Are any other guitarists as significant as Jimi and EVH?

[Man_on_the_Silva_Mountain]

I'll say it again. Maybe not well known but undeniably greatly significant. Eddie Hazel.

Omg .. Eddie Freakin' Hazel .. There's a name that I havent heard in TOO LONG. TyTy Audiotrove ..oh man .. That dude can PLAY

.. Long story short .. I was in a heavy metal band with a wellrespected local guitar player .. He made his bones playing Van Halen licks note for note days after their debut album hit the shelves .. Skilled player .. Super goodnatured guy. (RIP, Old friend)... But we were in a band until after Maiden's # of the Beast came out

I was by no means a good guitarist by this point .. I was just transitioning from horn but passionately and with great dedication always learning chords and inversions .. we Jam together one time just goofing around and it clicked .. we both felt it .. and ran with it .. as great a player as he was, there was an obvious shortcoming - his timing. I really needed to learn more leads and improvisation and it became immediately obvious that we could help each other. We did just that and soon we were quite a team. We got together all the time even when there wasn't a band practice to write songs and to work on Dual leads .. and for me to help him more with his timing. Through the agency of our playing without the rest of the band around we realized that we both had an honest penchant for Parliament. Yup - Parliament (Funkadelic/P-Funk)

Man, we just dug Bootsy .. he was amazing bass player and people don't I know this but he's also quite a good guitarist.. Jerome Brailey was a MONSTER drummer .. And i fostered a love of Maceo Parker in my friend .. But we found ourselves most impressed by guitarists Eddie Hazel and Michael Hampton

Over time, our chordwork and leadwork became inspired by Michael Hampton and Eddie Hazel ... we somehow managed to infuse it into heavy metal .. Our songs were well-received by visitors to the studio .. but that is as far as we got .. Relegated to the "garage" .. Drummer drank more frequently by the week .. Bass player lost interest .. and at the time he didn't want to work with a new Drummer because he felt a loyalty to our current guy .. I started to work with others then grabbed a job that involved so many hours per week that it just wasn't happening ...

when we did get together from time to time ... the other guitarist and I would play a lot of P Funk inspired Tunes .. I'm telling you people .. nothing for nothing, but if you're looking for something new to listen to check out this guy Eddie Hazel .. if you can't take something useful.away from his playing and Incorporate it into your own .. I would be shocked

 

[lownslow58]

I gotta go with Les Paul as the third, but Michael Hedges moved my ears in a new direction as well.

 

[RickV]

Les Paul

 

[jimgear]

Driftin'' Way Of Life - Jerry Jeff Walker

 

[Aehn]

There are plenty of guitar heroes that are important to many of us guitar players and music fans...Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Zappa, Gilmour, SRV, Duane, Garcia...the list goes on and on. But have any of them really had the widespread impact that Jimi and EVH? Who else has been a gamechanger and completely shifted the understanding about what could be done on a guitar...and subsequently inspired thousands upon thousands of people to learn the instrument.

I'm having this debate today with some music friends.

Yngwie, Holdsworth, Metheny, etc...

 

[Black&Blue]

Plenty.

 

[cmath]

There are plenty of guitar heroes that are important to many of us guitar players and music fans...Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Zappa, Gilmour, SRV, Duane, Garcia...the list goes on and on. But have any of them really had the widespread impact that Jimi and EVH? Who else has been a gamechanger and completely shifted the understanding about what could be done on a guitar...and subsequently inspired thousands upon thousands of people to learn the instrument.

I'm having this debate today with some music friends.

Theres great guitar playing and theres great playing within the context of popular music and entertainment .

One could say Robert Fripp is an innovative player Along with Adrian Belew. King Crimson"Elephant Talk" got on the radio and has very innovative guitar offerings but would never ever be considered "classic" or impacting on as high of a level as VH because the song writing or songs /entertainment factor were not as broad in their appeal. No"Hot for teacher". You simply do not tail gait to elephant talk like you would the Hendrix cover of "All along the watchtower"

Opposite to this. AC/DC"You shook me all night long"...probably the most un-innovative guitar playing of all time yet this song has probably had more impact on people getting laid than any other rock song in history.
The guitar playing in AC/DC is innovative for how solid and powerful and memorable the riffs are...and yet IT'S NOTHING COMPLEX. This is music..like Van Halen that has had a huge impact on more non guitar player people on the planet than just us guitar players.