AKA "
Guitar Hero". A guitarist known for extraordinary skill,
flash, style and influence. Usually this applies to rock'n'
roll guitarists but not exclusively.
1. Chet Adkins is labeled as a country guitarist but he's delved into more genres than that. I saw him once on PBS where he performed TWO patriotic songs on his acoustic
guitar - one song played on the strings near the sound hole, and the other tune on the neck. The 2 songs were being played at the same
time! Chet looks like a
guitar god to me.
2. When Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler won an
MTV Guitarist of the Year award he was amazed and surprized, saying that he never considered himself to be a "guitar god". He later made an album with Chet Adkins.
3. I have seen many bands in concert that have influential guitarists. Some of the guitar gods I have seen are:
Eddie Van Halen,
Stevie Ray Vaughn,
The Edge (U2),
Steaming Steve
Clark (Def Leppard),
Rick Neilsen (Cheap
Trick),
Alex Lifeson (Rush),
Johnny Ramone,
Vernon Reid (Living Colour),
Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd),
Keith Richards (Rolling Stones),
Dick
Dale and more.
4. Other people who fall under the
rank of "guitar god" include Jeff Healey, Eric Clapton, Dimebag Darryl Abbot, George Harrison, George Benson, Neil Schon (Journey), Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Andy Taylor (Duran Duran), Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Angus Young (AC/DC), B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Robert Johnson, Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Pete Townshend, Dave Davies (Kinks), and of course LBNL the late great
Jimi Hendrix.