You know a music store has a smell to it, like wood, glue, and varnish, the chrome blinds you when you walk in the door. As a youngun’ we had a favorite music store called “Virginia Music” and it was owned by a guy named Bill Darr, he also had a partner named Lester that worked with him and you could pretty much count on the fact that one or the other was there anytime the store was opened. Those guys were as much an influence as anybody because they never ran me out when I’d go to visit. They always had the coolest instruments, especially the wall of guitars, it seemed like the wall went on forever in those days. It really was just a small shop but it’s all about impression I suppose. If they were working on an instrument when you walked in they’d take time to tell you a little about it or what they were doing to it. Those were fun memories.

 

Thinking further on this “top 10 list” and how difficult it is to narrow down to 10, there are also some players I had forgotten about. Folks like Rick Nielsen, Rick Derringer, Lindsey Buckingham, or the Rossington and Collins double threat with Lynard Skynard, and a guy named Randy Waller. Don’t know if Randy ever made it big, but man what a player. When I was in 7th grade Byrd Middle school he was in the 9th and the school had a stunt talent show. Randy’s band played and they did the full version of “Freebird” flawlessly. They won. Randy’s dad was in a popular Bluegrass, Country Western band called the Virginia Gentleman and Lester from the music store would play stand up bass with them also. So I’d hang out at the music store and Randy (remember just a teenager) would give lessons and work the counter some. Hence the influence. I also especially remember Randy because in the 9th grade he had a full beard and looked like Hank Williams Jr. In fact when I see Hank on TV I immediately think of Randy.

 

The reason I chose this top 10 was because through the years they have had a style that I’ve admired, a body of work that’s lasted, or there was just a song or lick that sticks in your head. There’s only a few that when you hear notes you can name the song or player right away, I thinks it’s because they’ve developed their sound and technique to a point they actually are “standing inside the note” so to speak. A prime example of this is Santana’s “Black magic woman”. You can turn on the radio and know it right away anywhere in the song, it’s as individual as his fingerprint or signature. That analogy by the way I stole from him in an interview I saw a while back, but it fits.

 

There are some that aren’t on my list. Not because they aren’t great, but because they come from another planet like Eddie Van Halen, or Jimi Hendricks. I remember going over to my friend Curtis Lynn’s house to hang out and he said “you need to hear this”. It was the first Van Halen album and I had never heard anything like it before or since. I said what other albums do they have out and he said “that’s it, first one”. I’ve since talked to other people who reacted the same way.

 

So here’s my top 10 pick for the “Most Influential Guitar Hero’s of all time”:

 

10. Ritchie Blackmore –of Deep Purple “Smoke on the water” “Highway star”

  9. Chet Atkins -A guitar player’s guitar player, he’s definitely both an innovator and influence  

  8. Ace Frehly – Yep ol’ Ace makes my top 10, just check out an old version of “Black Diamond” and you’ll know why

  7. Tom Scholz –of Boston, pick a song any song, it’s just good music.

  6. Ted Nugent –Uncle Ted, The Motor City Madman, score a copy of “Double Live Gonzo” to figure why him, everybody had a copy of that one

 5. John Entwistle-OK so he’s like a lead a bass player, often immitated but never duplicated

  4. Eric Clapton -again pick any song it’s just perfection

  3. Stevie Ray Vaughn-I remeber really feeling bad he died, so much more music to have been made

  2. David Gilmour -I’m a huge Pink Floyd fan, he bends a note and has a signature sound that pierces right thorugh you.

  1. Pete Townsend-”What?” you say, but he and that bass player guy above had a musical chemistry, Just listen to the riff trade on “My Generation”, or ”Amazing Journey” between them. The music continued to get better and better as time went on. I’ve seen them in concert a couple of times and there’s no other band that could touch The WHO live.  In those days when you had a garage band, you played “House of the Rising Sun”, ”Gloria”, “You Really Got Me”, and ”Can’t Eplain”, that was the standard set.

 

Billy