Here we go with their lists again…
So Rolling Stone Magazine has compiled a list of what they call the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. The magazine supposedly used guitarists in the music world to vote. Well what did Rolling Stone come up with might you ask? A bunch of hot steaming garbage if you ask me.
Jimi Hendrix ranks in at number one (let the debates begin on that one), with Keith Richards in the top 5 and BB King and Chuck Berry in the top 10. Now… I am a HUGE BB King fan, but for a guy who boasts that he can’t play a chord, I don’t think is deserved in the top 10. Hell, is Keith Richards good enough to be number 4?!
Where is Stevie Ray Vaughan you ask? Oh, he’s not good enough for the top 10, he’s found logged under number 12. How about electric guitar pioneer Les Paul? Holy Multi-Track Batman, he’s number 18! Ha! You like surf-rock? Dick Dale is… -wait for it- number 74! Hell, Robert Johnson, the fella who sold his soul to the Devil at the crossroads to be able to play the guitar, the man who basically fathered ‘the blues’, is listed at 71!
Oh, you like 80’s hair metal you say? How did Steve Vai rank? Wasn’t good enough to even make the list…
Maybe Jazz is your style… How about guitar God Django Reinhardt? Evidently he’s somewhere above 101.
How about John Pizzarelli or his father, guitar legend Bucky Pizzarelli? Yes, you guessed it, they’re between 101-200…
Rolling Stone does this all the time and it really grinds my gears that we’re supposed to take this as gospel. Cmon! This is crap. Just industry promotions to sell more cd’s, or Itune downloads, or however else people get their music in this crazy world. Hell, Jazz isn’t even represented on this so called ‘list’. Rolling Stone needs to stop making these psendo-lists that us, the fans, are supposed to consider the last word on the matter and go back to complaining about George Bush and Republican adminstrations in general.
If you’re going to leave out almost an entire field of music, just call it the “100 Greatest Rock Guitarists”, or the “100 Greatest Guitarists We Think are the Most Popular and that We Think You Should Spend your Money on.” Stop with these elitist lists already that you change every 2 years, and just write about what you’re supposed to- music.
Look, Rolling Stone has been getting up my nose for decades, so I’m not really inclined to disagree with you, D. But I don’t know that their motives are as crassly commercial as all that. The problem with RS is that they’re fanatical true-believers in what some critics call “blues orthodoxy” and so their perception of what constitutes “good” or “influential” is totally skewed by that.
And while, okay, I’ve enjoyed the work of a number of guitarists on this list, the most appalling omission of all is Allan Holdsworth, not just my personal favorite guitarist, but the personal favorite guitarist of more than few guys ON THIS LIST (such as Eddie Van Halen, for one).