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Top 20 Male Guitarists Of All Time
I don’t always agree with what MoJo picks as the best, but this video was a fun watch. I learned some new things, and it put some guitarists on my radar. I had my 3 picks of the best male guitarists of all time in my mind going in, the two Jimmy’s and Clapton, was kind of fun seeing how my picks stacked up. Won’t spoil the guitarists the video chose. How does your top picks stack up to this list?
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56 Replies
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I don’t think I could even NAME 20 male guitarists, but this list is heavily skewed toward fancy finger pickers. I guess my criteria for what makes a guitarist great are quite different.
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I find George Harrison guitar work more impactful than what people consider the greatest guitarist of all time in this video based on speed, and as you say fancy finger work. I also find Angus Young of AC/DC not mentioned here, his guitar work deep and impactful too, far more than any of the hard rockers mentioned in the video.
Every few years at the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition they have a crop of intense and technically perfect pianists that can move their fingers like a blur on the keyboard, and can probably make a dozen mistakes and no one would notice, but it’s the great masters like Glen Gould, Claudio Arrau who can play so expressively and make you feel every single note and nuance. That is greatness, and I think the same apply with guitar. I find George Harrison’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps far more moving than anything by Hendricks and Clapton I’ve heard. When I heard Lisa play While My Guitar Gently Weeps for the first time, it blew me away. A notch past Harrison, so that is why I think she is one of the finest guitarists ever, and my guitar hero. It’s not about speed and technical brilliance, but how you can express feeling and emotion with every note. That is what I’ve come to appreciate in great pianists in classical, and I find the same with guitar.
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Hi Jung–(Apologies for seeming to hijack this thread). The listings remind me of a chance find in YouTube. She is certainly not up in the leagues you and others have named. She is young, relatively inexperienced–I think three years was the time stated, an amateur and oh yes, not playing guitar at all but a piano in a British train station. I was in awe because the piece was long (by non-classical standards) and yet she had obviously memorized every friggin’ note with very, very, few mistakes. Oh, and she’s <self-taught>, it said. Please do take a listen to ‘Ella’ and her audience of maybe four as she plays the theme from ‘Interstellar’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFetvsemGOY
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This reply was modified 3 weeks, 2 days ago by Pete White.
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This reply was modified 3 weeks, 2 days ago by
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Hi Pete,
Yes, she’s really impressive and certainly deserved a bigger audience watching her do it at the time, although obviously many more would have watched it when it was televised.
Not wanting to hijack this thread further, I couldn’t resist the opportunity of posting these two clips, from the same show of 13 year-old Lucy, who is blind and neurodivergent, playing the piano firstly at Leeds railway station and then at the final of the TV show at London’s Royal Festival Hall. No more words are needed:
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Lucy is amazing, it’s just amazing that what she does is even possible.
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Um, just 20… that’s virtually impossible for me to just pick 20 of my ideals-chosen guitarists….lol… but for now, just off top of my head, I’ll choose :
1)Al Connelly ( Glass Tiger )
2) Jeff Healey
3) Vince Gill
4) Eric Clapton
5) George Harrison
6) Stevie Ray Vaughn
7) Jimi Hendrix
8)Eddie Van Halen
9) Jose Feliciano
10) Chet Atkins
11) Mark Knopfler
12) BB King
13) Chuck Berry
14) Randy Bachman ( Guess Who/BTO )
15) Robbie Robertson ( The Band )
16 ) David Wilcox
17) ZZ Top guys
18) Brian May
19) Brian Seltzer ( Stray Cats )
20) John Mellencamp
That’s off top of my head for my choosing ones, there are many others , and same goes for female guitarists …lol…. I did list a few female ones a few yrs back on here but forget tge topic posting it was for where I had listed ….lol 🤘🎼🎵🎶🎸🎛🎚🔊
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Hi Jacki,
Thanks for your list there, you certainly know your guitarists, and many of the ones you listed are mentioned in the video too. And there are many you listed that certainly belong on the greatest all time displacing a few that appeared in the video that shouldn’t be there. For one of the most influential, Chuck Berry for sure who wasn’t on the top list either. I saw Jeff Healey years ago live, he is amazing.
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Hi Jung… Thankyou…Yes, I guess I do… I , too was lucky once to see Jeff Healey live … did not disappoint 🤘🏻🎸🎼🎵🎶🔊🎛🎚🎙🎤
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I don’t like any lists that say “the best” because it all depends on your taste. It’s like the old rodeo announcer Donnie Gay used to say, “Who’s the prettiest girl at the dance? It all depends on who’s looking”. I prefer to say “my favorite” guitar players. I guess my favorites are the ones I like to listen to the most so I looked at all my CD’s and my music folder on my PC and took my choices from the music I listen to the most which is rock n roll, a little country and a little blues. I listed them in no particular order and used no criteria other than they are the ones I love to listen too.
1.John Fogerty (CCR)
2.Gary Richrath (REO Speedwagon)
3.Keith Richards (Rolling Stones)
4.Angus Young (AC/DC)
5.Carl Perkins
6.Alex Lifeson (Rush)
7.Chuck Berry
8.Roy Clark
9.Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
10.Rick Nielson (Cheap Trick)
11.Randy Bachman (BTO)
12.Jeff Healey
13.David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
14.Johnny Winter
15.Don Rich (Buckaroos)
16.George Harrison
17.Stevie Ray Vaughn
18.Joe Walsh
19.Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
20.Rick Derringer
Noted others: Joe Perry (Aerosmith), George Young (Easybeats), Duane Eddy, Paul Simon, John Denver, Glen Campbell, Ace Frehley (Kiss), Mick Mars (Motley Crue). and yes I like Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Ritchie Blackmore, and a hundred others.
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Hiya Tim…you basically emulated my list…lol adding some I didn’t mention because I’d probably break the forum diwn technically if I were to completely add every single guitarist that I consider worthy of , according to my own music tastes/preferences… I agree with the… ” Fave Guitarist (s) ” concept for the reasoning you said in your commentary
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Thanks Jacki, there’s so many that I like. I forgot a few that are on your list. I love Mark Knopfler, Vince Gill and Brian Setzer and how did I completely miss Clapton? So many more too, Duane Allman, Ted Nugent, Ronnie Montrose, Steve Marriott, Peter Frampton, Alvin Bishop, Buddy Guy.
I just love guys that can really play. I seen Willie Nelson live one time and loved the sound of that old Martin guitar he calls Trigger and he can really play it too. You can feel every note.
Here’s one we just lost 3 days ago. The fantastic Dickey Betts of Allman Brothers fame.
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Hi Tim, thanks for your list, some great ones on there, like Jacki’s too. The Dicky Betts performance is awesome, some wonderful guitar work there. Some nice keyboard thrown in too. I always love Randy Bachman’s playing, David Gilmour’s howling guitar work, and yeah Angus Young. Probably the first great guitar work I really got into is Pink Floyd. Eleven minutes of guitar ecstasy! And a special treat with another legend, David Crosby, joining in on the vocals in this video.
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Agree it’s about what you like, and what criteria you’re using. A lot of overlap on the lists here.
I didn’t know we just lost Dickey Betts. He was great. I saw him once in the mid 70s with his band Great Southern.
Here’s a few more than 20. Players I like. No country players, but some jazzers — that reflects what I mostly listen to. Except Lisa would be #1 if what I listen to now was the criterion. I’m sure I’m forgetting people. 16 of the people on this list I’ve seen live at least once. Order is maybe approximate, but the top of the list came to me faster than the bottom.
Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John McLaughlin, Joe Satriani, Eric Clapton, Al DiMeola, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Larry Coryell, Vernon Reid, Tommy Bolin, Prince, Alex Lifeson, Billy Gibbons, Duane Allman, Steve Howe, Dickey Betts. Eddie Van Halen, Steve Hunter, Albert King, Derek Trucks, Pat Metheny, Chuck Berry, Earl Klugh.
If there’s somebody on my list you don’t know, and you’d like a representative song to listen to, let me know and I’ll post one, because I’ve got at least one in mind for each person.
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Hi Chris
Thanks for your extensive list. I was surprised to see Prince on the video and listed up there with the great guitarists, I always saw him as a pop superstar in the realm of a Michael Jackson, but did not know he was a renowned guitarist. I see he showed his stuff on the stage with other legends and held his own and shined. Is there a good example of Prince and Joe Satriani you can post.
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Jung,
Sure. Those are two of the guys I have seen live. Satriani I saw with my daughter. She got to like him because she heard me playing his tunes (on the stereo, not on the guitar – lol).
This shows what he can do without breaking a sweat, but he’s not always this OTT. One of my favorites that I almost showed here was “Always With Me, Always With You”. That’s him in a different mood. Worth checking out too.
Here he is live, showing off. If you like this, check out what’s on YouTube. He’s currently on tour with Steve Vai. If you know of Vai, another serious guitarist, they’ve been friends for years — ever since Vai showed up on his doorstep, carrying a guitar (with no strings on it), and asked Satriani to teach him how to play, which he did for 3 years.
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Hi Chris
Thanks for these, Joe Satriani is amazing, he makes it look so easy. I love it when guitarists create such unique sounds from the guitar, like at the end. I imagine he left that to the end cause that whammy bar must throw things a little out of tune when you push it to the limit like that.
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Whammy bars tend to do that — detune your guitar.
But there are also things called locking tuners, which help stop that from happening. You tune it, and it stays locked so it stays tuned. That’s the theory anyway, Idk how well it works. My guitar is too old to have that kind of stuff.
And he was using the whammy bar throughout, I think that’s what he started with.
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So now I notice, I left Jimmy Page off
of my list. smh. I’m sure there are more I forgot.Prince is not like Satriani. He was an
entertainer and a showman first and foremost. And a pop star. But
he could play guitar when he wanted to. Listen to the intro to When Doves Cry, he plays some interesting licks there. And then the keyboard player plays the whole song with 2 fingers. Lol. Prince did things his own way. -
Nice compilation of Prince showcasing his remarkable musicianship on the guitar Chris. I think in the 80s at his height, there were so many acts that were more techno pop, with a lot of theatrics but not much musicianship, but Prince was the real deal, a great musician. Great to see he is recognized as one of the best. Did you notice at the end, Prince just gives his guitar after the set to one of the fans! Wow, that must have been nice.
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Definitely agree with Johnny Winter. His technique was great but his feel was even better. Would have loved to see him and SRV jam together. I also think guitarists like Al DiMeola, Martin Barre (Jethro Tul), Jeff Beck Ang Pat Matheny are underrated often times,
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Dave,
I saw Johnny Winter once, when I was in college. March 4th, 1975, at Jenison Fieldhouse, which held 10,000 people. He was fantastic. He could flat out play.
You notice I have some bluesmen on the list, because I live on the blues trail, although it’s not what it used to be any more. I must have seen Buddy Guy at least a dozen times, he would come every year, at least once. and it was cheap to see him, in a small room too. Buddy is doing his farewell tour this year. He’s going to turn 88 this summer.
I saw John McLaughlin on his farewell tour 2 years ago. Then he came back last year. Maybe he lost his calendar or something. Or got some bills he needed to pay.
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Chris,
You are right about Johnny Winter and that’s the best way to describe his ability. He could just flat out play a guitar. Here’s a video to demonstrate his ability to take a standard rock n roll tune and make it an all out guitar jam. It’s easy to see his band and the audience feed off his energy. I seen his brother Edgar live but never did see Johnny, my loss for sure.
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Saw Buddy on the same bill with SRV after SRV had sobered up. Fantastic show and Buddy did his lap around the audience. Saw Johnny several times with the last show I went to he was sitting in a chair. Drugs really messed his health up.
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i don’t think that we should, in any way, be disappointed that Lisa is not on this list. It is, after all, a list of the top 20 MALE guitarists of all time. If it was a list of the 20 top guitarists of all time, I’m sure that she’d be on there.
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Hi Paul
Definitely if the list was the greatest guitarist of all time, Lisa would be my#1. It’s the way she can express on the guitar that is incomparable from a young age, she can really tug at your heart strings. I prefer her Samba Pa Ti over Carlos Santana when I compare the two versions side by side, the same with While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Harrison would be proud to hear his song so beautifully expressed, Wish You Were Here….. On earlier great guitar topics in the forum we talked about Lisa’s amazing guitar prowess.
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Yes indeed, Jung, she’s darned good on all of those songs, not forgetting Hotel California as well at such a young age. I’ll have to search the forums at some stage for past discussions about Lisa’s superb guitar-playing talents – thanks for the heads up!
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Hi Paul & Jung
I agree about Lisa’s playing. It’s hard to fathom she was only 13 when she played Samba Pa Ti at that first concert on a cheap guitar. And the two songs Paul mentioned, Hotel California and While My Guitar Gently Weeps she isn’t much older. I could enjoy a video of nothing but Lisa’s hands playing a song on any of her guitars. I love every note she plays.
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I always want to add some Dutch element to the forum, so I have to mention Jan Akkerman as one of the best guitarists. He was votted best guitarist of the world in 1973. I mentioned in the past one of the bands he played in, Focus with Hocus Pocus (see advent calendar 2022 day 3).
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Fred,
I’m in America, but I remember when Hocus Pocus came out. I have that album. You’re right, he could really play. That was a great song.
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Hi Fred,
Here’s a video of Focus playing on the American TV show called The Midnight Special. This was aired in October of 1973 and I’m pretty sure I watched it then. I didn’t know they were a Dutch band. Man they sure could play, the guitar player is great but the whole band is fantastic. This is a great extended live performance.
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Thanks Tim, I did not know this version.
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Hi Tim, I remember Hocus Pocus was featured on one of the MLT reaction videos. That yodeling vocals unmistakable. From the guitar work to the drumming, these guys are good, and the yodeling singer just triggers a smile. They are very unique!
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Some great picks, and some not so great picks (no pun intended) or non-picks on the list. But how do you make a list of just 20 players when you have to cover so many decades of brilliance?
So many that could be added, Neil Schon was mentioned (but in passing), Tom Scholtz, Richie Sambora, Rick Emmett, Glen Campbell, Travis Tritt, Don Felder, Joe Walsh, Mick Box, Ian Bairnson, Freddy King, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Ry Cooder, John Lee Hooker, Mike McCready, Keith Urban, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Johnny Lang…the list is endless. and that is before you even count the lady players that really rock out, but can also lay claim to being virtuosos in styles and methods that aren’t even mentioned.
Which only adds to the impossibility of counting the greats and limiting the list to a select few wonder-souls. Cool idea though.-
Daryl
I agree too many to name them all. The forum post asked for 20, I named about 50 and still missed quite a few. You mentioned quite a few more that I like too like Kenny Wayne Shephard and Keith Urban. You mentioned Albert King and Freddie King. I also like Ed King who started with the psychedelic band Strawberry Alarm Clock and ended up joining Lynyrd Skynyrd. He came up with the iconic riff for Sweet Home Alabama. I like a lot of the so called rhythm players too like Malcolm Young or Ronnie Wood. I also missed Pete Townsend, Mick Ralphs and Kurt Cobain who pretty much started his own genre of music. Grunge wasn’t my preferred style of rock but that guy could really play. I have quite a list of female players as well if we ever start that thread.
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It’s is absolutely astounding how many really good female guitarists there are. And there are getting to be more all the time. There are a few young ladies I follow on IG/FB and YouTube that are incredibly talented players.
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There are too many great guitarists out there for me to start making a long list. And speed isn’t always a requirement either. As The Good Rats sang in their song “Tasty”, “Speed ain’t nothing without class”. But here is a few of my faves in no particular order:
Richie Blackmore
Tony Iommi
Rik Emmett
1970’s Ace Frehley
Mark Knopfler
George Harrison
John “The cat” Gatto (The The Good Rats)
Glen Buxton
Frank Zappa
J. Geils
Steve Lukather (his guitar solo on The Tubes song “Talk to you later” is AWESOME!
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One of the finest guitarists of all time, Jimmy Page gives his deep insight into musicianship, and gives his favourite guitarist picks in this very interesting video.
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As I stated earlier, I’m not much of a guitar guy, but one guitarist I’m familiar with that I don’t think has mentioned here is Louie Shelton, a session musician who worked for a lot of groups in the 60’s and 70’s. If you’re a fan of fast fingerwork, check out his solo near the end of the Monkees’ song Valleri.
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Hi David,
You know some great guitarists, Louis Shelton’s finger works sounds amazing in Valleri. Love that kind of classical Flamenco guitar work. Valleri has some great harmonies too. Watched a short documentary about him, and it looks like he was one of the big session guitarists in Hollywood at the time.
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Guitarist Duane Eddy, perhaps best known for the 1958 instrumental hit Rebel-‘Rouser, has passed away. He has been cited as an influence by George Harrison, Jeff Beck, John Fogerty, Dave Davies, John Entwistle, Bruce Springsteen, and Mark Knopfler.
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David,
Sorry to hear that about Duane Eddy. He was a true pioneer of “guitar rock”. He inspired many guitarists like you mentioned but also helped create a whole genre of music featuring the electric guitar, inspiring groups like The Ventures and Shadows. I still love Rebel Rouser and Raunchy. I believe George Harrison got the attention of John and Paul because he knew how to play Raunchy. Thanks for the music Duane Eddy.
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</div>The bottom line is this, the 20 best is really left to the individual!
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In that early performance by young Mona and Lisa of Alone, in the part where Mona taps her fingers on the guitar while playing reminded me of Tommy Emmanuel’s tapping on his guitar. I wonder if it was a little Tommy Emmanuel inspiration with Mona.
I didn’t see Tommy Emmanuel mentioned here, but his guitar brilliance is certainly legendary. When I listen to him play, it sounds like 2 guitarists playing at times.
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This is going a little off topic here, but it’s still a stringed instrument.
Nicola Benedetti is considered to be one of the greatest violinists of all time, according to Classic FM (the Rolling Stones Magazine of classical), and is in the league of musicians mentioned in this thread, and in the same vein as Tommy Emmanuel carries multiple voices in a single instrument as she plays. Bach’s 6 Partitas for Solo Violin is considered one of the greatest violin works of all time, and the movement named Chaconne is one of the most famous solo violin pieces. Bach composed these pieces with multiple voices played on a single violin. When I first heard it I always thought it was multiple violinists playing, but it turns out it is in fact a solo violin.
Here is one of the greatest violinists on the planet, (at the 3:30 mark) playing the greatest violin piece in all of classical music, the Chaconne.
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Jung,
Thanks for posting that. I didn’t know her, but then I don’t follow classical music that closely.
It reminds me of a few years back when I listened to Brahms Violin Concerto performed by half a dozen or more different violinists, just to see which was my favourite, and to compare them. That’s a work I always really liked. It’s amazing how different they were. I mean, Heifetz got done in like 2/3 the time of any of the others, for example. Maybe he had somewhere he needed to be after the show?
I’m not a violinist, so it was just me the amateur deciding, but still I thought it an interesting exercise.
And I’m thinking maybe the same would be fun with Bach’s Chaconne, given it’s rep as a challenging piece. Compare the performances of a number of top violin masters. Have you ever tried something like that?
Here’s Jascha, for example.
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Hi Chris
Thanks for Jascha’s performance of the Ciaconne, enjoyed it, he is great. I noticed between Nicola Benedetti and Jascha, each pronounce the piece a little differently, but both great. Benedetti I find more virtuostic flair in parts, and Jascha is very accurate and precise. I have Bach’s complete set of the 6 Violin Sonatas and Partitas that the Ciaconne is a part of, and Arthur Grumiaux recording is amazing. Isaac Stern’s version on youtube is amazing too.
Yeah I know what you mean, I do like to compare different master musicians in classical sometimes on a specific piece. I’ve been more aware of the pianists, and over the years heard for example different pianists perform Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto, and after hearing that for nearly 25 years have concluded I like Claudio Arrau’s version best, and when it comes to Bach keyboard solo and concerto works, to my ears no one sounds more brilliant then Glenn Gould. His staccato style of playing the notes I find really brings Bach’s keyboard works to life for me, more than anyone else. So yes, I’ve come to be amazed how a musician can make a big difference in their interpretation, and that’s the artistry that goes into it. When it comes to the Beatles and classic rock, I find MLTs interpretation incomparable, in the same league as the great master classical musicians like Glenn Gould, Claudio Arrau, Isaac Stern etc…
I am not too familiar with Brahm’s Violin Concerto but will have a listen. Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is my favourite violin work, and the solo violin parts are so full of emotion. The violin weeps. Check it out when you have a chance.
The 3rd movement of Bach’s Violin Partita no 2, the Sarabande, is quite stirring too, here performed by another legend violinist Anne Sophie Mutter here. Check out her Beethoven Violin Concerto performance, it is amazing.
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Jung,
When you’re having a listen to Brahms, check out the one below. YouTube has recordings of her playing this at age 13, 20, 30, and this is like mid 30s. If you watch all 4, she just keeps getting better. She’s a favourite of mine – Hilary Hahn. Watching her work with the conductor and the orchestra is special. YT also has her doing Beethoven’s Concerto with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and plenty of Bach, including Sarabande. Bach is her favourite composer.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen Anne-Sophie Mutter a couple times. She’s great. And last January I saw another master I’d never seen before, Maxim Vengerov. He’s just amazing too. I think that means I’ve seen (heard) at least 3 different Stradivari axes – Maxim has one, Anne-Sophie has one, and I’ve heard Joshua Bell playing his a couple times as well.
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Hi Chris and Jung, & the Diehards!
I guess someone should have started a category for Great 21st Century Violinists! Yes, I’ve seen some of Hilary’s videos, and she’s great too! She’s just a year older than Sarah Chang, Hilary having been born in 1979. It’s so good to see young talent coming up, keeping Classical Music alive! She’s been to Seattle a few times, but unfortunately, I missed her! I can’t see everyone, but maybe someday I’ll catch her with the Seattle Symphony!
Here’s something completely different. I showed this 1st video to my 5th graders 3 years ago when I taught them beginning Violin. We only had violins on loan from the Seattle Youth Symphony for a month or so, so I had to give them a crash course. NOW, more schools are having a regular String class, like I had when I taught Middle School & High School.
One of their clinicians came to my class to help them out 3 times. I took some private lessons from her the next summer, which was a lot of fun! She had done a tour in China w/a small orchestra, & they left RIGHT BEFORE Covid started! She was also hired to play concerts outside for 2 weeks for a group of people doing a Grand Canyon River raft trip! Pretty cool experience for her & the Rafters!
Check out this very different video that I showed to my students! — Bud
Black Violin – “A Flat” (Music Video) (2012) (youtube.com) Violins that Hip Hop!
Ray Brown Trio feat. Regina Carter (violin) – Reets And I (youtube.com)
Some serious Swingin’ Violin!A Violin that Dances! Hillary Klug – Cotton Eyed Joe (youtube.com)
The Violin can Rock too! And my God! That vocal! Billy Joel – The Downeaster ‘Alexa’ (Live at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, April 1990) (youtube.com)
youtube.com
Black Violin - "A Flat" (Music Video) (2012)
Black Violin's new single "A Flat" off of their highly anticipated Sophomore album "Classically Trained" produced by Infamous. Video was directed by @WileyA...
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Hi Bud!
Wow, these guys are awesome, the Black Violin video! Thanks for sharing that. it’s so refreshing to see great musical talent like that in modern pop music. I think it’s great you showed your grade 5ers this video, and introduced them to violin. It would be great to have more violin adoption in pop music too, as it can add so much colour to the genre. Lindsey Stirling is a good example of a violinist in the pop genre these days.
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Wow, great stuff in this thread. Jean-Luc Ponty is one of my favorite guys. I’ve seen him twice. Borders Books was founded in Ann Arbor. One time long ago, Jean-Luc came to the flagship store with an electric violin and a small amp and played 2-3 songs, just by himself, then autographed CDs. I was one of about 20 people there and had a chance to talk to him.
The only other time I saw him was in the photo below. That’s the Detroit River in the background, and Windsor Ontario behind it. That park is in Detroit — it used to be called Chene Park. Michigan was French before it was British or American. Chene means “oak” in French. And Detroit means “the straits”, since that Detroit river is really just straits between a couple Great Lakes. That park is now called Aretha Franklin Park; they renamed it after she passed away. She was from Detroit and such a great singer.
Regina Carter is from Detroit too. I’ve seen her many times, including just a year or two ago. I saw her back way long ago when she was just a local act, before she became famous. She’s great.
My mom’s from New York city, and I used to spend my summers on Long Island when I was growing up. So I know where all those places are that Billy Joel mentions in that song. That’s a great song too. You hit a lot of special people in that post, Bud. Thanks.
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To Chris and Jung,
Hooray, I got two people to reply! I’m glad you both enjoyed those! I’ve seen both Jean Luc Ponty & Regina Carter live, AND Ray Brown on bass a few times! He used to play in the Merv Griffin TV Show Band, which I saw in LA 3 times in person! I’ve only been to the airport in Detroit, but I lived in NYC for 2 years, mostly on the Upper West Side. Love the city! We did a few Aretha songs in a band I was in during the ’80’s while touring the West Coast.
I took a String Class for teachers several years ago, & one of the teachers did some Rock improv with an electric violin with effects. It was too cool!
I love many different kinds of Music, and sometimes I’ll spend ALL DAY posting stuff like this, in-between other things I’m doing. I love to do that, but tomorrow I’ve GOT TO get back to practicing instruments!
By the way, I finished teaching for 5 months at that last school, to cover for my friend who had quit. I was only filling in until they found a permanent teacher, & that’s fine with me. I had 16 different classes, K thru 5th with Band. But there were 2 to 10 kids in every class who had behavior issues, making it hard on everyone! I’ll miss it, but it was very stressful! But I’ll still go in twice a week to help out the Band, without pay. I just want to do it. The Band kids said, “Oh NO!” when I told them I was leaving last Thursday!
Our adult Jazz Band did a performance yesterday for someone’s 90th BD, & the people loved us! But I’m tired out & need to get myself back into shape. OK! Talk to you again soon! Take care!
— Bud
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Hello again Everyone! (I hope more than just two people!)
I can’t resist showing you a few more! Here’s some very Soulful Klezmer Music from Poland, with the great Itzak Perlman improvising along with a local band. Wow! (If limited on time, watch minutes 4:40 to 11:14.) You can see that the VIOLIN can fit in with any style of Music!
Finally, here’s Paul McCartney with the “Making of Beautiful Night,” one of my favorite videos by Paul! The whole finished product runs from minute 6:00 to the end. The parts with George Martin & Linda M. especially make me tear up every time! But there are funny parts also. Paul rehearses with the Brass & Strings at Abbey Road Studios! I hope you enjoy these! — Bud
PAUL McCARTNEY-“Beautiful Night”- (MAKING OF). (youtube.com)
youtube.com
Itzhak Perlman: In the Fiddler's House (A Journey To The Heart Of Klezmer) // Sub Español
1. Perlman's First Klezmer Lesson2. Diiner In New York3. Klezmer And Mazeltov4. Many Styles Of Klezmer5. Perlman In Krakow6. Polish Klezmer Festival7. Perlma...
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Hi Bud,
Watching that Billy Joel video of the violinist and Billy Joel on the accordion, reminded me of Mona and Lisa. I love that they can pickup a new instrument and master it just like that , and use it in one of their songs. That is the true character of great musicians like the Beatles. Mona learned the accordion to do Vincent, and Lisa learned the cello for Yesterday and If I Fell. Maybe they can do a Duo Session one day with accordion and cello in it. 😎
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Jung,
Yes to all that! And that’s a great Billy Joel song! I don’t know how he keeps up his voice after so many years! And I’m going to see him again on May 24th — can’t wait! Last time was in 1999, & this will make about 5 or 6 times that I will have seen him live.
I met & talked to him face to face at the Seattle Hilton when I used to work there. Around 1978 or ’79. He was very nice! I also met Tony Bennett around the same time! And also, Benny Anderson from ABBA! That was an interesting job!
I’m always hoping that we’ll see Mona & Lisa play more instruments, like the Flute, Cello, Accordion, etc. To be a great Violin player, a person needs to really start between ages 5 and 10!
But I know from my own experience that it’s possible to attain basic proficiency with regular practice, even at a later age! I just personally don’t have enough time to keep it up with so many other instruments that I want & need to play. But I’ll do Violin again, if only for fun!I’d really like to see Mona play the Marimba! She’d be good at it! And more Flute, PLEASE, Mona if you’re seeing this! And Recorder! (Maybe even Violin!) And Lisa is also GREAT at whatever she picks up! They are two AMAZING WOMEN that I greatly admire!!
Later Dude! — Bud
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To Jung, Chris, Paul, & Everyone following this thread,
It’s really something for ONE PERSON to be able to captivate an audience like this! More people these days should be aware of the Violin, & all the excellent instrumental players out there! Very nice videos everyone!
If you haven’t heard Sarah Chang before, she is amazing! Born Dec. 10, 1980, here is a video of her playing in London I believe at AGE 10! (COULD SHE BE THE REICARNATED SOUL OF NICCOLO PAGANINI!?!? (Paganini, 1782 — 1840.) Well, if not, her musicianship on the Violin is truly ASTOUNDING for ANY age, let alone age 10! — Bud
SARAH CHANG (AGE 10) – CARMEN FANTASY – PART 1/2 (youtube.com)
SARAH CHANG (AGE 10) – CARMEN FANTASY – PART 2/2 (youtube.com)
And from 6 years ago, Paganini’s Violin Concerto No.1, Op. 6. She can really make her instrument SING!!
Sarah Chang – Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 6 (youtube.com)
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To EVERYONE,
My typical listening habits are that I’ll put on some Jazz, then Classical, then Rock, then anything else. So, getting back to two of my favorites today, here are the MONA LISA TWINS!! “WHY?”
Because “I’m still into something good.” I’m into Music so much because I’m — “In It For Love!”— Bud
Hey Bulldog (The Beatles Cover) – MonaLisa Twins (Live at the Cavern Club) (youtube.com)
“Best Of The MonaLisa Twins” – 28 second Version. (youtube.com)
In It For Love – MonaLisa Twins (Original) // MLT Club Duo Session (youtube.com)
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