hmmm...well let's talk about the greats that I rarely ever see (or read) any write-ups in many the guitar rags..

Jessie Johnson
Eddie Hazel
Mike Hampton
Blackbyrd
James "Blood" Ulmer
Ernie Isley
Wayne Krantz
Micheal Landau
Kendall Jones (Fishbone)
Spacey T
Victor Johnson
James Nolan
Tommy Bolin
Jean Paul Bourelly
Micheal Gregory
Felicia Collins
Ronnie Drayton
Gordon Gaines
Arthur Rhames (big influence on Vernon)
Dr. Know
Cornell Dupree
Hillel Slovak
Wah Wah Watson

..I know they're not "popular" in the record sales world, but they're all great and unique.

BlaqueKnight said:

About the pickups, unless he's changed up fairly recently they're probably EMG's. From all accounts I've read about his rig he's used the SA,85 combo on his main stage guitars since the Purple Rain era. Not saying he's never used Lace Sensors, they're good pickups. I've never read any mention of them being used. I have the Silver, Silver, Blue set in my Strat-Plus.
[Edited 5/20/10 12:57pm]

paligap said:

You've listed most of my favorites so i'll expand a bit.

Johnny Smith (alive/retired)
George Benson (pre-Breezin')
B.B. King
Steve Vai
Greg Howe
Michael Landau
Kirk Fletcher
Robben Ford
Albert Lee
Tommy Emmanuel
Bill Frisell
John Scofield
Mike Stern
Lionel Loueke

Maybe more later as I think about them.

The "best living guitarist" is probably someone no one knows.
And I agree that these "best whatever" questions are pretty pointless without any specific parameters.


Music for adventurous listeners


tA

Tribal Records
[Edited 5/20/10 15:00pm]

theAudience said:

In all of your ventures, have you ever heard another noted guitar player mention Ernie Isley as being one of the best, or the best?
I have interviewed tons of guitar players, and is name has never come up.
Also if Jimi Hendrix was his guru, then he does a horrid job of showing that he learned anything, and I was not a Hendrix fan. His recorded legacy was way too brief (2.5 years) to be called the best as anything other than stupidly using drugs and choking on his own vomit and dying as a result of it.

PurpleDiamond2009 said:

You gotta be kidding ain't yer? All that technical ability with shreddin' and delay doesn't make for interesting compositions but abhorrent aesthetics.

Ernie C. from Body Count mentioned Ernie Isley as one of his influences in a guitar mag back in the 90's. He also mentioned his top cuts from Ernie and talked about some of the gear Ernie Isley used in the 70's.

And the 1-CD hit wonder Remy Shand mentioned Ernie Isley and Eddie Hazel as his 2 fave guitarists. He said rather than listening to Jimi, he dug Jimi's disciples music more. Jimi Hazel dug Ernie too.

Not to sound racist but I think more black guitarists will show more appreciation for Ernie Isley because as kids they probably grooved to the Isley Bros. music (whether if it was on the radio, in their parents record collections, etc). They may have been hip to Ernie before even picking up a guitar.

Hearing Ernie's soaring guitar against a strong R&B groove ("Who Loves You Better" "Hope You Feel Better") was safe and more acceptable at a family barbeque than blasting Jimi's "Machine Gun".

The same could also be said for certain Funkadelic and P songs.

I was curious to have my question answered: What criteria is used to determine the "best" when you make those choices? Even among the greats, some are better guitarists than others.

SPYZFAN1 said:

In r&b/soul music, for the most part the guitar takes a back seat in the scheme of things. Hendrix was too brash for most Black folks, and the Funkadelic side of the PFunk was too raunchy, especially when Eddie Hazelwood and Mike Hampton were on full cylinder shredding away. The vast majority of Black folks, especially those that are older, let's say 40 or above, think B.B. King is the bar that you measure guitar players by. Having said all this, Ernie Isley, seems like a guitar hero to many Black folks because of all the afore-mentioned.
It has nothing to do with his chops or output.
If queried, many Black folks would say when it comes to guitar players: B. B. King. Ernie Isley and George Benson. It takes a more varied musical lover to even have knowledge of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Vai, Al DiMeola, Allan Holdsworth, Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, John Mayer, Steve Lukather, etc.
I would wager many Black folks would be aware of Clapton, Santana and Mayer in particular.

In all of your ventures, have you ever heard another noted guitar player mention Ernie Isley as being one of the best, or the best?
I have interviewed tons of guitar players, and is name has never come up.
Also if Jimi Hendrix was his guru, then he does a horrid job of showing that he learned anything, and I was not a Hendrix fan. His recorded legacy was way too brief (2.5 years) to be called the best as anything other than stupidly using drugs and choking on his own vomit and dying as a result of it.[/b][/color]

In all of your ventures, have you ever heard another noted guitar player mention Ernie Isley as being one of the best, or the best?
I have interviewed tons of guitar players, and is name has never come up.
Also if Jimi Hendrix was his guru, then he does a horrid job of showing that he learned anything, and I was not a Hendrix fan. His recorded legacy was way too brief (2.5 years) to be called the best as anything other than stupidly using drugs and choking on his own vomit and dying as a result of it.

RnBAmbassador said:

1)Okay , let's put Ernie aside for a moment --are you sure you really want to stand by this statement about Hendrix? If he's not your cup of tea, that's one thing. But as madhatter noted, from those Four (1967-1970) years, his legacy has had more impact than most other guitarists' entire lifetimes--that impact goes far beyond just guitarists--and you don't even have to like him to acknowledge that....

you mention interviewing tons of guitar players as if that's the criteria--if that is the case, Hendrix will always be in the top three. Hendrix is a favorite of even the top guitarists and profoundly impacted them--- including Clapton, Di Meola, Santana--and Jeff Beck:

From London's Daily Telegraph:

by Ians-Wenn

Along with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, Beck is hailed as one of the most influential guitarists to come out of the U.K.

But he admits he was blown away by the musical talents of Hendrix, and confesses that the late American's style hit him like "an earthquake".

Beck tells Britain's Daily Telegraph, "The things I noticed when I saw him was not only his amazing blues, but his physical assault on the guitar. His actions were all of one accord, an explosive package....
"He hit me like an earthquake when he arrived. I had to think long and hard about what I did next. The wounds were quite deep, actually, and I had to lick them on my own. I was constantly looking for other things to do on the guitar, new places to take it."



from Writer and Critic Charles Shaar Murray :

I once asked BB King if he thought Hendrix was a great bluesman...he just shook his head at me pityingly, and replied, "I consider him to be one of the Greatest Musicians....."



2) In the late 60's Hendrix's impact was even felt in the Jazz world, especially getting the notice of Miles Davis and arranger/composer Gil Evans...
A few years ago, Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny was asked who his all-time favorite guitarists were he named Wes Montomery in Jazz, and in Rock he said, --"In Rock, even now--- it would still have to be Hendrix. With his imagination --the things he thought of on the guitar are still being digested and deciphered to this day...."




3)You're dismissing him because he didn't make enough albums? So, if you record the most albums, you'll be the best? So what should we say about Robert Johnson, Charlie Parker, and Charlie Christian, "too bad...you should've lived longer and made more records..."?



-Back to Ernie....
As I noted before , I love all those guys--I listed Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Beck, Santana, Wayne Krantz etc., in my favorites ---and I still love Ernie Isley's guitar, too---of course, it's not technically advanced, and if you think it sucks, that's fine. But you can't tell people who do like him and his sound that they're wrong--it's just an opinion--people like who they like!


*****
I am greatly aware that Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and many others revered Jimi Hendrix, I am just saying I didn't and I don't. His recorded out put though thin, has lasted for many a lifetimes, that I agree with. It's some people like Coca-Cola and some like Pepsi-Cola, and some it doesn't matter. I like Pepsi and Jeff Beck, although Coke and Jimi Hendrix are relevant - just not my cup of tea. Just because Jeff Beck is my favorite guitar player, doesn't mean that I agree with all of his choices as persons that are great guitar players.
In the end there is really no such thing as 'the best' in any category, it all comes down to what your personal preference is.





...
[Edited 5/21/10 18:23pm]

For pure expression, I give it to Peter Frampton





and he still looks rad

No mention of.. Stevie Ray Vaughn?

JIMMY PAGE. He's not dead yet! Has anyone mentioned him. I cant believe Richie Samobora gets a mention in this thread but no Jimmy Page ?
Wierd.