No other instrument, when in the hands of the gifted, seems to have the power to awaken such utter awe and reverence as the guitar - and no other musical genre is as epic, or its fans as passionate, as rock.This is the ultimate guide to the ever-expanding pantheon of rock guitar gods.
As rock'n'roll emerged in the 1950s from the warping and weaving of many musical threads - think blues, folk, country, jazz, gospel - so too was crystalizing the phenomenon of guitar 'hero'.Sure, there had been nimble-fingered players before, but they were always secondary of the singer, the star of the show. But the opportunities afforded by the evolving solid-body electric guitar enabled the mingling of presence, character, wow-factor, talent and originality to create axe men (and women) to idolize.
Of course, no such attempt to gather together the greatest rock guitar heroes will ever be complete enough to satisfy everyone, but relish the fantastic images and handy key tracks and album alongside the fact-packed text, whole you debate the relative merits of this riff or that style - it's half the fun. Enjoy !