THe greatest one note ever played in rock music...

[50calexplorer]

The opening not of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys.



That or possible the opening note of 'Mother' by Pink Floyd.



What say you?

[GCDEF]

2:35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NjqnwuVsOc

[Marc Roy]

Listen to "Walking by Myself" off of Still Got the Blues by Gary Moore. During the solo, he hits a ridiculously high bend. I get chills every time I hear it.

[Soundhound]

Game over.


The opening not of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys.

[Jon Silberman]

The lead to Cinnamon Girl is right up there. Some would say that only in Western music would it be considered one note - there are microtonal bends throughout - but I think it qualifies.

[ChrisB]

DLR - Ladies nite in Buffalo - first note in solo - hair raising

[jamess]

The high bend Carlos hits about mid way through 'Europa'.

Spine-tingley to be sure.

[A-Bone]

The lead to Cinnamon Girl is right up there.

This was my first thought, as well.

[buddaman71]

The one note Neal Young solo in Keep on Rockin in the Free World is pretty bad a$$.

[jtm622]

The note Tom Scholz hits leading into the last verse of "Foreplay/Longtime" is plenty sweet...

[thedroid]

The one note Neal Young solo in Keep on Rockin in the Free World is pretty bad a$$.

I'm partial to E note, hit eighteen times straight, at the beginning of his solo on Down By the River.

I saw a TV bio doc on him that described how, as a teenager in Canada, he played a one-note solo for like five minutes on stage with his band, and after it was over friends asked him what had happened up there. He couldn't tell them.

[taco-man]

The high bend Carlos hits about mid way through 'Europa'.

Spine-tingley to be sure. I like that one too.
Also, that feedback note that Brian May sustains during "We Will Rock You."

[hudpucker]

The opening note of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys.





Yep.

Wrap it up, this thread's done.

[scriptphase]

2:35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NjqnwuVsOc

+1 :bow

[pickaguitar]

The hanging note after the solo on 'Don't Fear The Reaper'! (BLUE OYSTER CULT)

[SwedeRacer]

You guys are all wrong

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rre3zgL7eMk&feature=related

[GuitarsFromMars]

The lead to Cinnamon Girl is right up there. Some would say that only in Western music would it be considered one note - there are microtonal bends throughout - but I think it qualifies.

Now THAT's a one note solo.

[Lance]

I think it was 1993 or 4, and I was at a sort of Jazz Allstars kinda show. The band was Billy Cobham, Stanley Clarke, Najee, and Larry Carlton. At one point in the night Larry hit one note that brought he entire house to their feet, and got a standing ovation in the middle of the song! Now, that just don't happen at jazz shows. At least, none of the other ones I've seen. He tried to hit it again later in the tune. Even gave an explanation ofter the song was over. Something to the effect of, "Gosh that one was so perfect, I had to play it again." You could see it on his face too. He hit it, and as time was passing by, he just couldn't think of anywhere else it needed to go, so he let it ride....and ride some more....and then the crowd went nuts. The rest is history, though I really wish I could track down a recording of that show. It was at the Holiday Starr Plaza Theater in Merrillville, IN if anyone reading this just so happens to have a copy. Oh, I'll make it worth your while, allright.

[Steve73]

Yeah, I could definitely go with that note in Machine Gun. That one or the note at :20 of 'Power of Soul':

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[Crimson Queen]

That Machine Gun note floored me when I first heard it as a teenager, and it still does.

I would also nominate that note Jeff Beck plays with an octave tone early in the Good Bye Pork Pie Hat solo from Wired.

[khingpynn]

hands down it's Cinnamon Girl Mr Young owns the one note solo.

[Blanket Jackson]

Hendrix is the shizzle, but for one note solos this has to be the top of the dogpile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Te70JSLwTQ&feature=related

[2HBStrat]

Does the final chord in "A Day in The Life" by The Beatles count?

[vkennedy]

The note Roy Buchanan hit at 2:17 in "Sweet Dreams" would be my choice, even though some would say it's not rock music.

[WahmBoomAh]

all hail Machine Gun .

Prince`s entry into the Purple Rain always gets me too . Actually there`s a ghost note before the long one ,. does that count ?

[bluesjunior]

I am also a fan of Neil Youngs one note solos but my absolute favorite one note on a guitar goes to Eric Clapton in the BBC televised rehearsals from the From the Cradle tour. He does the vocal to "Ain't Nobody's Business" acapella and then as the band comes in he plays 4 or 5 notes and on the last one he hits a big soaring bend that keeps on rising and rising. It seems easy but I have tried and mine seems to die away where his just keeps on soaring. I can't think of any other guitar player who has played that bend like Eric does, amazing.

[jwny72]

The opening not of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys.



That or possible the opening note of 'Mother' by Pink Floyd.



What say you?

That opening note of the solo on Machine Gun is hard to beat.:agree

Pete Townsends one note (tremolo picked) solo in "I can See for Miles" is cool too!

[jwny72]

Hendrix is the shizzle, but for one note solos this has to be the top of the dogpile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Te70JSLwTQ&feature=related

Oh yeah!:agree. I forgot about that one. Starless and Bible Black is too awesome!

[dk123123dk]

I like the volume swell Jimi does on the long version of Voodoo Chile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXqxXrjoOf0
7:42


dk

[bgl]

Warren Haynes-"Thorazine Shuffle" off of "Live With A Little Help From Our Friends.

THAT, is music to these ears...

[mattwasserman]

The note at 2:20 in Gilmour's solo in Time, sublime.

[jmcerlain]

Full agreement on "Machine Gun" that was a game changer for me. Still is. Power of Soul is a close second.

[Spudman]

These guys beat everyone to it. The very first note and you know what's coming.
dlkv6a75TDk

[Frank Prince]

The slow descending pick scrape culminating in an A chord that dissolves into feedback towards the end of Uncle Ted Nugent's solo in Stranglehold.

That's probably more than one note, but I always thought of it as one of the greatest moves in rock music.

[Blazes]

I3wSIcDoT3Q

[slider313]

Jeff Beck's opening note/bend on " 'Cause We've Ended as Lovers"

[aeolian]

Randy California/Spirit - Mechanical World

Honorable mention to Jeff for that Cause We've Ended As Lovers intro note, and Kossoff/Free for the long note in All Right Now.

[Stinky Kitty]

George Lynch's intro note to Dokken's "Night by Night" solo has always been a favorite of mine, as is Petrucci's masterpiece from "The Spirit Carries On." Scroll to 5:40 for the magic:
Zm1O6MSRo1c

[JustJim]

Wow, I thought I was the only one who would have said "machine gun." First thing that came to my mind...

[CaptainCrunch]

The opening note of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys. What say you?

Hands down this, never heard any other single note that has and continues to have the hair raising impact of this one.

Honorable mention would also go to Jimi, from the Woodstock Star Spangled Banner - there are two that stand out to me, at about 2:50 there is a note that as he whammy's it spirals up into glorious feedback, then shortly after the last note on the phrase "land of the free....", pretty chilling. I suppose the whole context of the notes referred to contribute greatly to the impact.

[The Kid]

The opening note of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys.

I opened this thread to post that...

[AaeCee]

I love the final note of the 5(?) note intro to Steely Dan's 'Don't Take Me Alive'. Larry Carlton I think.

[VaughnC]

That little G note George plays on top of the intro F chord in "A Hard Days Night" is instant goosebumps to me.

[cottoneyedjoe]

The lead to Cinnamon Girl is right up there. Some would say that only in Western music would it be considered one note - there are microtonal bends throughout - but I think it qualifies.

I don't know about you, but when I listen to that solo first off, I get chills.

The second thing I notice is how every time he strikes the string he gets a different inflection or tone, even though it is the same note. Just by wiggling his left finger.....

Amazing.

[strattele335]

How about the 2nd note of the first solo in Comfortably Numb. That one gets me every time. Pretty short, but tons of emotion.

Craig

[thesjkexperienc]

The opening not of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys.

What say you?

Just stop right there. I remember hearing that on the radio when I was 16. Went with a friend that played bass and bought a guitar the next day.

[TwoTubMan]

First five seconds. I win! :p

4qHX493bB3U

[aaronblues]

The lead to Cinnamon Girl is right up there. Some would say that only in Western music would it be considered one note - there are microtonal bends throughout - but I think it qualifies.

Recent Guitar World interview, Neil's quote is something like "Everyone of the notes in that solo are different.....They just all have the same name...."

Classic.

My "one note" contribution is a Neil moment too...but a little obscure. He gets my vote tho. Honorable mention to Nick McCabe for The Verve's "Star Sail". First "note" after the first verse. Sounds like mind's exploding...

cheers

[iamdavea]

I'm partial to that crazy, flanged scream that opens EVH's solo in "Bottoms Up".

[Flyin' Brian]

Two:

The harmonic at the end of the solo in Nowhere Man

The first note in Clapton's solo in Old Love from 24 Nights

[Philly Fuzz]

Red House Painters brilliant cover of "Silly Love Songs" has an epic one-note(-ish) solo. Clearly Kozelek's homage to Neil Young....

[5150user]

Steve Vai hit a note at the start of his guitar solo in the David Lee Roth song "Hot Dog and a Shake" that still haunts me 20 something years later.

[teletran1175]

Chicago - Listen

Vintage CTA at its best.

4eobQYJRgS0

[russiancrowe]

if you count the voice as an instrument to be played I vote for Roger Daltrys scream in "Won't Get Fooled Again."

[Shiny_Beast]

just pick one

BGWYGR3xy2Y

[skhan007]

The first note in "Rock Bottom" of Alive! That pick harmonic always gets me since the first time I heard it in the 70's.

[Ulysses]

I like the volume swell Jimi does on the long version of Voodoo Chile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXqxXrjoOf0
7:42


dk

Yes, Jimi owns the one noter title. The note he repeats three times from 0:47 to 0:57 was the first thing that popped in my head when I saw the thread title. Majestic vibrato drenched in a kaleidoscope of harmonics, sparks flying left and right, breathing fire and weeping at the same time. It's the perfect single note in my book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXqxXrjoOf0

Other single notes that come to mind are any during the fury unleashed by the Mahavishnu on "Visions of the Emerald Beyond": "Lila's Dance" from 2:58 to the one at 3:40:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Miqd-htP2E

I would place Neil easily in the company of these guys though when it comes to masters of the "one note".


atrocious spelling...fixed...typing too fast

[tone4days]

lotsa great suggestions in this thread already ... the europa one is really good

but the thing that popped into my head first, for some reason, is hendrix ... woodstock ... star spangled banner ... the 6th note where the word 'see' (as in, oh say can you ...) would be if you were singing

[npsiwak]

Youre all wrong, the greatest 1 note solo of all time, in bad boy boogie, by ACDC. Only angus could rock 1 note so freaking hard

starts at 3:31, picks back up at 6:50...INSANE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFgor5y_cTw

God i love this band

(edit: i guess it wasnt angus the whole time all alone, but he MADE that note...)

Better version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7_jkE-5xHE @ 2:45

[Lublin]

2:35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NjqnwuVsOc
That's game.

[funkmaster]

G

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[Wagster]

1:47 gives me major chills
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[guitbeef]

I don't know if this is THE greatest, but the very first note of "Funk 49" always gets me.

Another for me would be the note Jimi plays on BOG's "Power Of Soul" (or whatever it's callled on the actual record) when the band kicks in- freakin' kills me.

Yet another for me would be the last note of Lifeson's "Limelight" solo and how it goes into the high, high feedback note.

[Rob Sharer]

The hanging note after the solo on 'Don't Fear The Reaper'! (BLUE OYSTER CULT)


/Thread.


Rob

[imonabuss]

2:35
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NjqnwuVsOc

Oh yeah.

[Thor]

Some great ones listed already
(Europa and Stranglehold immediately came to mind when I saw this thread)

Want to add Van Halen's Mean Street opening after the harmonic spray (28 seconds). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2R2KXNQR1M

And don't laugh, but Yngwie makes some awesome contributions to the chilling one note club.
The soaring note that runs at 3:40-4:04 is breathtaking. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkY8HyzI1bU

Another unexpected artist: Slayer
Dead Skin Mask (a couple of real chillers in the first 17 sec and then a haunting end at 4:48) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNFglDcW7dQ

Great thread!

[greenlander]

For me it's that high piano note through a Leslie on Pink Floyd's "Echoes". Like a submarine ping.

Soon as you hear that note you know 20+ minutes of bliss is coming. :aok

[stupidmunkey214]

The opening not of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys.



That or possible the opening note of 'Mother' by Pink Floyd.



What say you?

Not gettin much better than that man.

BUT, this is pushing the damn envelope:

@ 0:53-0:54 Never heard this note pulled from any instrument, guy reached up and brought this one back from somewhere you can't see...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4Wh6FTW3ew

[Tone_Terrific]

Did we miss another Jimi one?
Foxy Lady...wonderful opener....still catches me.

[White Cluster]

88WJlsqccNg
8:20

[BigViolin]

Billy's last note at the end of "Just got Paid".

[R13D]

Machine Gun

[motis1953]

Maybe the first note of "I Feel Fine" where the first note morphs into feedback or "Foxey Lady" where the first note morphs into feedback. Do I detect a pattern here?

[Vltg3]

I don't know if it counts as a note but 4:36-4:39ish, when I first heard that I was pretty taken aback :

ruMX0GrvwAI

[dunara]

Two moments spring to mind; the organ chord at the end of 'Low spark of the high heeled boys' by Traffic - discordant and wonderful: and the last note in Mick Ronson's fabulous solo on Ian Hunter's 'Once bitten twice shy' - feeds back and sustains all the way through the pre-chorus. Lovely :cool:

[Rockinrob86]

I think everyone that is suggesting something hasn't heard from 4:00-5:00 in Machine Gun. Seriously, that one note communicates the entire suffering of humanity. ever.

That isnt the greatest note played in rock music, it is the greatest note played on any instrument in any kind of music, at any point.

To hear that note without knowing that it was coming is something I will always remember. It was like how is this note still going? Instant smile :)

[yucatown]

The bent note at the end of each chorus on REM's "It's the end of the world as we know it."

[reeced]

The Hollies - The Air That I Breathe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6nfFwSGvh8&feature=related

[scottlr]

These guys beat everyone to it. The very first note and you know what's coming.
dlkv6a75TDk

:agree

My first thought, followed by the droning E on CCR's Born On The Bayou.

[ScottB]

These guys beat everyone to it. The very first note and you know what's coming.
dlkv6a75TDk

Yep.

That note ushered in an era.

[billconnorsfan]

Here you go... At 2:17

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[imaguy2]

4:16

9EHw_lIc6EY

[mikem]

It was one time I was jamming in 1982 and I hit that Bflat by mistake when I was doing a pentatonic lick in E. I had just discovered the flat fifth. Things were never the same after that.

Mike

[Ginglymus]

I love the high note Hendrix ends with in "All Along The Watchtower".

Another beautiful single note, starting at 1:15
mLTlAnVUx3A

[GrooveSlinger]

The first note of just about every Albert Collins solo.

[PanaDP]

Here you go, right at the top:
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[musicman1]

Terry Kath sustains one note for about a minute on a song called "Listen" on the CTA album. Best single note Ive heard yet...

[Alister]

The first not of Clapton's solo on "Old Love," in the 24 Nights tour.
Which I'm sure someone has mentioned before, but I'm not gonna read 6 pages of this, and no one is probably reading mine, either.

[SlyStrat]

[QUOTE=50calexplorer;7858905]The opening not of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys.

This one!

[thefuzz7219]

Top 5:

5: Stairway to Heaven Solo First Note
4: Last Note of Purple Haze Solo
3: Iron Man Intro
2: I Feel Fine Feedback Note
1: Foxy Lady Feedback

[PAF]

n_2cnD2_ul0

3:54

[HoboMan]

The note Tom Scholz hits leading into the last verse of "Foreplay/Longtime" is plenty sweet...


That one is plenty sweet but it was played by Barry Goudreau. One fo the few songs that he played lead on.

[Stratobuc]

The solo on "I Can See For Miles".

[es125tcd]

That little bridge ( actually 3 or 4 notes...) between "don't want you no more, and " its not my cross to bear" - Duane is the man !!!!- I feel that one clear up the back of my neck- gives me chills, its so haunting !!!

Honorable mention goes to the first lead note that a very young Ted Nugent does on "journey to the center of the mind " - thats the note that made me WANT to play guitar !!!

[JPF]

The entire Cinnamon Girl solo by Neil Young

[bluesmeanie]

That would be the note Jimi plays after singing, "I got a hummingbird and she hums so loud" in the full-length 'Voodoo Chile'...

[Grenville]

as far as monotone-solos were concerned, I always thought this one was up there:

NEFutwSsQu8 (not entirely monotone).

[GCDEF]

That little bridge ( actually 3 or 4 notes...) between "don't want you no more, and " its not my cross to bear" - Duane is the man !!!!- I feel that one clear up the back of my neck- gives me chills, its so haunting !!!



Some of the best blues ever recorder there. I agree.

[StompBoxBlues]

The opening not of the solo on 'Machine Gun' by Hendrix on Band of Gypsys.



That or possible the opening note of 'Mother' by Pink Floyd.



What say you?

Nice, but to me it will always be the "hummingbird" (so loud) after he mentions it in Voodoo Child (the blues jam, not "slight return")

[concerto25]

Jeff Beck hits a monster at the end of the solo in Blaze of Glory by Bonjovi.

[Lotis]

The feedback note in Supernatural by Peter Green with The Bluesbreakers.

[6Tones]

There be alot of fernades sustainers to thank on some of these posts lol

[Bluedano1]

That little bridge ( actually 3 or 4 notes...) between "don't want you no more, and " its not my cross to bear" - Duane is the man !!!!- I feel that one clear up the back of my neck- gives me chills, its so haunting !!!


It is so cool to hear someone mention that moment, as its one of my faves too! That transition (5 notes) from the instrumental in C minor to the blues in B major... I was in a band years ago that did these songs but we could never get that moment (actually the whole damn piece if you wanna be honest) to sound right- but we tried. Good one!

[puckhead]

I'm going throw some love out to Michael Anthony's lowdown contribution.

track one, side one of Van Halen's first album.
Mike's "bom bom bom bom" counts us in to pure awesome.

Eh7f9tjs5W0

[panoramic]

open E

[furry]

well, it's an octave but...The Immigrant Song

[thetangmang]

If it wasn't mentioned already, Johnny Ramone's solo on I Wanna Be Sedated. One octave note. Amazing.

[gweeterman1]

i agree!Game over.

[TuftySpoon]

I love the effect on "sheep" from animals when the vocals morph to a synth. Conveys the mood perfectly.

[aeolian]

That was an A sting on McCartney's bass- very useful for calibrating CD or tape heads....
Where did you hear this? In his last interview, Lennon claimed that he had done that. And he felt it was the first recording of guitar feedback unless someone could come up with an old obscure recording of some blues guy doing it. John felt that he had started something, long before Jimi and others mastered it.

Although my first nomination of the solo in Mechanical World is a great example of controlled feedback without the note going into overtones. Randy holds the note thoughout the entire solo and just bends and wiggles it around a little. I'd read that he used an early Danelectro/Silvertone and Silvertone amp to do that.

[NeilYoungFan]

Check 5:38 when Gilmour steps on his FuzzFace for one of the best solos ever :

J2hFZ8KnsSo

[Tom Gross]

I dig many of the long sustained plate reverb notes by Peter Green on "Supernatural" on Mayall's Hard road.
Also the last note by Bloomfield at the end of "Wine Wine Wine" with the Electric Flag

[rah3]

Gilmour - The high note during the solo in "Time" was not mentioned so far.

Agree "Machine Gun" is really the best example of "one note" that just kills.

-RAH3

[gtrnstuff]

Where did you hear this? In his last interview, Lennon claimed that he had done that. And he felt it was the first recording of guitar feedback unless someone could come up with an old obscure recording of some blues guy doing it. John felt that he had started something, long before Jimi and others mastered it.

<snip>
actually it's both. Bass note followed by Lennon's acoustic leaned up against his amp, set off by the bass note.
I was there :-) No, I read that and it sounds like it, too.