T-Bone Walker (born Aaron Joseph Walker) was born on this day in 1910.
T-Bone was a blues guitarist and one of the pioneers of the electric guitar. His electric guitar solos were some of the first heard on blues recordings.
Most of T-Bone’s music was recorded from 1946–1948, including “Stormy Monday” which he recorded in 1947. He followed with “T-Bone Shuffle” and “Let Your Hair Down, Baby”, both considered blues classics.
Jimi Hendrix referred to T-Bone as his childhood hero.
T-Bone was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Joe Bonamassa was born in Utica, New York on May 8, 1977.
He received his first guitar from his father at the age of 4, and by age 7 he was playing Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix tunes note for note. At the age of 11, he was mentored by Danny Gatton and learned to play country, jazz and heavy rock.
He opened for B. B. King when he was 12. After first hearing him play, King said, “He hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface. He’s one of a kind.”
B.B.’s analysis of Joe’s ability was right on track. Today, Joe Bonamassa is known as one of the finest electric blues-rock guitarists on the planet and is a favorite of GuitarDaddy and TheGuitarBuzz.com.
The world lost one of the all-time great bluesmen on December 21, 1992. He was born on April 25, 1923 (“Under a Bad Sign” of course!) and world have turned 87 today. Oh how I wish Albert was still with us!
Albert King Gravesite in Memphis
Albert was known as one of the “Three Kings of the Blues Guitar”, along with B. B. King and Freddie King. He was a large man, 6′ 4″, 250 lbs, with incredibly large hands that were perfect for playing the guitar.
Like so many other blues guitar players, Albert began singing with a family gospel group at a church when he was just a young boy. He was influenced by blues musicians Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lonnie Johnson.
King was a left-handed “upside-down/backwards” guitarist meaning that while he was left-handed, he usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down so the low E string was on the bottom. The electric guitar (specifically the Gibson Flying V, which he named “Lucy”) was his signature instrument. In later years he played a custom-made Flying V that was basically left-handed, but had the strings reversed. He also used very unorthodox tunings, often tuning as low as C — to allow him to make massive string bends.
This video is from a LIVE recording in the mid-1980′s titled “Blues Legends: Albert King, Live in Sweden” and the DVD can still found on eBay…usually under $10 bucks. If you love the blues, you should buy one of these while you can. What I LOVE about this clip is the interview and the open and candid answers that Albert gave. For a big man, he had an even bigger heart. He loved his fans and he loved the blues. His music lives on in me — which is the purest way to measure one’s impact on people’s lives.
I miss you Albert – Happy Birthday!
One more thing… You can download a BACKING TRACK to Albert King’s “Born Under A Bad Sign” by CLICKING HERE.
He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and went on to be a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the band Led Zeppelin.
Page is unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #9 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.
He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, once as a member of The Yardbirds (1992) and once as a member of Led Zeppelin (1995).
Page was quoted to say: “Many people think of me as just a riff guitarist, but I think of myself in broader terms… As a producer I would like to be remembered as someone who was able to sustain a band of unquestionable individual talent, and push it to the forefront during its working career. I think I really captured the best of our output, growth, change and maturity on tape — the multifaceted gem that is Led Zeppelin.” - 1993 Guitar World Magazine Interview.
By the way… Jimmy Page is reputed to own over 1,500 guitars!
He first picked up a guitar at the age of 13 and by the time he was 18 he was playing professionally.
I read an interview a few months back where Robben was quoted to say he had never earned a dollar in his life outside of playing guitar. Can anyone say “dream job’?
Ford was named one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of the 20th Century” by Musician Magazine.
Robben will be playing in Phoenix on January 9th and GuitarDaddy will be there!
Billy is is best known as the lead guitarist for “ZZ Top”. Gibbons trademark guitars are his Gretsch “Billy-Bo” and his 1959 Gibson Les Paul known as “Pearly Gates”, although it is common to see Billy step on stage with something quite exotic.
He is also known for his custom cars and love for Mexican cuisine. It is widely known that Billy uses a Mexican Peso coin as a guitar pick.
One of my favorite Billy Gibbons quotes is: “This place won’t be here tomorrow, so let’s tear it down tonight!”
James Marshall “Jimi” Hendrix was born November 27, 1942.
To say that Jimi Hendrix was a guitarist, singer and songwriter is like saying Michael Jordon was a basketball player.
To many people, Jimi is considered to be the greatest electric guitar player in the history of rock-n-roll music… and don’t expect GuitarDaddy to dispute that!
Certainly he was one of the most important and influential musicians of his era across a wide variety of genres.
He said often that his playing style was influenced by blues artists such as B. B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James.
After his initial success playing in Europe, he achieved “rock-star” fame in the United States with his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. He went on to headline the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.
Hendrix favored raw overdrive and amplifiers with high gain and treble. It was that combination that helped him fine-tune the previously undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback. Simple stated, Hendrix turned the undesireable into the desirable.
One of my favorite Hendrix quotes was: ““Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you’re gonna be rewarded.”
He was rewarded, and so were we — every time we heard him play.
Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American lead guitarist, co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band, and respected session musician. He is best remembered for his brief but influential tenure in that band, expressive slide guitar playing, and formidable improvisational skills.
A sought-after session musician both before and during his tenure with the band, Allman performed with such established stars as King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and Herbie Mann.
His contributions to the 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos went on to become a part of Rock history.
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Allman at #2 in their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, second only to Jimi Hendrix.
His tone (achieved with a Gibson Les Paul and a 50-watt Marshall amplifier) was named one of the greatest guitar tones of all time by Guitar Player.
Albert Collins was born on October 1, 1932. We lost him 1993. He was one amazing blues guitarist.
Albert had several nicknames, including: “The Ice Man”, “The Master of the Telecaster” and “The Razor Blade”.
Collins was popular throughout the 1980′s and early 1990′s and was an influence for other guitarists… namely: Robert Cray, Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jonny Lang, Susan Tedeschi, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and John Mayer.
In 1983, he won won the award for best blues album of the year with “Don’t Lose Your Cool”. In 1985, he shared a Grammy for the album Showdown!, which he recorded with Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland.
Collins also performed at Live Aid in 1985, playing “The Sky Is Crying”.
Collins will always be remembered for his live performances, where he would often come down from the stage and mingle with the audience. Throughout his career, Albert Collins collaborated with Ronnie Wood, Jimmy Page, Robert Cray, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King and Eric Clapton. Not bad company!
Eric is best known for his ability to incorporate jazz, fusion, new age and rock into his recordings.
Eric is widely recognized for his guitar skills. Guitar Player magazine called Johnson “One of the most respected guitarists on the planet.” His stylistic diversity and technical proficiency have drawn praise from other renowned guitarists like Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Larry Carlton, Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter, Jeff Baxter, Prince, B. B. King, Joe Satriani and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan.
In 1990 he recorded the single “Cliffs of Dover,” which won him the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
Robben Ford was born on December 16, 1951.
Billy F. Gibbons was born on December 16, 1949.
Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American lead guitarist, co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band, and respected session musician. He is best remembered for his brief but influential tenure in that band, expressive slide guitar playing, and formidable improvisational skills.
Albert had several nicknames, including: “The Ice Man”, “The Master of the Telecaster” and “The Razor Blade”.
