And there was that Chuck Berry fella.
Even extra-terrestrials asked for more.
Smacking myself for the omission here. SRV was one hell of a Texas-style blues player. If Albert King is giving him props, the man is beyond good. The fact that he played a guitar strung with hawser cables is also worth mentioning.
Assorted chilies no doubt:
Kinda surprised I forgot him too.
Been a favorite of mine for a long time. He was pure cool.
I saw him on his In Step tour stop at The Gorge in July 1990, a month before he died. Still have the t-shirt, shrunken to hell and back, and will never wash it again. It was an unbelievable show!
I truly envy you. (in a good way)
The day before SRV’s last concert my best friend offered me a ticket. I refused because I had some random family thing.
Little did I know…
He was amazing. I saw him a few times. The first time I saw him he was playing with the Cobras the early ‘70s. Even way back then he was amazing.
SRV was incredible. I think Marcus King and Roy Clark Jr are carrying the torch now.
Roy:
Marcus King to me is the closest iteration to what would be an SRV guy right now. Rock star clothes, great voice, playing, tone, songwriting…he’s the fucking man.
Speaking of fuzzy ass blues, another young guy I dig is Tyler Bryant if you’ve not heard of him. Filthy McNasty tone blues.
Thanks!
Nice to see others following in SRV’s footsteps.
My long time favorite is Robin Trower.
No one has ever topped Neil Innes.
I especially liked the way Stevie Ray and his brother played together:
Nobody listened to Marcus King? Dude’s legit AF. His tone in the video above is worth your listen alone. His band rocks and so does he.
Whenever I think of them playing together, I am forever reminded of this song and the irony it represents given how soon after SRV died in that helicopter.
The OP asked “whom do you admire most” so I gave my answer, as Frank is IMO the best and the one who’s abilities and sensibilities I’d most like to have/share.
But there are others; they just don’t occupy that position at the top that Frank enjoys. For instance:
I saw this album as I was walking thru a Peaches Records & Cassettes in Plantation, FL just as it was being put on the shelves. I bought a copy without hearing it first because I liked the art work and the song titles, It quickly became one of my favorite albums. It took me quite a few years to learn much more about the artist and even more to track down his recorded work (an activity I still enjoy, btw). This album remains my favorite of his and IMO is one of the greatest guitar accomplishments ever. The compositions are wonderful, complex and entertaining; the performance is technically perfect: this is all single-take solo guitar. Taken as a whole, it represents the culmination of a lifetime; there is no other like Bola Sete:
I know I’ve already posted a few guitarists in this thread but one popped into my head that I have always admired greatly; even before I could play at all. Hank Marvin of The Shadows. My Dad had their greatest hits on vinyl and I pretty much wore it out. The way he makes the guitar tell a story left a pretty deep impression on me. Vid of one of my favourite songs:
This is basically what I wished Yngwie would have kept playing after his first album or two: that music played through Marshall amps.
I am a terrible guitarist but like my music. Perhaps Guitar Shop by Jeff Beck is a hackneyed choice but I would still claim few could do what he does. For actual listening, though, it’s hard to beat Vaughn.
“I’ve suffered for my music, now it’s your turn.”