mainly bass and rhythm that were improvised.
Hearing the Beatles didn't make me think of guitar - the songs got in the way. Hearing the blues greats didn't make me want to sing - but, man, that guitar! Brits tried to blend the two but, only early Fleetwood Mac and Savoy Brown really caught my ear. Blending the best of both, the Paul Rogers efforts fed me for decades. In the meantime there was Mark Knopfler - playing and writing to his own voice.
2 most important “moments”. Production of the Broadcaster/ Telecaster and the Beatles playin on Ed Sullivan Show. Born in 1952 and playing music since 1965 so I have a frontline historical perspective.
I wil say the invention of the electric bass by Leo Fender (God bless him). Cos how would (electric) guitar music sound now if there was only an upright bass? 🤔
That is a big one for sure. It's funny how that flip flops. In a small jazz bar, a stand-up bass can just go right through you. Sometimes, like the drums, the bass has to be muffled, or it's like having a 12" sub with a boombox with 4" speakers. 😂
Then you get into an electric band or an orchestra, or even a "big band" with lots of brass to overload your eardrums, and they can be easily overshadowed or disappear completely.
That said, never drive at night, tired, with the heat cranked because it's winter, and listen to bass heavy jazz. 😂
Well... The Stray Cats clearly rocked with a hot lead guitar in Brian Setzer, a literally stand up drummer in Slim Jim Phantom, and the literal stand up bass player in Lee Rocker. Of course, they are also the exception to the rule of electric bass going hand in hand with the electric guitar. You can find videos from their show at Montreux in 1981, and see these guys in action.
@@aivehn Yes I know the show, it;s awesome.
For me it is the Fender Broadcaster. There were earlier electrics, but Leo Fender changed the world. From a music perspective, my first rock record was a promo ad by a fictitious band called the GTO Tigers whose record was about the 1965 Pontiac GTO. Those folks who remember that car, will probably remember it with fondness. My grandmother bought me a stack of Stax and Motown, not knowing what it was but the first real rock band record I had was a Beatles 45. But, I still wanted that GTO. Would take one today still. 1965, gold with white ragtop, tiger tail hanging from the rear view mirror.
i'd have to say Scotty Moore on Heartbreak Hotel. Not because it was the first great break that Scotty did behind Elvis, but because it was the first Elvis record with RCA.s distribution behind it. George Harrison reportedly fell off his bicycle on hearing it. Paige, Beck, Keith all talk about it being one of, if not the reason that they went and found a guitar.
The most important moment in Electric Guitar History is when ANY guitarist picks up the instrument, strokes the strings, and is hooked. The world wins.
That’s a pretty inspiring point. 👍
Plus one on that, friend.
I agree. The day I got my first electric guitar.
Exactly ! I was 14 when a friend gave me an old electric guitar from '68 with no bridge. Came back home, made one out of wood, put strings on and played it like that for 2 years before fitting a Schaller bridge. One of the best days of my life !
Clearly you’ve never heard me play.😂
I was an extra on the shoot for the enchantment under the sea dance in Back to the Future. It turned out my old guitar teacher Paul Hansen was Michael J Fox’s guitar teacher for the movie. Paul introduced me to Michael and we ended up having lunch together just the two of us talking about guitars. Very cool dude. It’s the only extra gig I ever had. Turned out to be a legendary guitar moment. I love it 😊
Could I spot you in the movie?
@@TwoWrights not really. I was able to find myself but it wasn’t easy. It took a lot rewinding and pausing.
@@theleviathan89 In 2011, my wife and I spent our honeymoon in Pasadena and LA. We went and visited Whittier High School and the dance floor space is now their library.
@@TwoWrights The enchantment under the sea dance was filmed at a church at the corner of Franklin and Highland in Hollywood. I just looked it up to tell you the name of the church and it has since been converted to a film production studio / church. United Methodist Church.
The day Keith started his 5WW channel is gotta be right up there...😎
Couldn't agree more! His writing, storytelling and delivery are the best in the business. Always makes my day working in the shop and listening to Keith!
The Beano album. SRV and EVH learnt it note for note, so did many, many more. Eric Clapton was the conduit to blues rock of the late 60s, 70s and 80s. He listened to the older stuff, revved it up and brought it to the white guys. Steppin' Out smokes with the horns and John Mayall (RIP) on keyboards.
not to diminish the very important events that happened prior to this (Danny Cedrone solo on Rock Around the Clock - Beatles on Ed Sullivan - Scotty Moore solo on Heartbreak Hotel -The invention of the Telecaster etc...) However thee most important moment in electric guitar most definitely has to be related to Hendrix - but NOT Monterey or Woodstock. The only answer can be The Bag O’Nails club on Friday November 25, 1966, when Jimi played in front of all the Brit Rock Royalty of the moment. The game changed on that day. All of a sudden every English guitarist knew that they were playing second fiddle to Jimi & have look at the instrument like they never have before
Hands down, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964. If you weren't around during that time, somehow the Beatles motivated whoever you've listened to that made them want to play.
Lee de Forest invents the Audion (triode) in 1906. Without the Audion, we wouldn't have small signal amplifiers.
Also Thomas Edison for creating the first electric power station to supply electricity in 1882 👍
@@Dad-Gad farm radios ran on batteries. We're getting a little silly.
@@CraigHollabaughSilly or pedantic. ?
I mentioned Lee De Forrest to Keith, and of course Fleming. Keith liked that history, but we nerds know its "nerdy". At some point we need to recognize air, but maybe that does not make the list either.
@@barberelectronics5672 right, how far back do you go? Telsa, Maxwell, Faraday, Newton, Leibniz? It all good, I can go full nerd here, no doubt you as well.
Perhaps not the greatest of moments, but one of my favorite memories is of the day that it hit me, in one almost blinding flash of insight that, after listening to band after band during “The British Invasion of the 60’s,” was the realization that many of the individuals in those bands grew up listening to the Delta Blues, and that they had been sending many of those songs back to us, here in the States, with a new and fresh interpretation.
That one moment started me on the road to search through those British blues tunes of the 60’s, in order to find the earliest recordings of the originals that I could find. Along the way I discovered more, far more than I ever expected.
It also began my life-long love of the blues, and since then I have been chasing the tunes and tones of those earliest exponents of the blues, right up ‘til today’s artists who keep the blues alive for ours and future generations.
Question for the People of the Five Watt:
Does anyone have a line on a course or series of courses that center on the history of the blues, while also delving into the history of the gear used to perform and record those artists, along with some discussion and perhaps some demonstration of the techniques each artist brought to the art of the blues.
I know that’s a lot to ask of a course or even a series of courses, but in my defense, I simply cannot abide a black box, any black box. It’s a gift and a curse. :)
TIA!
M
John Hammond sneaks Charlie Christian onto the stage to play with Benny Goodman's band.
came here for this, the factually correct answer. the first guy to pick up an electric guitar for the purpose of using that sound as a lead instrument in a band for the first time has to count as the most important.
* it introduced the first true electric lead guitarist to the biggest pop band at the time looking to level up to a new sound
* and it forced the biggest band at the time to become an integrated act, which essentially coupled popular music and entertainment with the progress of civil rights ever since
Yes!!!!!!!
Hammond was indeed pivotal.check out his kid John H.Hammond , no better steward of the Delta blues
That was great! Awesome memories. I grew up in a very religiously conservative home and most records were forbidden. I remember walking into the choir/band room in the 8th grade and "I Am The Walrus" was on the stereo in the room at high volume. I had never heard anything like it and while my parents wanted me to be a church organist (I disappointed them in many other ways), I had to have a guitar. Peace.
Sort of blurring the lines between, 'show business' and 'electric guitar music'. The '60's were my teen years. Everything was important. An explosion with fragments flying in every direction. I'd have to go with the Beatles on Sullivan. Local bands had adopted a lot of Hendrix sounds. I liked Van Halen but,... For guitar only identity The Stones own it. Satisfaction, Honky Tonk Women, Brown Sugar & more. So many new guitar sounds pouring out with every new release. Incredible. Since the Stones I thought Guns & Roses. They captured the Press and the Sound.( My kids played G & R endlessly.) BUT. The one really incredible guitar album that changed me. Really changed me? JEFF BECK Blow BY Blow. # 1. Thanks Good one Keith and crew.
I was inspired to play guitar by a girlfriend who played acoustic and I followed her lead for the next 25 years until I saw the video of Stevie Ray Vaughan at El Mocambo. That was a true road-to-Demascus epiphany for me. For the past 30 years I've barely touched my acoustic guitars.
The Kinks ripped speaker.
Ike Turner did it first on Rocket 88. ;)
My first guitar was a second hand Regal that I played while taking lessons back in 1957-58.
I took up cornet in 5th grade , but always kept on dabbling with my guitar over the years.
Nice video and thanks for sharing. Yes to the Beatles!!
Hey Keith, this was an excellent video (content, script, lighting, audio, editing, and photo selection) and especially Jeff's intro and outro. Enjoyed it with my morning coffee. Thanks to everyone at FWW and TrueFire.
There's also a vastly underrated player: Hubert Sumlin.
His lead part on Howlin Wolf's Smokestack Lightning informed literally EVERY British blues/rock player. Jeff Beck, Clapton, Page, Greeny, loads of others. That little riff created British hard rock. Yardbirds and Led Zep in particular owe it everything.
TRUE
That riff today is used in tv commercials; amazing.
all points very well made, well crafted in script content edit & delivery Keith
being from a younger generation I was around for none of these important moments as they happened
my most memorable moment, at around 6 years old, in electric guitar history, was totally curated by my grandpapa playing vinyl on his audio system
he sat me down & played Hendrix albums & showed me video footage of Jimi playing ... so definitely for me that very 1st in-awe moment was Hendrix, it was other-worldly never heard anything like it I was transfixed ...
think many people, including pro guitarists of the era, were staggered by Jimi so his appearance on the scene was definitely one of the seminal moments in electric guitar
if it was possible to listen to one of his albums again as if it was for the very first time I'd ever heard it, it would be Axis Bold As Love
Hendrix’s performance at Monterey of “Like a Rolling Stone” was what inspired me to start guitar in 1970! Still playing live at age 66. 😊🎸
I started playing in '82. The 60s band/guitarist that made me want to play was The Who and Pete Townsend. I liked Beatles' music but The Who was what made me want to play. "My Generation" was on repeat
As for a more recent example for a "I want to play guitar" moment, Jet's Be My Girl made my brother buy a Peavey Strat copy and put down the drums. The summer of Johnny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd dropping their first albums made thousands of 16 year olds discover the blues, and I can remember where I was when I first heard Vince Gill playing Little Liza Jane. just one listen, and I'd never be the same.
I will say that my first guitar hero was Joe Negri on Mister Rogers, though.
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. So many guitarists, both famous and unknown, point to that as the moment(s) that triggered the motivation to learn to play guitar.
That TV appearance launched the electric guitar into an omnipresent influence on popular culture.
I couldn’t agree more that for my generation (born in ‘61), the release of Van Halen 1 was the game changer. In a local record store, I bought it purely on account of the poster of the album displayed on the wall, something I never did, before or since. On my small motorcycle, I rode home with the album underneath my jacket. In our living room, I put on headphones and sat there stunned, listening to the entire record, thinking “Oh my god, wtf is this?”
After the entire album had played through, I grabbed my Fender Mustang and learned three of the songs - which took several hours. Even reminiscing on that evening, many years later, still sends chills up my spine and produces a big grin.
Thank you so much for letting me remember why I started playing when I was 12 yrs old, and all the great bands and individuals who blessed my life with a era of greatness that changed the world. The first lead part I learned was Mike Bloomfield's "Born in Chicago", ( Paul Butterfield's Blues Band) spent hours locked up in my bedroom picking up the needle until I got every note of that solo. Then I knew I could do it. I to sat there that night and watched the Beatle's play on the Ed Sullivan Show, as well as the Rolling Stones, by that time I was hooked.
My Moment: 11yrs old. Neighbors place.. Premiere of No More Tears. Ran back home and begged for a guitar. That Christmas it began..
It sure is one of MY favorite guitar solos of all time.
Although not a single event/moment, the three or four years John Mayall provided a context for Clapton, Green, and Taylor to each hone their skills in a really solid band.
There's been very little discussion about Mayall's career, since he passed away.
Man, I'm constantly overwhelmed with the greatness of UA-cam. Videos like yours Keith make opening the computer each day a source of joy in a sometimes shitty world. Thanks. .....probably need to buy another T-shirt.
For me it was hearing Randy Rhoads play over the mountain when I was like 10. I grew up listening to Van Halen all the time because my dad always had it on, but the first time I heard Randy really make a guitar scream on the local 97.5 KMOD radio station, it changed my life. I wanted to play like that.
Excellent video. Well done.
p.s. I always love Jeff's guitar work on these videos.
For me:
1) Cream - Badge, White Room or Crossroads were the first time I loved the guitar solo
2) Jimi - Star Spangled Banner was the first time I understood that a guitar and amp could be more than an instrument
3) Nirvana - simple can be profound
4) Dark Side of the Moon - guitar doesn’t need to dominate
Excellent presentation I agree with you that being in a band is a wonderful way of getting a group of friends together just to enjoy the creation of music
For me it was a midnight showing of Zeppelin's Song Remains the Same at a local movie theater around 1981. When Page plays Dazed and Confused I was hooked on what possibilities was ahead on the guitar.
The moment that got me started on my guitar journey, was watching Michael Nesmith on The Monkees TV show,
A very inauspicious start compared to the heavy hitters mentioned here….
But it led me to a long career in music, and I eventually got around to being influenced by Hendrix, Santana, Roy Buchanan, Larry Carlton, Mark Knopfler et al……….
🎸
I played bass guitar as a kid and teenager all through the 1980's. I quit when I started college, but I picked up a 6-string guitar in 1990 after I heard Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare album. I was hooked. I changed my major from business to music, graduated, went on to study music in graduate school, and eventually ended up in a touring rock band by the early 2001. And it was all because of that album. Thanks, Steve!
Buddy Holly and his red Strat on TV. Wonder how many people picked up a guitar after seeing that.
Gonna date myself here boys, but my grandmother, who was a Nashville gal, dragged 10-year-old me to see Chet Atkins play with the North Caroliina Symphony in the early '70s. Went dragging my feet, and but after watching that cat play Yankee Doodle and Dixie at the same time on the same guitar, was just blown away.
I'm sure there are many defining moments which inspired people to pick up a guitar and that moment is going to be dependant upon your age and location. For me it was hearing the opening riff of Clapton playing Layla.
somebody has probably mentioned this. Shouldn't one of the most important moments have been the release of "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks? This song introduced us to power chords. What's more important to rock than the sound of power chords?
In 1966 The Monkeys and they were on TV every week. I was 8 years old and all I could think about was getting a guitar and playing in a band. I started with a Sears acoustic, then later a japanese semi hollow my Dad brought back from Viet Nam for me.
Yikes. The Monkees? First, learn how to spell their name. Then read about them. Only Mike Nesmith was a real guitar player. All their hits were recorded by studio musicians, with The Monkees singing. By the way, ever hear of The Beatles …?
@@larrypower8659 Garry NOT Linda. Not true. Cashman and West wrote and recorded most if not all of their first album. This I got straight from an interview with Tom Cashman. The rest of the guys in the TV band took an interest in making some of the music. Mickey Dolenz took drum lessons, Peter Tork had a little knowledge of the guitar and learned the bass and by the time the show ended, they played on almost all of their records and albums and successfully played and sang their songs on tour. Cashman said that they were really impressed that those guys worked hard at becoming real musicians. As far as not playing certain parts or songs, look at some of the musician credits on other people's records. Eric Clapton played the lead part on "As My Guitar Gently Weeps," but wasn't credited. George was. Only Roger McGuinn played on the Byrds first album when it was recorded. Read one of the interviews with Carol Kaye or some of the other Wrecking Crew musicians like Tony Mottola. Many, many albums of famous bands weren't played by the band members but "The Clique" as they liked to call themselves. The bands would have to learn the studio versions of their songs before going on tour. That goes on to this day. Carol Kaye came up with that jazzy bass intro to Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On." I could go on and on, but The Monkees were not unique in not playing on their own records in the beginning or later.
@@bassrun101 Yawn
My sisters and baby sitter screamed through out the Beatles/ Stones era, so I turned to the more punk styles of the Animals, and the Kinks. The Band that made me want to play Guitar/Bass/Drums was the Ventures!
here in germany we didn't see GB or american tv shows...but the radio played them all...and we were full aboard the "bus"....sadly not too many "great bands made it internationally here.....but that didn't stop us play....and the final straw for me was Hendrix, Cream and Led Zep.....all the others followed....cheers...and cheers to Jeff....lovely and great guy......playes awesome guitar too....
Hey Keith are you ever going to do a history of guitars for Rory Gallagher? Everyone always does the main musicians like Hendrix,Clapton etc but Rory doesn’t get the credit he deserves as he is right up there if not passing a few of them but really think he deserves a history of especially since his guitar is set to sell in couple months his iconic 61’ Strat that everyone knows..🤘🎸🤘
The Ventures and The Shadows....Guitars with a beat stand alone
In the 80s it was the virtuosic guitar of Mark Knopfler with Dire Straits and Stevie Ray Vaughn reignited blues guitar with his Texas Flood album.
Love the video. But don't forget all of us shredders! When Yngwie released Rising Force, we were deep into Van Halen, Rhoads, while learning the Zep and Sabbath classics in the mid 80s. Suddenly in one album the entire game changed when a 19 year old from Sweden released an album that was filled with blistering solo electric guitar that was so fast and accurate it didn't even seem real to us. We actually thought it was fake when we first got the tape from Shrapnel Records. Yngwie's technical abilities intimidated every famous electric guitarist at that time, even though many would not admit it. Not that it was the MOST important event (I vote Hendrix followed closely by Eruption)
Regardless of your taste in guitarists, no one can deny the impact of that album on how the electric guitar was played, he launched the neoclassical era single handedly. And Yngwie's influence continues in the younger generation today...
For me, it was learning to play "Jessica" all the way through without f***ing it all up.
For me (rugged individualist that I am) it's always been the first Paul Butterfield Blues Band album,
...in conjunction with them bloomin' Beatles' records on the NYC radio...
Cripes, '64 &/or '65 I was just a blue-eyed baby boy of 14 (!)
...and yet I knew guitar was the road to GIRLS!
Yeah ... if you wanted to get laid in the sixties ...buy a guitar - lean three chords and C7 - and join / form a band!!
Randy rhoades, I had already had been listening to e.v. and never felt the need to play until I heard over the mountain ,I have yet to stop playing from that moment, love your work please don't stop
Thanks again. Listening to you is becoming like listening to a friend.
Chuck Berry hands down. In a world that the sax and sax solos were standard for early rock n roll, Chuck Berry changed that, and rock n roll, with his groundbreaking style and arrangements.
For me personally, Hendrix at Monterey. (And that was just from the cassette).
I'm thinking that every generation had that moment of, "Yeah, I want to do that!" I grew up with The Beatles but we didn't own a TV until 1970 so, I never actually saw them play. When Led Zepplin debuted, it hit so hard that I bought a poster with Page and that LP he was playing and that made me want a guitar. I was in search of something even harder so, Black Sabbath filled that desire. Hearing Boston's first album made me want to play even more. Van Halen was so incredible and almost intimidating. So many artists kept me learning more and more like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Cheap Trick and Metallica. When Sariani and Vai came out, it was a whole new ballgame. Just the ease at which they play some of the most incredible guitar riffs and solo and the production is unreal. When I need inspiration to play, those two are the go-to guitarists I will listen to.
At the age of 14 in 1964 I heard the Kinks play you really got me. It made me fall in love with the electric guitar. All these years later I still can't play but am still the greatest fan of rock guitar. Fome Hendrix through Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, David Gilmour, Brian Robertson and countless others I still love it. It's also the greatest sadness of my love that I just couldn't work out music and how to play the guitar, even though at 74 I'm still attempting, and can sing with what I think is quite a good voice Still I get off listening to great guitar players.
Hi Keith! If we look at the guitar on a larger perspective, some players had a big impact on the way it is played: Players like Django Reinhardt in manouche jazz style, Andrés Segovia in classical music, Wes Montgomery in jazz, Eddie Van Halen in rock music, all these guitar players changed the way the instrument is played...They invented new ways to play the guitar...Genuine innovators!
Another good thought-provoking video, Keith. I agree with The Beatles on Sullivan on 2/9/64. It was for me. Fred Gretsch told me about the following morning, February 10, when the phones blew up at the Gretsch factory in Brooklyn. Everyone calling wanted a guitar like George Harrison was playing. Soon, there was a six-month waiting period and Gretsch was forced to move drum production out of the Gretsch factory into a nearby building so they could ramp up guitar production ASAP. Instrument manufacturers didn't anticipate - and weren't prepared for - the huge shock wave that hit them overnight. The best case of electric guitar "cause and effect" that I'm aware of. Keep up the good work on your "infotaining" video series.
I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan the week I turned 6 years old and agree that was the foundation. From that point on my image of a band was 2 guitars, bass and drums. My 3 older siblings and musician parents were all watching that Sunday evening and had been anticipating the show for a while. It was a moment in history like like the moon landing. That got me interested and a few years later after learning a few folk songs on my dad’s acoustic my brother bought the Beano album and an SG and I was locked in our bedroom the next 5 years dropping the needle on beano learning everything I could figure out with no education. Clapton/mayal/ beano was the inspiration for me but the Sullivan show was the moment in history that changed the world for me.
February 1964 for me. Beatles on Ed Sullivan. All them girls screaming, ya that's the life for me!! Got a Kent guitar following Christmas. Realized I was a crummy guitar player , traded it all in for a set of drums. Still playing.
I guess you guys aren't ready for that - Marty Mcfly November 5th, 1955
I'm a huge Bob Dylan fan so I'm thinking that when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival has to be pretty important. There are so many 'moments' that could be regarded as important it's hard to narrow it down to just one. I like this topic though. (Edit point): i have to admit, i made my comment as soon as i started watching, so when you got to Dylan's electric performance i was delighted that it was included.
When les Paul built one. Recorded one and amplified one.
That's when. Every one had to have one first, to make any statement. This is a history question. Love it!
Who ever discovered plugging a Les Paul/Strat into a Marshall 😊and turning it up (Eric Clapton? Jeff Beck? Jimi Hendrix?)
Pete Townsend.
Like my previous post , it was Clapton in 66
Great video. I will never forget hearing Van Halen 1 for the first time. I already played guitar and jammed with friends but it sent chills down my spine.
My personal most important moment is when I heard Sunshine of Your Love. The most important moment in history, I think, has to be Chuck Berry. He makes electric guitar a part of pop music. Of course he doesn't get there by himself. We shouldn't forget about Carl Perkins and Blue Suede Shoes. Carl was a big influence on the Beatles as well. But Chuck Berry was the first rock star guitarist. Also, Elmore James deserves a mention along with Muddy Waters.
Yep, 10 year old me, sittin' in front of the TV in 1964, waiting to get a first glimpse of the band creating all the excitement! The Beatles were it, and that's when I asked my parents for a guitar... so glad I did, and so glad they listened! Been playing music ever since!
Chuck Berry's 1st single / The Beatles on Ed Sullivan / Clapton in Beano album / Hendrix playing Killing Floor onstage with the members of Cream / Van Halen's 1st album.
It was 2004 and I was in high school. A senior came out and started playing something called master of puppets. I went to Walmart and bought the cd. It might have been 19 years old before I heard it but it changed my life and made me become a guitar player.
I'd echo Charlie Christian playing with Benny Goodman. The Story goes that the "audition" was in front of a club audience and that John Hammond had Charlie set his rig up. This without Benny's permission (some sources say that Benny had already turned CC/JH down previously; mostly because Benny didn't think there was place for the electric guitar in his band.) When the show started Benny was annoyed to see Charlie on stage, so he called for "Rose Room", which Benny assumed Charlie wouldn't know. It turns out that Charlie had practiced that tune a great deal. Benny must have been impressed, because (according to the story, at least) Charlie ended up playing 20 choruses on the tune. Since the Popular music of the day was Swing/Jazz, and since at that point in time the guitar was mostly relegated to the back of the stage as a rhythm instrument, it is certainly arguable that this event greatly accelerated the acceptance of the electric guitar into the realm of Popular music.
The 3 moments that moved me for sure was :
1- the opening to Johny B.Goode
2- Brian May’s “we will rock you” solo
3- Van Halen 1 album 🤯
Honorable Mention - Nuno - RISE solo
My first thought was the moment when Leo Fender saw a Bigby solidbody. I'm sure a successful, mass-produced, solidbody electric guitar would have happened without Leo, but the number of Fender and Squier logos in my house (which will likely be joined by a G&L logo) attest to how happy I've been with the approach he took.