Great Guitarists Archives | Page 2 of 2

Lead Belly

8 years agoGreat Guitarists12 string guitar, blues, folk

Lead Belly (official name, Huddie William Ledbetter) was born on January 20, 1889 in Louisiana. He passed away at age 60 in New York City.

He spent several stints in prison for violent crimes – and was pardoned twice (at least partly owing to his musical abilities).

Lead Belly was a master of the 12 string guitar and influenced many later players including Pete Seeger. He mostly played with thumb and finger picks and his guitar prowess coupled with his powerful singing voice made him a major force in folk and blues music. He also influenced a large number of Jazz, country and rock artists including Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Keith Richards and Nirvana.

Lead Belly [ public domain ]

Guitar Slim

8 years ago 8 years agoGreat Guitaristsblues

Guitar Slim was the stage name for Eddie Jones – a Mississippi born New Orleans blues guitarist. He was active in the 1950s and was influenced by T-Bone Walker and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.

Guitar Slim was an innovative performer with a wild stage act and distorted guitar tone. He influenced many later guitarists including Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy.

The song “The Things I Used To Do” was his one big hit (produced by Ray Charles and covered by many artists including Stevie Ray Vaughan).

Dead at the age of 32, Guitar Slim is one of many guitarists to die at an early age.

Guitar Slim [Fair Use: Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guitar_Slim.jpg ]

Wes Montgomery

9 years ago 8 years agoGreat Guitaristsjazz

Wes Montgomery was born in Indianapolis on 6th March 1923 and died at the very young age of 45. Many of the great jazz guitarists had short lives: Charlie Christian – 25; Django Reinhardt – 43 for example.

Wes followed in the musical line of Charlie Christian and Django and influenced many to come such as George Benson, Jimi Hendrix and Pat Martino. He didn’t start learning the guitar until age 20 – basically playing by ear. He started out by copying Charlie Christian solos off recordings. Wes used his thumb rather than pick or fingers which gave him a distinctive tone.

Pat Metheny said he “learned to play listening to Wes Montgomery’s Smokin’ at the Half Note.” Joe Pass said,”To me, there have been only three real innovators on the guitar—Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, and Django Reinhardt”.

Wes Montgomery in 1966 [public domain]